How To Care For Rabbits In The Heat Of Summer?

Did you ever notice your bunny on hot sunny days? If you observe them closely, you will see that they become less active and exhausted. During summer, they can’t handle heat up to 75 degrees Fahrenheit and can begin to experience heat-related stress. Even bunnies can suffer from heat stroke due to excessive heat. Runny nose, fast breathing, flared nostrils, red ears, lethargy, and convulsions are the initial signs of heat stroke. If you see any of these signs in your bunny, you should immediately seek veterinary help. Otherwise, rabbits can lose their lives due to excessive heat in summer. Thus, it’s crucial to take better care of them during summer days and do everything possible to keep them cool and calm.

In this article, we will discuss some tips on how to keep rabbits cool in the summer.

Tips to Keep Rabbits Cool

Hutch in Shade

Rabbits experience most heat stress when they are in direct sunlight, so ensure your bunny’s hutch is in the shade. Try to place the hutch under trees or in the shade of buildings. You can also provide shade to your bunny with awnings, sun umbrellas, or shade sails where natural shade is unavailable. If your bunny hutch is indoors, don’t keep the bunny in direct sunlight. Instead, make their homes in cool garages or basements so rabbits can get some relief from the heat.

Brush Rabbit Coats

Like humans, rabbits don’t sweat to release their heat; they shed fur to cool down. You can help them in this process by combing the bunny coats regularly so they can easily shed fur from their bodies.

Trim Bunny Coats

Bunnies with long, shiny hair may be your favorite, but in summer, you should part with those bunny hairs. Give them a short summer haircut so bunnies can release heat from their bodies.

Damp Rabbit Ears

Rabbits lose heat through their ears. To expedite this process, you can dampen your rabbit’s ears with a wet towel or spray water behind the ears, but only if they are comfortable with that.

Frozen Bottles

Place two frozen water bottles in your bunny’s hutch so bunnies can lean on the bottles and stay cool during summer. Always have extra frozen bottles in your refrigerator and rotate them with the previous ones periodically.

Ceramic Tiles

Ceramic tiles remain cool even in warm weather, so you can give ceramic tiles to your bunny to lay on and relax. Also, you can cool down the tile in a refrigerator for 15 minutes for better results.

Give More Fresh Greens

Wash fresh greens in cool water to give your bunnies fresh leaves from the fridge so they can enjoy a refreshing, cool treat, but don’t give them too many greens to eat.

Provide Fresh Water in Hutch

Water keeps bunnies hydrated and cool. Ensure there is enough water available for your bunnies in the hutch to prevent dehydration. You can also add ice cubes to bunny water or provide ice-cold water. Another important tip is to change the bunnies’ water a couple of times a day so they always have fresh and cool water.

Give Bunny Personal Fan

Place a fan in your bunny’s shelter so they can get a cool airflow in summer, but don’t blow the air directly on the bunny’s faces and cover the fan wires so your furry friend cannot chew them. It is better to use a ceiling fan to avoid all these wire problems.

Air-Conditioned Room

If your budget allows, provide an air-conditioned room for your rabbit and keep it running all day long.

Warning

Discourage your bunnies from jumping in water tubs or pools. Your bunnies are not swimmers, so jumping in water can be very dangerous for them.

These are some tips and tricks to keep your bunny cool in the summer. Thank you all for reading in Cutierab. If you found this helpful please share it and comment to share your thoughts and opinions about how to cool your rabbit in hot weather.