In humans its recommended that you get 30 mins of midday sun each day and our species are supposed to be active during sunlight hours. Whereas rabbits are most active during dawn and dusk, plus they have fir covering their bodies so wouldn’t be great at synthesising vitamin d due to skin exposure. So I feel an hour a couple of times a week would be more than adequate to replicate how many hours they would naturally receive daylight. Especially during the winter.

I have had my rabbit indoors her whole life. She is afraid of going into the garden and she’s nearly 10. My vet says she is hey get all they need in their diet….

It can’t harm though I suppose.

I have used lots of bulbs due to having a tortoise and I would personally use this if I was to pick one. Don’t have it too close to their eyes though. Have it within 30 cms of them for best benefit.

Rabbits come out at dawn and dusk so naturally wouldn’t be out in the sun so be careful having it too close to them.

Ardacia FD3PP23 C D3+Compact Bulb 23 watt

(Link edited by Bam)

It probably won’t harm, but as Jade says, rabbits are dusk-and dawn creatures (crepuscular). Their calcium uptake is not regulated by the presence of vitamin D, like ours, and most other animals, tbh. Rabbits absorb all dietary calcium from the food they eat, then expel the surplus in the urine (which is why healthy rabbit urine is cloudy and leaves a chalky residue when it dries). If a rabbit gets enough vitamin D and calcium in their diet, they are unlikely to need extra vitamin D for that reason.

That said, some vets do recommend daily sunshine for rabbits. We have a member in Canada that I will try to get hold of, she used to live in a country with massive amounts of sunshine and I think she bought a UV lamp for her bun when she moved back to Canada.

So, I’ve been in contact with our Canadian member. She had a UV-bulb for her bun when she was living abroad, for use during the 6 months of the year when going outside was too hot for a rabbit. She had it mounted above his litterbox, so he’d sit in the light while he did his business. It was on for approx 6 hours per evening. Her bun would obviously hop in and out of the litterbox, so he’d not hang out there for 6 hours in a row every night.

Back in Canada, she hasn’t been using a UV bulb. She has a balcony where her buns get their daily dose of daylight. She also has an (adorable) stroller with a mesh roof that lets the sun through. They go for walks in the park in the stroller. One of her buns positively sunbathes in the stroller, the other bun is tolerant, but not as visibly impressed.