Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE Block of Ice

Viewing 6 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • with love-- kelsey
      Participant
      11 posts Send Private Message

        Being relatively new…I have never heard of ice, for rabbits.

         

        Kelsey and I were having dinner close to my home and a guy stopped to tell me that his brother had outdoor rabbits in Texas.  They lived outside, in a hutch…but because of the extreme heat, his brother always put a block of ice in their pen, to help the rabbits cool down.

         

        Kelsey lives in a home with central air and cable tv.  I never considered this info would be useful—-UNTIL I noticed Kelsey “vibrating.”  He should have been cool enough, but the body shaking/vibrating made me nervous.  I know dwarves have a lot of trouble expelling the heat—rabbits do so through their ears and dwarves are challenged with the smaller-sized ears (although congrous to their body size!!)

         

        I took the largest size Fiji water I own (33 oz) and put it in the freezer.  Once it seemed iced, I removed it from the freezer and placed it in Kelsey’s pen.  He not only slept NEXT to it (with the a/c on) he also licked the condensation as extra water intake!!

         

        Does anyone else freeze bottled water?  I can tell you one thing—-if you try Poland Spring—that was my first choice.  Not only did Kelsey rip off the paper label (in shreds—UGH!)   he somehow punctured the eco-friendly plastic bottle with his teeth so as I picked it up…..well, it sprayed me with water.  DOH!!  (Kelsey may be a guest star on Punk’d because my rabbit made sure I was soaked with cold water!!)

         

        I do think frozen water is a good idea…anyone else doing this on this VERY hot summer season??  Thanks!

         

         


      • Sarita
        Participant
        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Those poor rabbits being kept outside in the Texas heat…even a block of ice outside in 90 to 110 weather is not adequate – shameful! Probably poor circulation in the “hutch” too.

          Okay rant over, I do live in Texas so I know how brutal this heat is and it’s no place outside for any animal. That being said, I’ve never used a block of ice – I’m afraid of the water leaking and the melting making the rabbit’s areas wet. I know alot of people use a tile on the floor to help keep rabbits cool as well.

          I have central air and I keep it at 80 degree’s upstairs where the rabbits are and unfortunately my bedrooms have vaulted ceilings but even with the poor placement of the a/c output and the vaulted ceilings, my rabbits seem to do fine – I don’t think it’s too hot at the 80 degrees either – it’s inside and I can definitely tell it’s cooler than outside and its comfortable. I do have fans on each of their pens and cages individually and they seem to enjoy sitting in front of them – it’s not a cool breeze but it’s a breeze and they seem to enjoy it.


        • Beka27
          Participant
          16016 posts Send Private Message

            I think if your house is kept cool enough, it’s not necessary. But like Sarita said, a large 12 inch ceramic tile is another good option because it stays cooler than carpeting. We keep our house at a chilly 70 degrees all summer, so my buns are more than comfortable.


          • Stickerbunny
            Participant
            4128 posts Send Private Message

              My A/C vents are on the floor or bottom of the wall, so if my buns want to cool off they just flop out on top of one or against one. But, some people do use frozen water bottles yep – you can put a sock on it to help soak up the excess water and change it frequently if you keep a few. My a/c is set to 71 and my buns still flop out on the a/c vents most the day, Powder isn’t cool unless his ears are cold lol I don’t see how he takes it.

              And yeah those poor buns in Texas I live nearish there and I wouldn’t dream of putting ANY of my animals outside in this heat! I took my bird out on a “cool” day for just a few minutes for a little sun because they need the vitamin D from natural UV light to absorb calcium and within 2-3 minutes he was too hot (in half shade) and I took him right back in – and my bird is tropical, 80-85F is comfortable for him.


            • luvmyhunybuny
              Participant
              475 posts Send Private Message

                Ugh, Texas heat and a hutch?! That makes me so sad. I am in TX and none of my animals stay outside for any length of time (not even my dogs who have a doggie door … they aren’t dumb … they do their business and back in they come!) I actually called animal control on a ‘friend’ of mine who lets her bunny free range in the back yard, unsupervised. I asked her if she was worried about any predators getting her bun and she said “well I am now!” uhhh duh?! Then she stated he has a hutch he can run into if he feels he is in danger. Unreal!!

                Okay I will get off my soapbox …

                I have given frozen water bottles to my piggies, but I have a few tiles for the buns to lay on and the A/C is kept at 79 with ceiling fans. Occasionally I will find then sprawled out on the tiles, but for the most part they are comfy on the carpet.


              • Kokaneeandkahlua
                Participant
                12067 posts Send Private Message

                  Definitely have done this, though we run AC full on any day hotter than 19C here. The buns have never lounged beside them though, they seem to think it’s a heavy lame toy Definitely yuck to keep a bunny in a hutch in Texas heat though Love that your bun has AC and cable lol Pampered pets


                • BinkyBunny
                  Moderator
                  8776 posts Send Private Message

                     We don’t have air conditioning since the weather here rarely gets hot for long.  But we have definitely had heat waves.  We do have a window air conditioner that helps us keep the side of the house where the bunnies are (most of the time) cooler, but I do have to take extra measure to keep the bunny room cool on those rare brutally hot days.   I use a big bottle of frozen water too. 

                    And here is the “Cooling Tips” page https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Coo…fault.aspx 

                    My husband created a tube thing that attaches to our window AC and pushes cool air into the bunnyroom. That works for when we are going to be out and can’t supervise the temperature on a day we know is going to be very hot.  (again, we are lucky as this really doesn’t happen but a few times a year). 

                    Anyway, check out the Cooling Tips page as there may be other things you can use too. 

                     

                     

                Viewing 6 reply threads
                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                Forum DIET & CARE Block of Ice