I would take him.

I think it depends how stressed he gets by car journeys, and whether you have someone good, who knows about rabbit care, to look after him if you left him.

On balance, since you’re away for so long though, I would take mine, even though Luna gets very stressed by cars. I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving them for that long.

Someone recently started a thread on how to make his thanksgiving car journey home as comfortable as possible for his buns, so it might be worth reading that for some ideas too, if you do decide to take him.

EDIT: This thread: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/163812/Default.aspx

I would definitely take my buns with me. Like you, I couldn’t imagine being away from them for 3 weeks! It does depend how they do on car rides tho as 6 hours is quite the journey. Have they been in the car before? Definitely check out the thread Sirius linked, it’s got some good tips.

I’m the guy who did the Thanksgiving journey, with great success. It was an 800-mile, more or less, round trip, in mainly cool weather. I’m planning to do it again in about 4 weeks for Christmas weekend.

It’s quite doable, but it takes some planning and careful attention to the buns’ comfort and welfare. I strongly recommend giving them a helping of wetted-down greens before the trip begins, since (1) rabbits generally get most of their water from greens, particularly when wet and (2) giving water to bunnies in a carrier is difficult even if you’re using a water bottle, which a lot of people don’t like because those leak or jam easily even if the rabbits don’t have difficulty using them in the first place. The carrier should be big enough to hold them comfortably in a litterbox equipped with litter and grass hay, and securely belted into the car’s rear seat.

Do NOT under any circumstances leave the buns unattended in hot weather – heatstroke kills. Even in cool weather, try to take the buns with you inside when you can if/when you have to make a stop for food, restroom, and such, assuming the place in question allows pets in carriers, and if not, make your stop as short as you can. Check on the buns at each stop to make sure they’re doing OK. If you need to stop overnight, do research in advance to find out which hotels/motels along the route allow pets. In cool weather, make sure the car is properly warmed but not overheated; in some locations, as the weather gets warmer toward midday/afternoon you should cut the air-conditioning on in your car if available (the windows should never be rolled down, so as to avoid excess noise and insects getting into the carrier).

I took with me (and am planning to take on my next trip) the following items;

– Carrier, with litterbox inside

– Enough hay and pellets for the trip’s duration, plus extra wet greens for water and arrangements to have greens available at my destination, and also litter

– Treats

– X-pen

– Their play-area rug, which not only provides good footing for them but is after 3 months thoroughly imbued with their scents

– Hidey box

– Toys and chewing items

If you put a litterbox in the rabbit’s carrier, please anchor it down to the cage, even if you need to use strings or clips. It’s very dangerous to have a solid object in the cage with the rabbit, considering a sudden stop or sharp turn can cause it to launch within the carrier and hit your rabbit.

I personally would take him. 3 weeks is a long time and finding a good pet sitter can be very hard for that amount of time.

If you take him, there are precautions you will need to take.

1. Stop every hour or two and let him out of the carrier for 10+ minutes. Many rabbits will refuse to eat, drink, and toilet while in a moving car. This is stressful. If a rabbit does not eat within 8 hours, they need to be seen by a vet in case of stasis. During these 10 minute breaks, give him food (pellets, hay, greens, treats), water, and a litter box. It might take a few extra minutes to get your bun to eat and toilet.

1.5. If you have a carrier that is large enough to allow a water bottle and a litter box, make sure it is secure enough that everything inside does not fly around, including your bun. Youll still need to stop every hour or two to ensure the rabbit is actually eating, drinking, and toileting. If you notice your rabbit has not eaten, did not drink, and has not toileted, consider it a pre emergency.

2. Make sure the carrier is secured. You dont want your rabbit bouncing around while youre driving. Its not only dangerous, but can cause high stress.

3. Also while stopped, check for signs of of overheating or being too cold. If your bun feels too cold, make sure to adjust the temp inside of your car. If your bun is too warm, make sure to adjust the temp in your car. If your rabbit is drooling, breathing rapidly, panting, (etc) (signs of heat exhaustion), kick on the AC ASAP and consider booking a vets appointment as soon as you reach your destination.

3.5. On temperature, remember that rabbits will get sick easier and quicker if the temp change is over 10F degrees at a time within a period of 24 hours. Try to keep the temp in the car around the same temp you have in your current home, and make sure the temp at your destination is around the same temp as well.

4. Before you leave, look up several rabbit certified vets where you are headed. Write down the names, phone numbers, and addresses to atleast three of them. Keep this in your wallet or clipped someplace safe that you can easily access it in case of emergency during or after the car ride.

5. Before you leave, stock up on extra hay, litter, and pellets. It might also be helpful to buy a few fleece blankets and an expen so your bun has proper exercise room while you two stay wherever you are staying.

Added note: During car rides, some rabbits do abstain from drinking and eating, so the stops may become necessary as times for your rabbit to eat and use the restroom, rather than as a check to make sure he/she is doing so. During this past holiday car ride, Wick just sat in the carrier (1.5 hours long).

I have a material carrier. I put a washable pillow / base on the very bottom. Wrap a puppy training pad around that. Then fold a fleece on top. Then puppy pad. Then another fleece.

To be honest I do this mainly to add some height in the carrier as it’s quite deep for my bun (and he’s quite tiny). It makes keeping it clean a breeze. I always pack an extra puppy pad and a fleece and the most I’ve ever done is got to my destination and changed the top fleece because he had peed a bit on it. Other then that, I just pull out all the layers in one go (everything’s folded and placed in so very easy to get in and out) and shake the poops out.

Having the layers I do, it’s normally a case of you only need to take out and wash /throw away the top or top 2 layers. Protects the carrier and keeps fluffykins nice and dry. Easy for me to deal with too.

I also have a small bowl full of hay in there. I sprinkle dried herbs on top. Then couple treats on top of that. My fluffykins won’t eat whilst we’re moving but when I settle the bag down, he nibbles.