How to tell if rabbit is cold??

[Abigail Ray]

I know that this has been asked before but my question(s) may be slightly different..maybe.

 It has been rainy and cold in my area recently so my house has been a little colder. The thermostat says 70 degrees, although it certainlyfeels colder right now, and I know that rabbits can handle very low temperatures. However, I am FREEZING cold in my house right now! I can’t help but wonder, if i am this cold, is she?? Her ears and fur feels cold to the touch but she is not acting any different. If I feel under her (when she lets me) she still feels warm but her ears are really cold sometimes. 

She has lots of cardboard tunnels and hideaways so she could escape any draft when the air comes on. 

I don’t have any kind of box with stuff that she could curl up in if she wanted. Should I add that?

What kind of behavior does a rabbit show when they are cold?

Are her ears a good indicator of whether or not it is too cold for her?

Thank you for any info you can give!

[ownedbybunnies315]

Rabbits can handle pretty low temperatures. One time the heater broke in my apartment in the middle of winter, and it got down to 55 degrees, and my bun was fine. She didn’t even want to sit anywhere near the temporary electric heater they gave me for my bedroom. Ears aren’t the best way to tell if a rabbit is too cold. They radiate excess heat through their ears, so cool ears just mean that the bun doesn’t have any excess heat to lose, not necessarily that they are too cold. Generally speaking, ears are a poor way to tell if a bun is too hot or too cold. I would be more worried about drafts than cold temperature, and if your bun has a way to keep away from drafts, she’s probably ok. Does she chew a lot? If she doesn’t have a tendency to chew on things like fleece, you can always toss a folded blanket or towel in a box into her area to snuggle with. If she’s a bun who likes to chew on blankets (like mine) then the box is probably fine without blankets or towels. I added a tightly woven rug to my bun’s box. Rabbits don’t often experience hypothermia due to cold temperatures unless they’re left outside. As long as she’s flopping out and has energy, she is fine. She wouldn’t flop out if she was trying to conserve heat. If you notice her doing the bunny loaf with her fur fluffed up more (to conserve heat), you could always try putting a cordless heating pad on the lowest setting in a towel in her area (under your supervision), and see if she’s even interested in warming up. Mine never are. They love the colder temperatures.

[Abigail Ray]

Thanks so much!! She has been a little more loafed up than usual but I also know that she does not like the sound of the rain against the roof and the windows so I think she is hiding a way because of that. Every now and then, especially when the rain lets up, she comes out of her house to stretch out and maybe run a few laps. 

She is a chewer and likes to tear up blankets and towels but I will put a heating pad in there like you said and see if she is interested in it at all. 

Thank you again! That was what I needed to know.

[vanessa]

70 is very comfy for a bunny. Even 60 or 50. I used to keep my bunnies outside in virginia. They are so much more comfy inside. I brung the thermostat down to 64 at night. My bunniesdidnt use the heat lamp i orovided them outside when the temps were in the teens. As long as they r not in a draught. Rain on a roof could make a bunny nervous. As long as they act comfy, flooped etc, they r fine. Older bunnies tend to benefit from extra heat. Im visiting in texas and the house here is cold, and i have my elderly bun with, and i have him covered with a blanket. He likes it.

[Abigail Ray]

Thanks Vanessa! I’ll be the first to admit that I am an anxious bunny mom so I am always making sure that things are ok for her! Since I have been so cold, it has made me worried about her but it sounds like she is just fine from what I gather from you and the previous post.

She definitely does not like the rain so I think that is why she has been acting a little funny – not the cold but the rain!

 Thanks so much for your help 

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