• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Snugglesafe Concerns - what do other people do?

Bunny Magics

Alpha Buck
Hi everyone...
My Buns totally adore their snugglepads...:D they snuffle and snuggle up with them in obvious excitement everytime I put them in. But i've got a few issues with using them and just wondered what other people who use them have experienced..

1. My Buns have started to nibble the fleecey covers, and I've found no fleecey bits on the floor or anywhere ( am concerned it's going into their tummies ) So, I've removed the covers and am a bit worried about the naked snugglepads burning them.
So, i've put one under a rug on the floor of their shed... so far so good, but they do sometimes throw their rug around.
I put the other under a thick newspaper in their shed hide where they sleep, they love the snuggle pad being there, but this morning I found the newspaper removed from the hide leaving a naked pad.

2. I put my snuggle pads in with them between 8pm and 10pm... yet they wont still be warm in the early hours when it's often at it's coldest.. I know a few other ppl on here have concerns about that too. Maybe, if it gets Really into the minuses i'll have to start getting up at 5am to reheat them :shock:
I don't think they stay warm for 10 hours anyway... maybe 6 hours ish?

Maybe I'm worrying too much, but I don't think so, we all invest so much time and energy and love into our buns.
Mine are my treasures.
If anyone has any thoughts on the above it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks x
 
Hi, I use snugglesafe pads too but I'd never use them without their covers as you're right; rabbits will burn themselves on them (have you felt one without its cover? It's really very, very hot).

My rabbits lick the fluffy covers of theirs but don't nibble them. Have you found holes in your covers? If not, then the chances are they are just testing it/tasting it; they use their mouths like we use our hands and don't necessarily ingest everything they lick or bite.

No, they probably don't stay warm all night but personally I put mine in at about the same time as you and I won't be getting up to reheat them! Rabbits cope with the cold better than they do with heat anyway so the chances are they don't really need them; it's just us pampering them to make ourselves feel better. Also, they become naturally more active at around 5am so it's unlikely they'd cuddle up to one then anyway as they'll be looking for breakfast and playing. They snuggle up together and make dens in their straw/bedding and get very cosy - rabbits in the wild only have each other to cuddle up to, no blankets or heat pads for them and they seem to manage just fine.

My advice to you would be to ensure they have plenty/loads of bedding (mine have a thick layer of newspaper which is topped by a piece of old carpet which is then covered in straw. And I mean covered - the bed chamber in their hutch is full of straw. Literally. I put a heat pad in there, above the carpet/below the straw and also one on the bottom level of their hutch (there's no straw here, only newspaper and carpet) and they have hay covering the base of the shed. I close off the run at night as it's so draughty and cold otherwise; the tunnel turns into a wind tunnel! And that's it.

Don't forget that they also have a purpose-grown fur coat which is incredibly thick and designed to keep out the cold. If the fluffy bit at the base of their ears is warm, then they are :thumb:
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your reply...and great advice :D yes, I am probably worrying too much. I essentially do the same as you... i.e. lots of bedding in a variety of hideys and shutting the run at night as mine can be a wind tunnel also..and I know they will be fine.

But, mine are actually eating their snugglesafe covers. I've seen them licking them for a while now, but only got concerned when several 50 pence sized holes appeared over the last few nights, with no evidence on the floor or in the bedding, anywhere. I'm thinking I will have to create some sort of cardboard sleeve to fit over them, as my buns Really do dig around big time, no layer of bedding is safe from them, it's how they play.

I understand that snuggle pads are burningly hot, which is why I am concerned. I just wondered if anyone has a fleece eating / bedding digging bun/s and how they go about dealing with this and the snugglepads. Particularly if their buns 'really need' the heat source from the pads.

I'm not just interested in my own Buns :D
 
Last edited:
I'm sure that Blackberry & Co was making little wooden boxes for Snugglesafe heatpads at one point. I don't know whether she is still doing them, but it might be worth sending her a PM. They looked like they'd be a good alternative for fleece chewers.
 
I'm sure that Blackberry & Co was making little wooden boxes for Snugglesafe heatpads at one point. I don't know whether she is still doing them, but it might be worth sending her a PM. They looked like they'd be a good alternative for fleece chewers.

Aww.. Great!!! Such things exist, yey! My Buns are not the only wierdos after all :lol: :D
I may make my own, though I'd love to support Blackberry and Co too. Thanks :thumb:

Thanks Both !!! X
 
A wooden box would work well, or you could pop them in a tupperware style container. They'll be warming the area they are in, so although they will cool down if they are inside something insulated eg a hutch then the temperature in the hutch should be warmer at 5am than if it hadn't had a snugglesafe in earlier.

Insulation is really the key, wild rabbits are insulated because they are underground, as hutches aren't they need insulation to provide the same effect. If the insulation isn't very good then a bit of heating can mimic it. I agree with Angie though, we probably pamper them much more than necessary :)
 
I don't use the fleece covers any more as they just got covered in hay, wee, poo etc and needed washing all the time. I wrap them in layers of newspaper - a bit like fish and chips - then put them under the hay in the well stuffed nest boxes so they are quite well hidden and give out heat where it is of the most use. If it is really cold (continuously -2'C or lower all night), I use 2 stacked together as they last a lot longer. If the newspaper gets wet or ripped, I just replace it and wipe down the plastic.

I think they do make a difference in the worst of the winter as they take the chill off the bed area and help to stop any damp from condensation - but you can't beat a pile of hay, a thick fur coat and a buddy or 2 to snuggle up with.
 
When mine were outside, i used a snugglesafe wrapped in a towel, put in 10pm.

I also used mine as a replacement hot water bottle, warming the bottom of bed! Now i take it to work with me as my feet are very bad and have no circulation, i wrap it in a towel to put my feet on, and notice that it only stays properly warm for 2 hours or so! But think that is because its a cold environment, I think it may stay warmer if its surrounded by hay etc...

I found the best way to keep them warm was to fill the bed area to the top nearly with hay, and then cover hutch with a thick cover, and tuck in so no air can blow through their bed area.

Mine are indoors now and i dont think i could ever put them back out!
 
I got my Snugglesafe recently and read the instructions etc. very carefully: it says the heat output is fast for the first 2-3 hours, then steadily 'warm' for 5, then cools slowly to 'solid temperature' around 3-4hrs later than that. That's where the 10hrs comes from. it's to do with the nature of the wax on the inside.

I put mine (in its fleece cover) under the more straw-like hay I got at the weekend: when I went to take it out the other morning (7:15am) the inside of the hutch was noticeably warmer (3-4°) than the ambient outside temperature. So now I leave it in there post-work-morning feed so I don't lose all the warm air by opening the front up!
 
Thanks guys :D
I think I'm going to go for the wooden sleeve or Tupperware sleeve for the snugglepads, and I'm not so worried about length of time of heat it gives. They love their snugglepad so much, it's better than any toy for them at mo,bless them. And yes, we do pamper our loved one's, when we can, don't we :roll: :lol:

Cheers everyone :thumb:
 
Back
Top