Road Trip with bunny

[tangy07]

I am driving from Toronto to Quebec City for the weekend to attend the Winter Carnival. The drive is about 8 hrs. I am hoping to bring Peanut along as well. She never been in a long car drive other than the time we took her home from Hamilton which was about 2 hrs. I have a Subaru Forester with a big trunk, i was wondering if i can convert it into a play area for her while i am driving. Will it be safe or should i leave her in the carrying cage? 

[tobyluv]

A rabbit should not be loose in the car, even if you have made a special area for them. A rabbit should remain in their carrier, which should be secured in the back seat. For that long of a trip, you will need to stop and check on her frequently and make sure that she is okay. Most rabbits are homebodies and do not enjoy travel. That long of a trip could stress her out and make her go off of her feed.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Do you have the possibility of borrowing a dog crate for the journey?

It’s just that I have the same problem when I travel with my buns – you want them to be safe, but travelling in a travel carrier (the one I use to go to the vet’s) really doesn’t give them room to move, at all…

I have a dog crate which I put a litter tray in and their food and even a bowl of water – they can move around (which they do), flop and generally stretch their legs but I know they are 100% secure in there and can’t get out. It makes my driving safer too not having to keep an eye on them.

Peanut certainly should not be freeroam, even if you ‘think’ you have secured off the trunk.
She might (yes, she might) get free and worse case scenario, get under the driver’s feet and cause a crash.

You know your bun – but a dog crate is a good compromise.

Of course, in the awful (extremely unlikely! ) event of an car accident an animal is the safest in a small carrier so the distance the animal gets thrown before hitting something is small and therefore injuries less. but somewhere you’ve got to find a compromise of max comfort in the safest environment for your animal.

Something my buns do not do is eat whilst the car is moving. But they do as soon as we stop for a bit, so regular stops (I reckon one an hour) should be planned in your journey using yummy scrummy treats and food to keep her GI moving at each pause.

Another thing is that you are going just for a weekend?… So Peanut will not have much time to acclimatise to new surroundings and get back to eating normally ?

A return journey like that will not help any gut slowdown she may have (no time to get back eating properly) and then a repeat journey in the opposite direction will not help that at all.

Could you not find anyone to bunny sit ? That really would be the ideal situation and you can have a worry-free Winter Carnival !!

[tangy07]

thank you for your advise. I will see if i can find a bunny sitter.

[Thekillergreece]

Traveling with a bunny was always a no-no for me, especially at summers. Often you may leave the urge to calm your rabbit down or something that can leave you stressed or uncomfortable. I used to drop my bunny to a vet nurse who would take her to her home for few days (Obviously you pay, yeah), so I think that would be a more choice!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I def wouldn’t take bunny on that long of a car ride just for the weekend. Traveling can cause a lot of stress.

[Wascally Wabbits]

You can find a pet sitter with rabbit experience. Your rabbit vet or local rabbit rescue may also do boarding. My local rabbit rescue even let me put in a cam to watch the bunnies.

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