Traveling with a rabbit???

[Jhulbe]

Hey guys. I’m going from central Arkansas to northern Wisconsin for 3 weeks over new years.

Everyone me and the girlfriend know will be either going with us or somewhere else. So, will it be okay to travel 9 hours in a car with a bunny?

We’re stayng in a house when we get there, we bought so fleece blankets to put in his cage.

Any tips? Hold his food till we stop?

[Adalaide]

I had considered driving to PA with Freya, but that would be 2 1/2 days so we decided not to. If it’s just 9 hours as long as the temperature is comfortable and you can buckle in the carrier I don’t see why it would be a huge problem. Certainly don’t hold food though, especially for that long. Just pile some hay in a corner and get little heavy crocks that won’t slide around for food and water or a water bottle if your bunny uses them. I had actually considered building a “condo” out of cubes in the back seat for Freya to have room if we decided to drive, but I don’t think I’d go to that extreme for just a 9 hour drive.

[Jhulbe]

Yeah, he uses a water bottle that attaches to the cage.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’ve done lots of travelling with them-short and longer. And yes-I’ve done longer then nine hours

I adopted Chuck in Vancouver which is twelve hours (just driving not including gas and food stops) away. I brought my two, Rupert and Kahlua for the ride-and to do bonding on the way home. (all and all it was about 14 hours in a car)

At any rate…some tips

1) Bring water from home so it tastes the same
2) add water to apple juice and syringe feed some water/juice mix along the way-say every three hours or so.
3) always bring their favorite food-they’re going to eat their favorite food-so if it’s parsley stock up
4) If it’s warm, tape some sheets or pillow case in the back windows to keep streaming sunlight out
5) No long rest stops. Sorry it’s all drive thru food, no restaurants-they cannot stay in the car by themselves-they can easily overheat of freeze. Do not make this mistake-soooo many people lose their animals from leaving them in a car -they didn’t think it would happen. Don’t let it happen. Just go to a drive thru. No longer then 5-10 minutes left in a car that’s not running and is unattended.
6) I found folding down my seats so my trunk was accesible, and packing the floor between back and front seats gave them lots of room to play.
I had them loose, with the bottom of a carrier as a ‘litter box’
7) They will adjust to the car after a few hours Rabbits adjust really well.
8) bring a first aid kit-critical care, ovol (or other semethicone containing gas med) poloysporin etc-don’t leave home for any length of time without it
9) Bring anything from home that thye know-it makes it more familiar

Let me know if you have any other questions

[Elrohwen]

I’ve travelled with Otto for 5 hour trips a few times, and this winter we’ll be doing 8 hours. I’ve never had a problem!

K&K gave you some great tips. I would add to make sure you line the bottom of the carrier with a lot of absorbent materials. My bun pees in his carrier ever single time, and if I don’t have enough to soak it up there’s a huge mess and he spends all his time trying not to sit in it. He doesn’t seem to have that instinct that dogs do to not pee in a small space. I use newspaper, covered in paper towels, sometimes a piece of fleece, then some hay in the back.

I honestly wouldn’t worry about water too much for a 9 hour drive. I would offer it a few times during stops, but I wouldn’t attach it to the carrier – water bottles leak like crazy in the car. Honestly, my bun will go 15 hours at home without taking a drink (and as humans we can easily go 9 hours as well). The problem with water is it often gets all over and makes a mess if you leave it in while driving. This will be much more uncomfortable for him than having to wait a few hours between rest stops. My bun won’t even drink during rest stops anyway. I would put some nice veggies in that he can eat if he feels the need for some water. Something like romaine lettuce will hold a lot of water and keep him hydrated (if he needs it) without making a mess. K&K’s syringe idea is good too, if your bun will put up with it.

I would give hay and some veggies, but save the pellets til you get there. He won’t miss it and they’ll probably just roll arond and make a mess.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

K&K’s syringe idea is good too, if your bun will put up with it.

I just pulled over at gas stations and syringe’d the water/apple juice with them tranced. Every stop I had some kid coming over wondering what “THAT” is (Kahlua doesn’t look like a bunny and Rupert’s quite large for a bunny so they were pretty intrigued)

You might even, since you have time, get them used to syringe=juice (ALWAYS make sure it’s 100% juice-no SunnyD ) that would make it easier on the trip.

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

When we took Chubs on the 7 hour ride to Kc’s parents, we used the “commercial cage” which now acts as his traveling cage. The carrier is just too small for that long, in my opinion. For shorter trips, we usually let him have free run of the back of the forerunner. The seats fold down so there’s no floor to fall on and it’s a nice sized area. Then we can have the regular litter box, food and water dishes, and a hide out. However, that’s just a situation that works with this car and on a trip with little baggage. When I move in a few weeks, it will be travel cage all the way to Oregon (probably about 27 hours but with overnight stops in houses.) Oh! And if it’s very warm, aside from blocking off the streaming sunlight and keeping the car at a comfy temperature, put a nice refrigerated (or frozen with a towel) water bottle in their space for them to lay against if they get hot. It’s an instant cool-down and if it’s a frozen bottle, they may take a little sip of water from the condensation that builds up!

[Monkeybun]

you’re moving to oregon? 😮

[Jhulbe]

Thanks for the tips.

What’s the deal with juice? I’ve never given him juice before.

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