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moving house with bunnies

iggyperdyandme

Alpha Buck
Sorry if this is in the wrong section but im becoming increasingly anxious and wondered if anyone has any advice.

We are moving to bristol in a few months time which is about 3 hours away and im worried about the move and Iggy bunny's health. He is 9 in September and has arthritis but is otherwise healthy. Our vet said we cant really do much except make him as comfy as possible for the journey but I wondered if anyone has any advice?

also can anyone recommend a vet in bristol please?
 
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I don't know about vets, it might be an idea to post a separate thread about that, with "rabbit savvy vet - Bristol needed" or something - it might draw more attention from people who know but may not look at this thread.

Not sure about arthritis-specific advice, but: Bunnies don't tend to enjoy travelling, so yes keeping comfortable is about all you can do really. Either blankets or lots of hay in a nice comfy carrier, make sure it's well secured so it doesn't slide about, a water bottle attached or handy and some hay/pellets/treats for the journey. Whenever I've taken Hopscotch in the car he won't eat or drink, but you never know, and you never know if you might get stuck and the journey end up taking longer. Perhaps if you stop somewhere then you could offer food/drink with a stroke or two!
 
We take our buns to a vet in Gloucester which is about and hour and a half from where we live. We always put ours in a small cage not a carrier so that they can see out without restriction. We use either loads of hay in the cage and / or a small mat whatever is their usual preference whilst at home. We take a bowl of food and their water bottle or water bowl (they all like something different!!) and stop once on the way up for a few minutes, they have a longer break at the vets where we open up the car to get some air in etc and leave them with their water bowl / bottle until we are ready to set off again. Some of ours eat all through the journey, others sit like statues, others move with the movement of the car - they are all different.

Try to have familiar things around them if they prefer a blanket to hay to sleep in, use that, you could also let your buns get used to a smaller cage or the carrier whatever you are going to use by putting it in to their enclosure now so that they become familiar with it.

Hope all goes well :wave:
 
Mango and Maia went through a 14-hour car trip (but they were young and healthy.)
We put them in the usual cage where they felt safe and gave lots of hay and water. On the way we stopped often so they could nibble and relax a bit.
All went well and there were few sign of stress except an uneaten cecal, presumably from Maia. If it's only a 3 hour trip and you drive carefully, it should be doable.
Ask your vet for something that might tranquillize the rabbit and provide soft things to lay on and lots of love.
Good luck!
 
We used to live just outside of Chepstow and there is a very good practise in Chepstow ( I went there myself ). ALso, Ian, the exotics vet has now moved to a Newport practise. He is VERY good with buns. It depends on which part of Bristol you are moving to as to whether it would be a reasonable travelling distance for you. I'm sure there is someone on here who will know of a Bristol vet.

I took my buns on a 6 hour car journey when we moved up here. They were all in carriers with lots of bedding and we stopped several times to give them a break/ drink, etc. Very sadly McKenzie died very suddenly a week after arriving. I don't know if it was related to the car journey. We just found him dead in his crate. He didn't have any prior signs of illness and was running about in a run on the morning he died. He was only 3 1/2.

Good luck with your move and hope your bun will travel ok. Keeping him covered over in his carrier might help too and keeping the inside of the car cool, but not draughty.
 
Good luck with the move, I'm sure it will all go fine and bunny will be just fine.
I recently moved 21 bunnies and they coped better than I did lol.
 
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