Keeping rabbits cool in warm weather

[catbalou]

Hi, Im not a member of social media, but I do browse around and although Im a new rabbit owner Im alarmed to see a lot of posts on the rescue of rabbits who have suffered dehydration due to their housing conditions.
Hoping that people can post how they keep their rabbits cool and it may pop up on internet searches for people, to help them keep their little bunnies cool.

I'll start with this, As a new Bunny owner, and in this hot weather Im thinking Murphy in his fur coat could get a little hot, so Ive put multiple water bowls in his room, a stretch of lino for him to lie on and noticed that he likes to wander into the guest bathroom to flop onto the tiled floor. I did consider putting an ice cube into his water bowls but according to the internet, it could do more harm than good as it would be a shock temperature change.

I check his head, tummy and back to see if he is hot, if he is then I dab a bit of cold water along his ears, but generally his body feels quite cool.
I also gave him a teeny bit of cucumber on a hot day, to cool him.

Hoping people can reply and give any tips and also, if anything Ive been doing is wrong, then please advise. x

Murphy, although having full "Murphy Land" of a room seems to favour underneath the table currently.

 

[Cheesecake]

Cute bun! Ceramic tiles are good for cooling. You can put cold water bottles and tce packs down for them to lay by. If they're not drinking enough water you can put a little fruit or veggies in there to entice them. I like to fill a water balloon up with water, freeze it, and set the ice out for them. Bunny Popsicles are also a good option

 

[bunny momma]

Freezing water bottles for bunnies to rest near is a good way to keep them cool. Fans placed away from where they can get is another option.

 

[Cinnabun14]

Yep, I agree with the ice. We put ice in the girls' water in the morning (when it's still cool) and give them a nice shady place to rest too. They're outside rabbits too, the weather's been up to 96F, and they've been doing great.

 

[Mervinius]

My buns are indoor and ignore anything we give them to cool them down . I've tried frozen bottles, they push them out of the way. They'd rather snuggle up next to each other, which seems bananas to me.
The only thing we do now. Is keep the curtains pulled in the house during the day, this keeps the room cooler. Then we open the windows when the temp drops.

 

[a reader of books]

My buns are indoor and ignore anything we give them to cool them down . I've tried frozen bottles, they push them out of the way. They'd rather snuggle up next to each other, which seems bananas to me.
The only thing we do now. Is keep the curtains pulled in the house during the day, this keeps the room cooler. Then we open the windows when the temp drops.

It's the same here, haha. Anything cool gets ignored; I've tried Icepods, frozen bottles, those cooling mats, granite slabs, they want nothing to do with any of it! Instead Sophie would lie on top of Casper in the sun, and they were perfectly happy. I do the same thing with the curtains and then opening the windows once it's cooler, though Sophie and Casper loved lying in the sun together so much that I really only close the curtains on very hot days.

I read the other day that when you try to cool your buns ears to do it with lukewarm-cold (lukecold...?) water rather than icy cold water as icy cold water will make the veins restrict which will limit their ability to lose warmth through their ears. And also to not take the bunny to the vet if they do get heatstroke as that will be too much for them, but to put them somewhere cool instead and keep them as stress-free as possible, and then call the vet for further advice.

I would say keeping them as stress-free as possible in hot weather is important in any case, as we probably all know that exercising or being very busy when it's hot will just make you more hot.

 

[catbalou]

I read the other day that when you try to cool your buns ears to do it with lukewarm-cold (lukecold...?) water rather than icy cold water as icy cold water will make the veins restrict which will limit their ability to lose warmth through their ears. And also to not take the bunny to the vet if they do get heatstroke as that will be too much for them, but to put them somewhere cool instead and keep them as stress-free as possible, and then call the vet for further advice.

I would say keeping them as stress-free as possible in hot weather is important in any case, as we probably all know that exercising or being very busy when it's hot will just make you more hot.

Thanks for that info, great advice! I did read that anything ice cold is bad. I noticed Murphy after running around like a mad thing (in this heat!) was breathing a bit rapidly, so I ran a flannel under the cold tap, and wiped behind his ears and on his feet with it.. he did the "bunny flop " thing and his breathing calmed straight down and he settled quite quickly. He is booked in for his 6 month check up next Thursday.