Indoor Rabbit in Winter

[Baby Perry]

I have an indoor rabbit for 7 months now. We have not had a winter together, but it’s getting cold up here in New York quickly. I have not been cold enough yet to put the heat on, but once it does get cold enough…will my bunny Perry be ok when I put the heat on? How hot is too hot? Will he get heatstroke if I put the heat on at night? His cage is not near the heater but the apartment is small so it warms up quickly. I never have it HOT but I do like it warm in the winter. How do I know if he’ll be ok? I’ve searched for an answer to this but haven’t found anything. Is this a silly question? 

[Mikey]

Most rabbits can handle up to 80F, which would also kill your heating bill anyway My three start to show signs of heat exhaustion around 75F so I always keep temps below that. For winter, we keep our heat around 60F to 65F. In summer, we keep the AC set to 70F

Note, that rabbits cannot handle more than a 10F temp change very well. You risk them getting sick if you raise or lower the heat too fast. When it comes time to kicking the heat on, try not to increase it more than 10F every 24 hours at the most until you reach the temp you want in your living space.

Edit: signs of heat problems: Drooling, excessive wetness around the mouth/nose, lethargy, heavy breathing, rapid breathing, (when its way too hot) seizures. If you notice any of these signs or fear your bunny might get too hot with your heat on, you can always add ice packs to his space or a fan on half of his space so he has an option to cool off

[Katie]

Mikey covered everything I think!  No question is a silly question when it concerns taking care of our precious fuzzies.(: Lol.  I gave Sirius a blanket in her cage (only part of it; the part Away from her litterbox, so she doesn’t associate it with peeing at all) to combat the cold some.  

[joea64]

I cut on the heat the other day in my own apartment, and have it set in the upper 60’s though I may lower it a degree or two this evening. I’d had the air conditioning on (cooling) up until then because it’d still been warm, but temps started dropping this week. The thermostat said approximately 65 F before I turned the heat on and now reads about 68 F. Panda and Fernando seem to be doing OK; they’re taking their evening salad slower the last few days, eating a bit at a time instead of downing it all in one go, but are enjoying their hay, pellets and treats as much as ever, and are frequently bunny-rugging with occasional zoomies and binkies.

[Author]

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