Travelling stress - any advice?

Hi, I have a dwarf lop who I am going to be taking on a 2.5 - 3 hour car journey soon to a rescue, so he can meet a bunny girlfriend. I'm just a bit worried about him being in the car for possibly up to 6 hours in one day, as we will be bringing them both back together the same day if they get on well. I was wondering if anyone has any advice about how to reduce any stress for him (and me!). I will have to get a fairly big carrier for them both on the way back, would it be better to leave this uncovered and light, or covered and darker? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am a bit concerned about this amount of travel in a day. Thank you

We had this once with a long distance rehome and I have to say the effect of travelling on the original rabbit had knock on effects for the bonding.....she was so knocked out when she got here not much happened and then when the pair got 'home' they started to scrap and I had to talk the owners through the bond by phone.

It worked itself out but I would think twice about rehoming a long distance, newly bonded pair on the same day again.

Sorry that hasnt really answered your original question has it?

we quite often take sooty on 2 - 3 hour trips to various relations and hol. homes and he's usually recovered from the trip within half an hour. However he's usually a little quite for the first day in new surroundings and not quite his usual bouncy self. so I agree with soz that a one day bond may not be a good idea. I'd also never take sooty back home again on the same day because I think he'd get too stressed out even though he's a very good in the car.

If you do have to: Leave the carrier uncovered if it is reasonably shady anyway or put a sheet or lightish fabric over 3 quarters of it so provide some shade but still has good circulation. try and keep as much air flowing in the car as possible to avoid overheating. Try to travel early morning and evening to avoid the worst of the heat.

I put sooty's litter tray in (cleaned and restocked) for him to sit on. You could also use andy newspaper/hay/straw/vet bed combi that makes him feel at home although I guess you'd have to put in fresh for the way back to avoid making the other rabbit uneasy.

You need to provide water and probably a bit of hay, although I've never seen sooty drink or eat when travelling.

When coming back you could try a little rescue remedy on a pellet (I wouldn't on the way out as it could leave him a little zoned). I've only tried it once, this weekend after seeing it on the forum here. I don't know if it worked or not but it didn't seem to cause any problems.

I've read a few sites that recommend Bach's 'rescue remedy' for reducing stress & anxiety as well. You can get this in boots, Holland & barret or other health shops.

There's a link here with a bit more info on it.
http://www.petsynergy.com/rabbit.html

I recommend a carrier big enough that he can move around in but small enough that he can make himself a nest with the hay and feel secure. I agree not to cover him as he may get too hot and I'd suggest you use hay from his bedroom so that the carrier smalls of him to give him reassurance.

I sit Charlie in the front of the car in a large carrier and a few days before I put a solution into his water that is recommended for stress and digestion and talk to him the whole way, after about 5 minutes he just lays down and on his blanket with his cuddly toy and relaxes. I try to take him out to my parents to run around their big lawn too so that he associates car journeys with nice things and not just trips to the vets. I often have the pet carrier in the house with bedding in for when I bring him inside so he doesn't mind getting into it. His favourite foods and lots of attention are also given when I make any stops.

I think its maybe best to leave him uncovered so he can see you and whats going on. I use a sun reflector on the top of the carrier and make sure the cold air is blowing to prevent overheating, he doesn't like the noise when the windows are open. Could you stay overnight in a B&B or something to give the bonding process a bit longer? Let us know how you get on, I'm hoping to find a girlfriend for Charlie soon so will have to go through the same process.