Keeping rabbits cool - please help its about 40 degrees here !

Hey guys, in Australia we're in the middle of a heatwave and I am worrying about how our Bunnies (Miko and Mila) will cope...

Yesterday it was over 40 degrees (Celsius) and when we went to go check on our fur babies they were very lethargic and sick looking...

We bought them inside and gave tepid bath than placed them back in their indoor cage in the lounge room with the air conditioning on.

This helped them lots and they've been in the cool since although our problem is that it isn't economical keeping the air conditioning on and they're very in the way where they are...

Is there any way to keep my fur-babies cool when they are outside in their big run?

Fans, cold waterbottles damp cloths lots of water.

Frozen water bottles, ice cubes in their water bowls, and hang up as many cold wet cloths/rags in and around the hutch as you can. Mist their ears with water. Soak their veggies in cold water.

If the heat is sustained and stays around 40, then you will need to do more than the usual frozen water bottles, etc. Lops are even more susceptible to heat stroke.
Next time, don't give them a full bath as that can severely stress them too. Just cool their ears down since that is how they lose heat.

In those high temps, they really should be kept indoors. You can check my site for tips on how to keep a rabbit indoors. Mine are indoors 24/7 since we are in the Sonoran desert and also have high temps for more than half the year.

I live in Aus too I give my bunnies a water bottle each so I have 6 I also give an extra in each hutch for the guinea pigs... When I am at home I wipe them done with cold towels (wet towels) and I also give them as much Shade as possible I bring them inside too... With the air con and fan on


BunBun.... Breeding quality mini lops since 1999

When it gets hot here we place a frozen water bottle in their hutch so they can lean against it and get cool

It's always around 40 in Saudi Arabia...Except today.
If there's a way to keep them inside, I've found that if my ac has been running all night and day and I have to go out for a few hours I can turn it off and it won't get too hot for them inside. I've pretty much turned my bunny into an indoor only bunny(he gets limited balcony time and always has the option to come back in) When we had him outside part time we would leave the glass door open and have the ac running. He would usually lean against the screen and enjoy the cool air, plus lots of shade, frozen water, and a fan.

thanks everyone !! the heat is easing but ill keep your tips in mind for next time xx

Personally, I don't recommend keeping rabbits outdoors for many reasons, but temperature conditions are the main one.

Rabbits get heat exhaustion fairly quickly. We lost power last summer for quite a few hours and it got up to 80F in our apartment. I had to go buy bags of to fill containers with to keep my rabbits cool, as they started losing fur within three hours of the AC turning off.

Lots and lots of frozen water bottles and shade are the best things if they have to be outside, but I recommend bringing them into cool air if it gets too hot again.

miko said:

thanks everyone !! the heat is easing but ill keep your tips in mind for next time xx

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Marble tiles stay cooler than room temperature. I bought 2, 12 inch squared tiles from the local hardware store. They were $4 per tile. I put them in Sophie's condo on the bottom floor and she loves laying on them. When it's been really hot, I put a frozen water bottle on the corner of one tile and it makes both tiles very cold! The only issue is, the water bottles have a lot of condensation as they're melting so it does leave a puddle of water that you have to wipe up periodically. Otherwise I feel it's a great solution plus bunnies seem to like laying on hard surfaces.