What temp is too hot for a rabbit? Cool down tips?

[Mikey]

Long story short, i live in norther USA in a small apartment with my boyfriend and our 3 little bunnies. We live on the second floor and for some reason the people below us insist on blasting their heating even while its getting warmer outside. This causes our apartment to heat up very fast. Within about 45 minutes, our apartment went from about 70degrees to 82degrees because the people below us kicked on their heat. Ive got a netherland dwarf, a mini rex, and a small dutch rabbit. Were trying to save money on AC bills (moving into our own house by the end of the year, so were saving every bit of money we can), so we have it set to 80 and have a fan going and all times. While awake, we keep the patio door open and put the fan in front of it to kick in the colder air

Badger, the dutch, doesnt mind the heat one bit. His fur is very thin and kind of short. Blue, the mini rex, doesnt like it, but he deals with it. He drinks a lot of water when its this hot, so we refill it often and add some ice to his dish (loves chewing on ice). Bombur, the nethie, has the roughest time. His fur starts to feel weird (almost like hes been sweating, but i dont think rabbits can sweat) and he breathes a bit heavier than in the colder seasons. He drinks more often like Blue, but doesnt like ice in his water (we think his teeth might be a bit sensitive to the cold of it). We tried an ice water bottle before, but they chewed through it while we were sleeping and made a huge mess causing in Blue being stressed out (hes OCD when it comes to having a clean cage, but that doesnt stop him from making a mess in the first place). During the day, its easier to help them cool down. But im not sure what to do to help them while we are sleeping

Is 80degrees even safe for a rabbit? Should we cave for them and turn the AC a bit lower? What are some good tips and sticks to help keep our bunnies comfortable when its hot? Long term (few hour long) ideas to help keep the bunnies cool while we are asleep?

[Azerane]

While rabbits do prefer it a bit cooler, 80 is not a dangerous temperature for them. I believe 86F is generally what’s listed as a dangerous temperature for rabbits. Many can handle this temp, but prolonged exposure to it can be troublesome. Of course, anything much higher than that can be extremely dangerous in short periods of time.

So while I’m sure your rabbits would love if the room was a bit cooler, the current temperature shouldn’t cause them any harm at all. In terms of helping them to keep cool, frozen water bottles which you’ve tried, you can drape a damp towel over the cage and direct a fan towards it which will help keep the air cool, just make sure they have an out of the breeze place to hide in case they feel too cool as well. Ceramic tiles are also good, they stay cooler than other surfaces and some bunnies like to lie on them, you can also put them in the fridge or freezer for a time to get them extra cool before putting them in your rabbit’s cage.

[Mikey]

Ok thank you for your help! I didnt think about the ceramic tile; thats a good idea. Ill have to get some next time we go out shopping in a few days. They have a small battery operated fan faced semi towards them while we sleep, and we haul the bigger fan out of the bedroom when we wake up

[Mikey]

Ok thank you for your help! I didnt think about the ceramic tile; thats a good idea. Ill have to get some next time we go out shopping in a few days. They have a small battery operated fan faced semi towards them while we sleep, and we haul the bigger fan out of the bedroom when we wake up

[Azerane]

No worries Glad I could help.

[Author]

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