I'm so paranoid about heat stroke

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 5sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 9 months ago by skunklionshow.

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- 07/02/2013 at 4:56 PM
  Kate79
  Participant
  30 posts
  I have a newish bunny named Winnie, and she hates her summer cage. Normally she’s in the den, in a 2×4 panel NIC cage, but the only room in my apartment that has air conditioning is the bedroom. I setup a NIC cage in there, but it’s 2×3 panels, because that’s all I could fit in there. Otherwise it’s set up exactly the same. Late at night, usually around 3am, she starts to thump. If I move her back to her regular cage, she’s happy and starts doing binkies. But even late at night, it’s usually around 77 in that room, even with a window fan. During the day it gets up to 83 or so most days. When I get up in the morning, I move her to the bedroom cage and she thumps as soon as I put her down. She’s usually a sweet bunny, but she’s very aggressive when she’s in the bedroom. My rabbit Chester died in January (e. cuniculi) and it happened a week after my mother died, and now my father is dying… I really couldn’t handle it if anything happened to her. But she’s so miserable when she’s in the bedroom cage, I don’t know what to do.
- 07/02/2013 at 6:42 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  Is there something that could be scarrying her? A different noise? Maybe the AC? How long has she been in this cage?
  
  Have you looked at the bunny cooling tips on this website? If not, just click on the bunny info above, then on cooling tips. Is there ANY possible way you could move something around in your room to make more space for your rabbit? A 2×3 is not big enough for a rabbit. If you upload a picture of your room/cage we could help you brainstorm and come up with some ideas on how to help her like her cage better?
- 07/02/2013 at 6:58 PM
  MoveDiagonally
  Participant
  2361 posts
  Posted By mocha200 on 07/02/2013 06:42 PM
  A 2×3 is not big enough for a rabbit.
  
  2′ X 3′ would be too small but I think she meant 2 grid panels X 3 grid panels. That would come out to like 8.1 square feet I think, which is a teeny bit above the minimum.
  
  How long has she been in the new cage? If it hasn’t been that long she could just not be used to her new surroundings and the new noises. Is she still getting the same amount of out of cage time?
- 07/02/2013 at 7:28 PM
  peppypoo
  Participant
  1945 posts
  I’m so sorry to hear about your recent losses .
  
  I agree that maybe there could be something else in the room that is making her thump, not necessarily the cage size. However, the cage does sound like it’s a bit on the small side. Have you considered adding a second layer? If you don’t have floor space, maybe you could build upward to expand cage size.
- 07/02/2013 at 10:31 PM
  Kate79
  Participant
  30 posts
  I’ve read through the cooling tips and tried implementing some but she’s not interested. She keeps away from water bottles, if I put a ceramic tile where she usually likes to lay, she lays on the other side of the cage. She has fans already. I don’t think she’s thumping out of fear since it stops as soon as we move her and the normal cage is only one room over. She’s been in the bedroom cage on and off since early May when it first started getting warm here. And yeah it’s a 2×3 panel, not feet. She’s a tiny 3 pound bunny, so I don’t think it’s too small. There’s definitely not any other place to put it, the room is crammed as it is. And I haven’t had much luck with adding layers to nic cages, I can’t seem to do it in a way where it’s stable enough. I’m keeping her in the bedroom because I’d rather that she’s a bit grumpy than her getting sick. The thumping is just so frustrating.
  On the bright side, she finally stopped digging. We tried sooo many different kinds of litter boxes but every morning we’d wake up to hay and litter everywhere. I ordered the litter screen from the binky bunny store and now she never digs
- 07/03/2013 at 9:56 AM
  skunklionshow
  Participant
  1257 posts
  I’m so sorry for all your losses. I went through similar struggles last year. Shortly after my mom had died, I had to make the decision to put my 18 yo cat down. She had kidney failure and was no longer absorbing her IV infusions. I said to the Vet tech, “I can’t do this now…the timing is just bad” and she said….”there is never a good time to put a pet down.” That really sat w/ me and I think of that comment always (in a positive way). I think you should add layers. In my old apt I had little space so I built my rabbits pen up and that really helped. You have to be able to support your NIC panels on at least 3 sides. Also, crossing your zipties in important places is a very good idea. My first cage had a jumping level that was only supported on 2 sides, so I had to put something underneath the level to help hold it up. I really think it’s your pen that’s making your bun unhappy. Maybe she just doesn’t feel like she needs the cooling tips? I would keep her in the AC during the day, but at night if you do towel covered bottles or ice packs and tile that might be all she needs. Just a thought.
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