Hot bunny

[ChannyPea]

Agghh! Help! This bank holiday weekend has been really hot on England. Not as hot as it could be and not as hot as other countries but still pretty hot. Its verging about 25-27 celcius and I’m concerned for my bun. I have wrapped ice packs and put the where she usually lays but she’s simply not interested. My main concern is I put some ice cubes in her water bowl for her to chew and for the ice to melt into nice cold water. I popped a picture on Facebook and one of my non bun owning friends has commented saying it’s bad for them and can send them into shock? Is this true?! Because most places I looked for advice on keeping my bun cool, have recommended ice? But rabbit welfare said it can give them digestion issues? The information is so damn contradicting and it’s really starting to Frustrate me!! *Huff* I’m trying to help her but everywhere I look its freaking different. I’ve put frozen cloths down too but she just throws them away from her. Her ears are really warm and I’m just trying to help her. But it seems everything I do Is wrong *cry face* I have Fans down too but they don’t seem to be doing much other than blowing got air around. Its just ridiculous. What can I do? And are the ice cubes okay providing she’s supervised?

T.I.A

[Bam]

Ice cubes could cause tummy trouble if the bun gobbles them up. Most buns wont do that, and if shes supervised, you could stop her from attempting that.

We have some cooling tips on our info-page: https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/cooling-tips/

The wet cloth + fan tip is really great  it’s what you do for hyperthermic humans too. You can also lightly spray the bun’s ears with water, just a fine mist, because the ears are, as you know, the bunny body’s major “cooling stations” where blood is being sent out to cool off. I have wet my buns ears gently during hot days, because he doesn’t appreciate being sprayed water on. If you spray, hold the bun’s ear gently and spray water on them, dont spray the whole bun from a distance, because that is generally not considered very nice by rabbits.

Some buns find iced water bottles really offensive. Others love them. But even if the bun shuns the iced water bottles, they will still lower the ambient temperature, especially if you put a fan on them.

[ChannyPea]

Ahhh brilliant! 🙂 Thank you! I have ordered a misting bottle to Try the technique suggested above. Also would never leave her unattended with ice as I’d be paranoid she might choke. I’ll just be extra visualant and make sure that she only has a nibble at the odd one before it melts in to nice cold water. 🙂 This Forum is so helpful. I find alot of other sites super contradicting and as a new bunny owner in lockdown, its frustrating lol Trying to litter tain her at the moment too and it’s proving futile. Hahaha but I can’t get her spayed yet due to restrictions so just having to sort of put up with it, whilst maintaining dominance. Bunny’s are tricky little fellows! But so lovely and sweet, you cant stay mad at them for long at all lol Thank you for the tips, it means alot 🙂 Take care in these trying times! X

[Gina.Jenny]

Our buns wont accept frozen bottles or being sprayed. What we do (we have four rescues all 5+ years old) is to fill a watering can with luke warm, not cold water, and give a brief gentle shower, like being caught in a rain shower. Not a soaking, just a little drizzle. After a few hot days snickers actually comes up when she sees the watering can, so I take that as a sign of bun approval.

[DanaNM]

The wet cloth + fan is a great tip! We do that for ourselves sometimes lol.

My buns really like frozen ceramic tiles (although they don’t last as long). Or I’ve seen a trick where you put an icepack under a terracotta pot base, and then a towel over it so it doesn’t get all wet with condensation.

I will also occasionally just dampen my fingers and moisten the buns ears that way vs spraying them.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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