Traveling with your Bunny

Hi everyone,

I moved away from home to go to grad school and i got my little buns Molly here. She's the best!!
I do like to drive back home maybe once a month, or longer, which is approximately a 3.5-4 hour drive.

I was wondering how you guys travel with your bunny? I could probably fit her cage in the backseat of my car, but not sure if that's proper. I don't really want her cramped in a little carrier for that long.

So just wanted some opinions or advice. Thank you guys!

Melissa

A full sized cage can be dangerous if there is an accident. The bunny can be thrown around in the cage. Anything else in the cage such as a litter box or dishes can also be thrown around. A hard sided carrier is really the safest way to travel with a rabbit. A small cage could work as well if you wanted a bit more space.

Put a towel or something in the bottom of the carrier. Shavings or paper bedding would be easily kicked out and make a mess, a towel stays put. If your rabbit is a chewer, fleece may be a better option. A handful of hay in the back is good for them to nibble on. You can get dishes that attach to the bars for the carrier (bird coop cups can work as well) for water and pellets. I would not recommend a bottle of water as they tend to leak. Veggies can be good to provide hydration and entice your rabbit to eat something.

I travel with my rabbits fairly often fro agility. Even though most event are close by, it can still mean a couple hours in the carrier between driving there and setting up. For longer trips, they do fine in the carrier for even 4-5 hours. The longest trip was probably close to 7 hours in the carrier (maybe a bit longer by the time everything was set up) and they did fine for that too. I don't use huge carriers, but they are a comfortable size for the rabbit. My rabbits are fairly comfortable with travel anyway.

Try to get her used to the carrier before you travel. You could leave the door off and feed her in it or just let her explore it. Getting her used to the car can be good, short drives can help with that.

If you did want to use the cage or needed to bring the cage to keep her in, it could be a good idea to divide it in half so she doesn't have too much room. NIC grids or something else similar can work well and is easy to take out after.

I let them sit in passenger seat either with me or with my husband. You'll notice that they'll stretch their body besides you after they settle down, Either that or they would want to be in your lap with your hands wrapped around them securing them so that they won't throw themselves when roads are getting rough.
Or a collapsible carrier for small dogs
when we travel with 3 bunnies.

As an addition to the food bowls, if they're the bird ones, use some zip ties to latch them on if your bunny likes to 'rearrange' things. All of mine do, and to save myself the headache of cleaning up pellets and water I zip-tie them on. I can wriggle them out and back in, but they can't.

I took peter with me when On the train when I moved from Edinburgh to London and he was in a cat carry case. From investigating the best thing to do to make him comfortable I would suggest:

It's best if they have room to stretch out but the cage is small enough so they feel secure. Talking to him and head scratches helped to! I also popped a puppy training pad under his blanket so it soaked up any accidents so he wasn't all messy! I also had apple and carrot on hand for him to nibble on.

Some bunnies, like Peter, are great travellers, others get very stressed. Hopefully your bun will enjoy life on the road!

Lynne x


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Thanks everyone.
I think my game plan will be something like this. First i found this one, which seemed OK, what do you guys think?



I plan to have her familiarize herself with it as you guys suggested. And then take her on very short rides at first, and then gradually increase over time.
I'll have her carrier on the passenger seat, so i can look after her.
And i'll have her regular cage in the backseat, since she'll need it when we get there.

I'll get my hands on one of those puppy pads mentioned, so she doesnt hang out in her pee. And I'm trying to find those bird things mentioned to attached to the carrier. but no luck yet. Any recommendations where to find?

Molly appreciates your help!

That is not a carrier I would buy. The holes on the bottom make it hard to clean. I prefer ones that are solid on the bottom half. I do clean mine fairly often as well. Most rabbits don't need a carrier that is too tall unless they are a bigger breed and need more head space. I do also prefer ones that are easy to take apart as it does make it easier to get the rabbit out.

This is the kind I like. It does come apart easily, but you can also zip tie it closed if needed. There are a few sizes, so can accommodate most rabbits. The medium size can hold a small, corner litter box as well. They are also easy to find, most pet stores carry them and you can also usually find them at Walmart. It is usually easy to find them used as well.

We do 8 hour car trips to visit our families a couple times a year, and our Beatrix travels surprisingly well! She travels in a carrier just like the one Korr_and_Sophie posted, with the solid bottom. We use clip on food and water dishes, and the puppy pads to line the bottom of the carrier too.

One minor modification - we cut a piece of plastic light diffuser grate to fit the bottom of the carrier, put it on top of the puppy pads, then put a plastic resting mat on top of that (the grates aren't very smooth). Those 3 layers keep her fluff off any piddles, and poos roll into the squares in the grate.

Lhucky said:

I let them sit in passenger seat either with me or with my husband. You'll notice that they'll stretch their body besides you after they settle down, Either that or they would want to be in your lap with your hands wrapped around them securing them so that they won't throw themselves when roads are getting rough.
Or a collapsible carrier for small dogs
when we travel with 3 bunnies.

Click to expand...

