Cool Ears?

[SunnyCait]

Hey all.

I noticed yesterday that Mary Jane's ears are cool. Not COLD, but cool... Cooler than what I am comfortable with. I don't think this is good?

She is perfectly fine otherwise, eating, drinking, very active. Just cool ears...

I felt under her fur, close to her body and it's normal temperature, not cool at all. But then again she is an American fuzzy lop, so maybe that's all the fur fooling me. Also I put my finger in her ear (not IN in it, but down there) and closer to her body it is warm-ish but not warm.

I think maybe it is just too cool in my house... We're running the AC but the past couple days it's been cooler inside and thus cooler in the house... Enough to where it's been slightly uncomfortable for me but nothing too bad.

So is it the house temperature? Maybe it's just too cool for her? But she has all that fur... So why is she cold? I guess her ears aren't covered in thick furry fur, maybe it's just her ears.

If it's the house temperature then how can people keep bunnies outdoors when it's cooler/winter? Aren't they cold?

Also, do rabbit's noses run if they are too cold like people's do?

Okay that's enough from me... Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[tonyshuman]

Most bunnies will be fine with lower temperatures. They can live happily inside at temps much lower than you probably can. Bunnies do use their ears to ventilate and cool themselves down, so she probably just isn't cooling herself down as much now that room temp is lower

 

[kirbyultra]

My apartment dips to about 62 degrees in the dead of winter and we are in a high-rise building so the wind hits us pretty hard. Kirby gets along quite well even at that temp even though my teeth are chattering unless I put on the heat. I would think that your AC, even at full blast would be around 65-68 degrees before it cycles to normal circulation. Any lower than that and a human in short sleeves would be quite chilly indoors!

I have had a similar scare once when Kirby's ears, normally warm to the touch were "cool" instead. My hands are notoriously cold all the time and for his ears to feel cool struck me as really odd. My vet has told me that if buns are sick, their temp can plummet fast. But he was perfectly fine. I think he was just sitting by a drafty window. The top of his head was still normal (warm) and behind his ears were warm. If you are ever really suspicious that the rabbit is ill, get yourself a quick-read digital thermometer. An anal reading along with monitoring the bunny's activityfor abnormal sluggishness, etc. and should tell you if something's very wrong. I believe normal for a bun is 101, give or take a degree.

This is what I recall of my vet visit. Correct me, anyone, if I'm wrong.

She gave me a list of must have's, including a quick read digital thermometer (like a 10-second read), a heating device (like a hot water bottle or something similar) in case the bunny is sick and temp is down, gas med (simethicone) and the number and address of the nearest emergency vet center!