HOT weather

[jacki fullerton]

How do you keep your bunny cool in the 100 + temps in California…..no airconditioner, temps over 100 in LA.  My daughters bunny is breathing heavy and she is worried….she’s tried putting a frozen water bottle by him, he moves it….she put him in a cool bath, he freaked out…. She feeds him cold grapes and lettace to keep him hydrated, she puts water on the tips of his ears. He has a fan on him all day, swirling the hot air around.  

Any more suggestions, we don’t want him to have a heat stroke….. Help…..

Thank goodness it’s cooled down in San Francisco, however, it looks like this heat wave will be in LA for a couple more days……

[jacki fullerton]

OK, I just saw the great ideas on binkybunny, I will make sure my daughter see’s this as soon as she gets home from work….

[JK]

Yes it’s been extremely unbearable here!  LA is worse I’m sure.  I’m assuming the rabbit is indoors!  If not, get him in asap! I keep all the shades closed and refill the water bottle with really cold water.  I tried frozen bottles and Edson just kicked them aside. I’m also using a fan but it does just circulate hot air.  Yes do look at the tips on the home page. Many of them just don’t work for Edson I have to say. Edson sleeps on a towel instead of the cooler floor. He hates the water on his ears. I am ready to buy a small air conditioner if this keeps up! Can she get a portable air conditioner or one that fits in the window?  I started looking at them and you can get a good one for around $100-140. We have never had this many hot days in our area so this is unusual but maybe this is part of the changing climate. Good luck. I feel so bad for the little guys.

Edited: Do not under any circumstances give him a cool bath! Rabbits should rarely be bathed. It is definitely not good for them.

[RabbitPam]

Glad you read the section on the home page.

Don’t know if this is mentioned there or not, but as an alternative to water on the ears, I used to run a wash cloth under very cold water, then wring it out thoroughly so it was cool and damp without any drops of moisture. Then I wrapped his ears (not tight) like a little turban. If he didn’t shake it off, it felt good to him. He’d actually sit for several minutes with it on, and his ears were cooled off.

 

[jacki fullerton]

Well, it’s cooled nicely here in San Francisco, unfortunately, it is still blazing hot in LA.  The power went off last night, so my daughter took her bunny to a friends house, where there is air conditioning, and they spent the night    It will be another hot one today down there, I believe she will stay in the air con at her friends apt, as long as she can to keep Bobby bunny cool. 

Thanks for the info on the bath, Bobby certainly didn’t like it in the tub…..he slipped, then he peed, and he just sat up on his hind legs till she took him out.   It wasn’t deep, just an inch or so, but he really wasn’t happy in there.  Poor guy.

When she gets back home, perhaps she will try the turban on his ears.  Anything to cool him down.  It’s very scary when their breathing is fast and shallow.

 

[Sarita]

Also try a piece of tile in his living area – my rabbits love to lie on the tile – I think it helps keep them cool even though I have a/c.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I put frozen bottles in yesterday as it was really warm. First they attacked the bottles (digging them LOL) but I looked in later and they were both sprawled out by them PHEW they got the idea! It’s much cooler today as it’s raining. I was thinking of giving Rupert a shave as he’s a little chubby and quite furry and I think he has a harder time in the heat…What do you guys think about shaving him -mostly his tummy area just to help him cool off?

[BinkyBunny]

Hi Jacki,

Hopefully the cooling tips helped. It is true that putting a bunny in cool water can actually cause harm. (more info on the cooling tips page about that) But another way to use water to cool off is to wet your hand and rub it over your bunny’s face. An oscillating fan will help cool off a bunny if their face and ears are wet, and/or if there is a wet sheet over their pen, as well as a frozen water bottle nearby. The air flowing over these things helps cool by evaporation, otherwise a fan just blowing just blows hot air.

Have any of the tips helped so far?

[Princess*Smudge]

I found that putting an old sock over top of the frozen water bottle helped. Smudge really didn’t like the water bottle until I tried this. It is still nice and cool and a little more comfortable for snuggling. I just leave a couple inches on the bottom uncovered for licking off the drops as it melts.

[jacki fullerton]

Thanks for the great tips everyone, Bobby’s staying at the airconditioned apt until it cools in LA and he can go back home.

[skunklionshow]

The heat is definately very frustrating.  We had our first heat wave a few weeks ago.  It was 90’s plus for about 5 days.  The first 80’s days I just used fans and cooling areas, but then I become so paranoid and freaked out that I’ve been keeping the AC on since.  I’m sure my electric bill is going to be a real fright, but I figure if it gives me more peace of mind, the better.   My job is crazy enough w/o worry about my bunnies.

My classroom did not have AC and being on the 3rd floor w/ only 1/2 the windows that would open about 6″.  The rabbits definately appreciate the tile floors, some days my kids did too.  We also used frozen water bottles & put ice cubes in their water bottles.  At Ikea & the dollar store they sell the water bottle ice cube trays.  I love the turban idea…that’s brilliant.  However, w/ the low price of a 5,000 btu AC ($100-150) it might be better in the long run.  I’m thinking that global warming is not alleviate this problem.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Jacki, too bad you don’t live closer, I would give you a great deal on an older but still working well 8,000 BTU air conditioner I have sitting around.

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