On the very, very rare occasion, there are some rabbits that don’t mind water, but I don’t think they can physically swim.

I saw some videos of swimming rabbit on internet.
rabbits looks laborious and afraid in the videos.
people force them to the water just for fun.
they don’t care about rabbit’s condition.
it’s so abominable..
furthermore, rabbit will get sick after being wet.
i think their instinct had degenerate and can’t endure those trick.
i don’t want to see those video anymore… it’s make me very sad.

It would be only by accident that a wild rabbit would find himself immersed in water. Rabbits must avoid getting wet as they can easily get hypothermia taking a very long time to dry. I know of a mini rex in my town here who got wet in the rain as he was kept outdoors and consequently died of hypothermia. As for the ability to stay afloat and move in the water, I bet rabbits could manage well, but, again, it is the state of being drenched that rabbits want to avoid.

I’ve seen some youtube videos that have made me want to scream

I know that there are wild rabbits, such as a swamp rabbit that lives in the swamp and can swim. It takes a species a long time to adapt to that..

Good point, Brittany, about the swamp rabbits. I think swamp animals are so neat!

good to know. my mom was just asking the same thing. the new house has a pond and lately the buns have been working on their disapearing / escape artist acts, mind you never near the pond, and its shallow enough that they could probably stand in it and have their head still be above water but its slippery and the very middle is about 1 1/2 – 2 feet deep.

Swamp rabbits! Wow, I didn’t know about those.

Most mammals instinctively know how to swim. I’m sure if a rabbit suddenly found himself immersed in water, instinct would tell him to start treading water. I seriously doubt they would just let themselves sink without a fight. Doesn’t mean they would like it though.

Rabbits can swim but it’s not something that a domestic rabbit would normally choose to do for fun. (there are some rare exceptions) Those Youtube videos of people putting their bunny in a pool or in a full bathtub just remind me there is a large population of doofuses in the world.

VERY cool about swamp rabbits! I actually did not know that and I’ve been googling swamp rabbits now for the  last 1/2 hour and find them fascinating!  

LOL, I know, huh BinkyBunny?

Like how they try to hide from predators!! The bunnies hide underwater and stick their noses out to breathe while they wait for the predator to go away! Smart!

Darn, they can also run 45 miles per hour! Shocking!!

Rufus likes water and can swim. I have a strange shaped bath tub and to save my back I will it so the shallow end is enough for me to wash the rabbits in and the deep end is deep, when i washed Rufus last he was having the time of his life and then went over to the deep end and was swimming in circile I “saved” him only to have him head back in! I do make sure that he is 100% dry afterwards but he seems to like it! Maybe he has some swamp rabbit in him!

now im curious about those swamp rabbits.i will look that up right now.Chace is scared of water.whenever i turn on the faucet,he would thump and hide in a corner.he hates getting wet.

NO!! rabbits can swim but if they get wet they can get very sick and DIE!!! do NOT put your rabbit in water it can get very sick…….

Glad i could help!

Posted By LittleKota on 08/23/2010 10:47 AM
NO!! rabbits can swim but if they get wet they can get very sick and DIE!!! do NOT put your rabbit in water it can get very sick…….

Glad i could help!

They can, yes. If they are dried off thoroughly, and kept warm for at least 24 hours they will be fine though.

With Rufus, I always give him a really good dry off that includes the blow dryer on low heat. His cage is also next to the heating vent and I let him out and he sits on the heating vent. I also found that you use those rubber things that absorbe mositure work really well.

Posted By Brittany on 08/22/2010 08:16 PM
LOL, I know, huh BinkyBunny?

Like how they try to hide from predators!! The bunnies hide underwater and stick their noses out to breathe while they wait for the predator to go away! Smart!

Darn, they can also run 45 miles per hour! Shocking!!

I guess they can get pretty big too– The largest of the cottontails.    Sounds  like some crazy mythical creature!   I also discovered there are “Marsh Rabbits” which are a bit smaller than the Swamp Rabbits.  The Swamp Rabbit’s gestation period is longer too —35 to 40 days and they only have about 2 or 3 litters per year max . The young become independent after just a few weeks and they reach sexual maturity later on…about 7 months old I think I read.    I’m lovin’ learnin about swamp bunnies.  

I know this has gotten sort off the thread subject, but what a great side track!