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Safe temperatures

Dolly-bunny

Dolly-bunny

New Kit
Hey :) my rabbit is living in a shed outside and I was just wondering what temperatures she could comfortably withstand. Her windows are partly open for ventalation and the door is open through the day. I have a thermometer on the wall and the highest its been is around 20c so far but today was the first day of summer so im concerned its going to get far too warm for her. I think certain parts of the shed stay cooler like in/under her hutch because I have noticed when its really warm thats where she tends to be.
I need to start insulating sooner rather than later I think, but I have a feeling thats going to be easier said than done lol. If needs be I can always set her pen out in the spare bedroom when its too hot but with 2 jack russells in the house its not ideal for her own safety. They cant get to her in the shed because our garden has like a smallish decked area thats fenced off where we let the dogs out but the rabbit lives in the main part of the back garden.
Thanks :)
 
I think you will just have to monitor her instead of someone saying they are ok up to this temperature or that temperature. From my experience living with a south facing garden rabbits generally cope very well in hot conditions. Obviously you need to do all you can to shade her from the sun when it's very hot. A cold slab is a good thing to sit on as it will stay cool for longer, the coolest part of my garden is along the fence which faces north but when it gets very hot it tends to be hot everywhere.
 
Dolly-bunny said:
Hey :) my rabbit is living in a shed outside and I was just wondering what temperatures she could comfortably withstand. Her windows are partly open for ventalation and the door is open through the day. I have a thermometer on the wall and the highest its been is around 20c so far but today was the first day of summer so im concerned its going to get far too warm for her. I think certain parts of the shed stay cooler like in/under her hutch because I have noticed when its really warm thats where she tends to be.
I need to start insulating sooner rather than later I think, but I have a feeling thats going to be easier said than done lol. If needs be I can always set her pen out in the spare bedroom when its too hot but with 2 jack russells in the house its not ideal for her own safety. They cant get to her in the shed because our garden has like a smallish decked area thats fenced off where we let the dogs out but the rabbit lives in the main part of the back garden.
Thanks :)
Click to expand...

I put thin bamboo (from Ikea) blinds at the windows to keep out the heat and the flies.

Could you also put frozen bottles of water in there? (plastic) or those ice pods you can buy (or just freezer blocks covered in a thin towel or sheet) then they can lay against something cool.

I also had electricity in my shed, so I could put a fan in there - don't know if you have?
 
Thanks a lot for the advise, I can do all of those apart from the fans (unfortunately). What should I be looking out for as signs of overheating? Sorry I just really wouldn't have a clue and i read somewhere they can die really easily from heat so now I'm super paranoid.
 
Dolly-bunny said:
Thanks a lot for the advise, I can do all of those apart from the fans (unfortunately). What should I be looking out for as signs of overheating? Sorry I just really wouldn't have a clue and i read somewhere they can die really easily from heat so now I'm super paranoid.
Click to expand...

A rabbit would start panting hard in the heat, and his breathing would become rapid. Rabbits cool themselves down through their ears, that's why they don't have fur on them! Your rabbits would get restless and uncomfortable and the extremities would feel very warm as they try and cool down the rest of the body.

I'm sure you'll be OK :thumb:
 
Thanks :) I have never seen her pant or feel unusually warm so that makes me feel better. I'm such a worrier! Haha. I will have a read through those links now thanks, apparently it's going to hit 30c on Wednesday so I Best get prepared :shock:
 
Dolly-bunny said:
Thanks :) I have never seen her pant or feel unusually warm so that makes me feel better. I'm such a worrier! Haha. I will have a read through those links now thanks, apparently it's going to hit 30c on Wednesday so I Best get prepared :shock:
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Yes, so I heard :shock: Pretty hot today for furry ones!
 
Yeah, luckily it's just starting to cool down a bit where I am but it has been really warm. I Best go dig through the recycling for more plastic bottles to freeze.
 
Mine are comfortable at 78F degrees which is what we have the air conditioner thermostat set to. They dont like it much warmer than that but they can cope with it fine, although if it's a lot hotter than what they were used to then it'll take a little bit to get used to.

I always had outdoor buns growing up so in my experience they do a lot better with the heat than what people give them credit for! plus our air conditioner broke last summer and we went through weeks of temps in the house in the 90s (and there was so much humidity it felt like a sauna, so the 'feels like' temp was probably several degrees higher!) and for the most part they just had frozen bottles and they were fine.:)
 
Do they access to an attached run? I would worry about them being confined to a shed in the hight of summer. In a run they would be able to get more of a breeze and a cool slab to lie on. Sheds can get ever so warm.
 
I would maybe also consider freezing a couple of plastic bottles of water and either covering them or leaving them somewhere that the buns can lean against or near should they get too hot..

You can also buy icepods to freeze and due to them being flat, they can sit on!!

Good luck, south of England is meant to be ridiculously hot next week.. We here in Scotland are having a 'colder ' time....typical
 
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