Staying cool in the summer

[ilovelionheads]

Hi, does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep rabbits cool during hot weather? That is, besides blasting the AC lol. So far I have been trying to make sure they have lots of cool water, keep them away from any hot, direct sun and have ordered some ceramic tiles in case they want to lay on those to cool off.

Thanks!

[DanaNM]

There are lots of handy tips here: https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/cooling-tips/

My buns seem to really like ceramic tiles when it’s hot, more so than frozen bottles. Bottles last a lot longer though. They also like to lay in front of the fan. 🙂

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[ilovelionheads]

When it comes to frozen bottles, what do you do with them? Do you wrap them in a blanket first or just lay them out?

[DanaNM]

I usually just put one in their pen, but some bunnies do seem to like them more when wrapped in a towel.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[coco_princessbuns19]

Hi so what i do is i add 1-2 ice cubes. It depends on what type of of water bowl you have. And sometimes i get a fan that goes around something like that. And i put a frozen water bottle near them! Hopefully this helps

[pinkiemarie]

I’m just going to be honest here, I get south facing sun and AC isn’t that common here in homes but I bought one just for them because my house gets insanely hot. I don’t think any amount of special tricks would have worked when it’s 100 degrees in here. That said there are these chinchilla cooling stones that are like $8 that might work and I’ve been really tempted to get a couple for the really hot days. You might be able to get bathroom or kitchen tiles from a home improvement store but I feel like the material the tile is made out of might impact how well it retains the cold, and I’m not sure what type would be best.

[BZOO]

Thanks for the tip on the chinchilla cooling stones. Looks like just what I’ve been looking for.

Chewy has them by 3, get one free, so I ordered 4.

Hope the bunnies like.  We only have a window a/c and sometimes it just can’t keep up.

[NalaBunny]

Another thing you can do is take a wet cotton cloth and hang it on a part of the cage and put a fan facing it. This is almost a makeshift ac just of the bunnies. Just make sure there’s an area for the bunny to get away from this cold in case it’s too much. Also, you can make a snug-a-bun but with frozen water bottles. If you can’t do that then I recommend freezing a large water bottle and putting it on the side of the cage or a wall and laying a blanket over it. This almost creates a cold bed.

[prince dorian the bun]

dealing with a PNW record breaking heat wave and have tried some of these and worried it’s not enough. I had tried to get a portable A/C as soon as I saw the weather forecast, but it won’t be arriving until  after the worst of the heat. June is usually 70s maybe an odd day in the low 80s, so just not equipped to deal with the heat. What are early signs to look for for heat exhaustion in buns. Right now Dorian seems ok, though he is not a big fan of my damp sheet & fan rig up and is hiding in his cottage. His ears are a tad warm, but not too bad and he is reactive though seems a bit cranky. He doesn’t like the ice bottle (it cracked) and is avoiding that as well. I am managing to keep his room around 85F.

I am worried as though today is hitting the mid to upper 90s F, tomorrow is in the 100s. No one I know has air conditioning or I would ask them to take him in for a few days.

[pinkiemarie]

A few things! Depending on where you are in the PNW I guess your humidity might be low enough to get am evaporative cooler/swamp cooler instead of an AC and it might work well. You need less than 60% humidity max and you can probably get one of those faster than the ac or possibly improvise with a wet towel in front of a fan or something. Idk if that would actually work. I have a little mini one blowing directly on my buns and they love it. I’m in Western MT and saw a weather report predicting 106 next week and I have never seen it that hot! If you have any windows that get direct sun, get blackout curtains and it should help a lot with keeping it cooler. If it gets into the 90s where the buns are it likely will be ok, just keep a fan on them, keep cold water available and do frozen bottles and all that. If any room in your house is cooler than where they are you can also try moving them for a few days.

Here is some info on heat exhaustion so you can watch for it.

 

Recognizing Heat Stroke in Your Pet Rabbit

[prince dorian the bun]

thanks @pinkiemarie thanks for the advice! I have box fan blowing at damp towels and a smaller one into a bowl of ice & water (progressively more water) and we blocked all the windows that we could. Honestly can’t tell if the evaporation cooler it is working… our humidity is about 50%, so it may be struggling. His room is the coolest in the house, and he is currently laying on his floor next to an ice bottle (probably need to get a 2nd one set up here). Yesterday I discovered our duplexes basement is actually staying under 80F, he doesn’t like it down there as it’s also the neighbors laundry room and he can hear them walking and such above so will wait to take him there until it get’s over 86F in his room or he starts looking like he is not tolerating it. It peaks at 5pm, so definitely during that time.

 

The weather is crazy lately, was in Phoenix for family emergency just a couple weeks ago and it was 117F which is record for them for as long as it lasted, at least there they had A/C though. I am just counting down the days until Tuesday when it starts to drop back down. Also my A/C unit will arrive next week! It’s a little portable one, but at least then I can have a cool bunny!

[pinkiemarie]

Yeah at 50% I bet that fan and towel combo isn’t doing that much. Our humidity is closer to 20% so it makes a big difference here. When you have to take him down there I hope he doesn’t get too scared! If it’s that much cooler it will be much better for him when it’s really hot!

[prince dorian the bun]

He is better about being in basement today.  There are lots of noises from appliances and also neighbors above, so he is a little more anxious than usual but he ate his salad and has been snuggling with his stuffed elephant. It’s now 90f inside and not supposed to cool down much so debating just keeping him here until tomorrow evening when the heatwave is supposed to break a bit. I am thinking a little stress is better than the heat? It’s around 76f in the basement so a big difference.

[pinkiemarie]

Yeah I would probably keep him there as long as the stress isn’t stopping him from eating!

[prince dorian the bun]

@pinkiemarie – he seems to be happy as long as we hang out with him, which honestly is a little awkward. He has been eating, pooping and flopping and even did a mini-binky. He also seems to have done okay spending the night there. It’s going to be even hotter today, so glad he has some where safe to be. Hoping he can put up with the limited space for a bit longer.

 

[prince dorian the bun]

Here is Dorian’s little set up. Technically I just have a small storage area and this is mainly my neighbors space, but luckily they had no objections to him camping out as long as they were able to access there washer/dryer. Hoping for a temporary set up it’s big enough.

[pinkiemarie]

<p style=”padding-left: 40px;”>That looks great for a temporary space until your AC gets there!</p>

[Cinnamon Bun]

Oooh, Doriannn! I bet all the neighbors love him! That’s an adorable set up, by the way, even if it’s temporary. And it def looks big enough. I’m working on Binkie’s pen space and it’s challenging, because I just want everything to look cute and aesthetic, lol ♥ 

I hope that A/C gets to you quickly!

 

[prince dorian the bun]

A/C arrived day after heat dissipated, oh well will be nice to have! And I totally get the aesthetic part. I was worried about the dirt… I mean I am pretty sure it wouldn’t hurt him but he is a very clean bun and refused to step on the concrete and didn’t like his little white paws were not as pristine as usual.  Dorian is now very happy to be back to being a freeroam bunny, though he tired himself out earlier doing zoomies and has been napping in his room for couple hours now.

[Jadeo09]

My rabbit also loves bottles of ice and tiles to lie on. She also likes the metal table legs. Metal stays cooler than tiles even.

Reflective window film is amazing it reduces over 65% solar. It’s been a god send, if you can get hold of it…

 

 

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