Not a good idea to have animals loose in the car. If you're in an accident there's nothing keeping them from being thrown against the dash, back seat, or even through the windshield (if you're going highway speeds).

Always, always, always keep them in a carrier that's secured to the seat by a seatbelt.

Otherwise, to the OP, I think Katie summed it up pretty well. We've travelled up to nine hours with Gus and he's handled it very well. We have a solid bottomed carrier. I bought a pet bed that fits almost perfectly in the bottom. He generally holds his pee and won't eat or drink unless the car stops, so we just bring his dishes and litter box with us in a bag for when we take a rest stop.

Hope that helps!

Rue

I haven't traveled very far with my bunny outside of going to the vet thus far so I can't really comment on the traveling aspect of things, but in terms of pet carrier I went with this model http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006060VCU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 It's got a solid bottom but moreso than that, it has both a front loading door and a top loading one which makes it so much easier to get Mocha in and out of the carrier. I always use the top door to put him inside and then use the front door to let him out, which works out really well. I don't know how Molly will act if you try to put her in a carrier (some bunnies - like mine - are very resistant to it and will either put up a fight or run away when you bring it out), but the top loading door may come in handy for you if she's the wary sort who doesn't want to go inside it-- especially if she doesn't like the first trip you take home and begins to associate the carrier with something bad.

I also line it with a pet bed that's just a little bit larger than the bottom so it folds up a bit at the sides (this one but in chocolate http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00028J0BA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 ) and I think Mocha likes it a lot better than the fleece blanket I used before which would slide around and wasn't very thick. This one is machine washable and has a non-skid backing too which was perfect for my needs. I hope these ideas are of some help to you!

EDIT: I forgot to add that this particular carrier I use is very easy to assemble and take apart for cleaning too!

aozora said:

I haven't traveled very far with my bunny outside of going to the vet thus far so I can't really comment on the traveling aspect of things, but in terms of pet carrier I went with this model http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006060VCU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 It's got a solid bottom but moreso than that, it has both a front loading door and a top loading one which makes it so much easier to get Mocha in and out of the carrier. I always use the top door to put him inside and then use the front door to let him out, which works out really well. I don't know how Molly will act if you try to put her in a carrier (some bunnies - like mine - are very resistant to it and will either put up a fight or run away when you bring it out), but the top loading door may come in handy for you if she's the wary sort who doesn't want to go inside it-- especially if she doesn't like the first trip you take home and begins to associate the carrier with something bad.

I also line it with a pet bed that's just a little bit larger than the bottom so it folds up a bit at the sides (this one but in chocolate http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00028J0BA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 ) and I think Mocha likes it a lot better than the fleece blanket I used before which would slide around and wasn't very thick. This one is machine washable and has a non-skid backing too which was perfect for my needs. I hope these ideas are of some help to you!

EDIT: I forgot to add that this particular carrier I use is very easy to assemble and take apart for cleaning too!

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I think I'll get those two then. I do like the feature where you can open it from the top as well, i feel like she'd just scurry into the back if i tried to get her from the front.

I was just about to ask about "what if she pees on it" when i saw the "machine washable". That's great, if she does, when i arrive home i can just toss it in the washer real quick. I originally lined her cage with that fluffy stuff they give u when u first get your bunny. It came in a kit, i believe. but she didn't like it, she just pushed it aside and slept. So i havent really had her on any kind of blanket or anything yet, because im afraid she will pee on it. She's finally getting her potty training down. If only i had my own washer and dryer id let her go on a blanket (or on my bed) freely and not worry too much about her peeing.

Thank you for your suggestions I wasn't sure what a proper carrier was. I originally thought about the one i posted a picture of, cuz i thought maybe she'd like to look out lol, but everyone says not to have that haha.

A small towel or piece of fleece can be easily hand washed. You could have a could just so you have one extra. Rabbits will pee and poop in the carrier anyway.

Korr_and_Sophie said:

A small towel or piece of fleece can be easily hand washed. You could have a could just so you have one extra. Rabbits will pee and poop in the carrier anyway.

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You're absolutely right! I could just hand wash it.

Korr_and_Sophie said:

A small towel or piece of fleece can be easily hand washed. You could have a could just so you have one extra. Rabbits will pee and poop in the carrier anyway.

Click to expand...

I used to have that, but Mocha would either dig at it and bunch it all up in the back, or it would cause him slip and slide during transport which was why I opted for something with a non-skid backing

With regards to letting them loose inside the car, we've done that within city driving. Traffic in Manila were exceptionally slow... Literally... Vehicle runs around 10-40 kph everywhere

otherwise, This is the kind of bag we use if were going to see vets or take them out in the park


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Lhucky, are you in the Philippines? I lived there for two years (I'm an American), and I came VERY close to getting a bunny while there, but decided that it wouldn't be fair to make it endure 24 hours of plane travel when I came home, especially since I didn't know where I was going to be living. (Plus, my roommate there had a badly behaved dog, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to find good supplies in my province.)

Yes... Northern part of Metro Manila c",$

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