Hi everyone. I am moving to grad school next week and I am looking for some advice regarding my rabbit. I adopted by rabbit, Mickey, when I was a sophomore in undergrad. Mickey lived at college with me and he did very well. When classes went completely online, Mickey came home with me for about 1 year. When it was time to move back to college (when classes were no longer online), Mickey did not do well at all. A few days after we moved back to school, he stopped eating and pooping and went into stasis for the first time. I treated him at home with Simethicone and Critical Care, but he was not responding. I ended up taking him to a veterinary teaching hospital where he stayed for multiple nights while he was hospitalized and we did not know if he was going to make it. After his episode of stasis, I decided that being at school with me was just too much for Mickey. He was very stressed out because I was in class all day and we were on the bottom floor of an apartment complex, so the change in environment was very stressful for him. I ended up moving Mickey back home a few weeks after we moved in because I felt that it would be less stressful for him to be back home where he would be in a familiar environment. My parents absolutely love him and offered to care for him for the rest of the semester, which I was very grateful for. Mickey did great living at home for the rest of the semester. I came home every 2-3 weekends to see him until I graduated in December (it was only about a 2 hour drive from home). I have been at home with Mickey since I graduated in December, but I am getting ready to go back to grad school next week (3.5 hours away from home). I contemplated taking Mickey with me to grad school for MONTHS and I did not make this decision lightly. When I adopted Mickey, I intended to bring him to school with me wherever I went and never intended to leave him with my parents. I spoke with my parents and we all agreed that while I would love to have Mickey at school with me, it likely was not in his best interest. Mickey is 100% free roam at home, but he would have to be in a confined area in my apartment at grad school because the apartment has carpets which he would chew up. I will also be gone in class all day and we will be in a new environment, which I know would be incredibly stressful for him since he is used to living at home. It is also a 3.5 hour car ride and car rides are extremely stressful for Mickey. My parents said that they would take great care of him while I am gone at school. I do have a few concerns about this and I was hoping that someone may be able to provide some advice or reassurance.

My first concern is that Mickey is VERY difficult to handle and does not like being picked up. He is a very nervous bunny and does not like to be handled. Even I have a very hard time trimming his nails, grooming him, and getting him into his carrier. My plan is to trim his nails right before I leave so that they will not need to be trimmed until I come back home for break in October. My other concern is that since he is a Lionhead, he sheds a ton and sometimes he ingests too much hair and has small poops for a few days while shedding. He is very difficult to groom and my parents will not be able to groom him on their own while I am gone because he is so difficult to handle. I am worried that since they will not be able to groom him, he will ingest too much hair and go into stasis.

Another concern that I have is that Mickey occasionally gets cecotropes stuck in the fur around his bottom since his fur is so long. Usually I am able to brush his fur out so that his bottom stays clean but again, my parents will not be able to do that since he is so hard to handle. This worries me because I am concerned that he could get flystrike while I am gone if there is poop in his fur.

My last concern is that they will not be able to get Mickey into his carrier if he does need to be taken to the vet for any reason. He hides and runs around the room and makes it very difficult to catch him, so I know that they would likely not be able to catch him.

While I wish that I could bring Mickey with me, I truly think that it would be a very difficult transition for him and I would be worried about him going back into a serious episode of stasis like he did the last time that we moved. I will only be 3.5 hours away from home, so I will be coming home for breaks (fall break, Christmas break, etc.). I plan to trim his nails and groom him well when I come home for breaks. If it were best for Mickey to come to school with me, I would bring him in a heartbeat, but I feel like it would really upset him and stress him out.

I feel like I am probably really overthinking this and I should not be so worried about the worst-case scenario while I am away at school, but I am definitely anxious about not being with Mickey to take care of him, but I feel that it is in his best interest to keep him at home where he is comfortable. Thank you in advance for any reassurance or advice that you can provide!