new living situation – whats best for bun?

[lindsay715]

 i had been living back home for a while when wesley came into my life, but my job and school are both necessitating a move about half an hour away.  i know from reading online how to make the move more comfortable for him, so i’m pretty prepared on that front.  

the problem is that due to family issues i will have to return home for a day or two maybe every other weekend.  my first instinct was to set up two homes and bring wes along for these trips, as he is very comfortable in the car and calm overall.  after mulling it over i’m afraid it would be too stressful for him to go back and forth.  he is free-roam, but i feel a bit strange leaving him in a flat overnight with no one around (over-protective much? )  so right now the idea that i am entertaining is setting up some kind of pen for him at our new home while i am away.  not totally sure if this is necessary or not.  

anyone have similar circumstances they’ve handled with a bunny? 

thanks & happy holidays

lindsay and wes xx

[Monkeybun]

If it is more than one night, I would take him with you. If there’s a problem while you are gone, a vet is needed as fast as possible, not 2 days later. But for a single night it should be okay to leave him at home.

[bunnyfriend]

I second what Monkeybun said.

[FrankieFlash]

My Bun travels a similar amount. Sometimes it takes him a day to adjust, sometimes he’s fine right away. But either way, he’ll be fine with lots of veggies

[bunnnnnnie!]

I think he’ll be fine for the travelling.  Zeus has come with me to visit my parents enough now that he’s pretty much immediately comfortable when we get there.  As long as you keep both environments the same all the time (ie, keep him in the same room with the same dishes, same litterbox, same toys, etc), I bet he’ll be ok with it. 

[Elrohwen]

I agree that leaving him home alone for one night is fine – we’ll leave around 5pm and not come home until 11am the next day and the buns are fine. For longer than that, I think bringing him with you is a good idea – since he’s a calm traveler he should be fine with it. I know I can take my Otto anywhere to any new house and he settles in right away, so some bunnies are fine with it.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think the easiest thing is to say don’t move him. And 24-48 hrs alone is nothing -you can easily plan food and water for them for that long with no problem.

Just on safety for travel-, my vet, travelled 7 hours every weekend with her guinea pig and german shepherd from Saskatoon to Edmonton. They loved it and were fine-her GS passed at 16 years old an gp made it longer than gp’s should. Travelling stresses them when travelling is not done right. And it can become a habit just like anything else. I had NO issues travelling 12+ hours with my crew to adopt (that was one way) they were totally fine. I think you need to think about who your bunny is, how you will travel and let your gut and heart decide. You’ll know if you have a travelling bunny or not.

[lindsay715]

i’m glad to hear that some of you have positive experiences traveling with your buns… i think what i’ll do is see how he handles the move, and take it from there. wesley is not at all timid, but i guess traveling just seems like it would be inherently stressful for rabbits. glad to hear that doesn’t have to be the case.

if any of you have tips on keeping traveling buns happy, let me know (:

[Molzy]

I travel with my bun whenever I need to go home. I moved 3 hours away from my family last year for graduate school, and when I go home it tends to be for a week long visit, so he comes with me. I keep a dog kennel and litterbox at my moms house so that all I need to bring is Riley. He travels fine in a carrier with a blanket on the bottom, and I usually don’t offer food or water for the trip since it’s only 3 hours long.

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