Heat

[hotchocolatewithsmarties!!!!!]

ii have to bunnies of a similiar age and size, bonnie and dennis. however in the hot weather in thehot weathre i always find bonnie to be lying around and acting far more docile then dennis, do you think that this is just because some rabbits prefer the heat more to others and bonnie is by personality just more shade loving??

 

[TK Bunnies]

it's posible. Kali my rabbit gets all loungy and sleep when it's even a tiny bit hot out.

 

[Michaela]

Yep some bunnies will like heat better than others. My REW rabbit much prefers it to my black one, probably because Ebony is so dark she gets hotter.

Make sure your rabbits have plenty of shade in the heat, and a fresh water supply. Also, frozen water bottles for them to lay against can help keep them cool, and ceramic tiles can also work.

 

[MsBinky]

Question about that...

I heard that bunnies regulate their temps with their ears. I see that one bunny has regular ears, while the other has lop ears. Can that play a role in any way? Just curious...

 

[Butterfinger]

Maybe :?

My Butter (Holland Lop) will get overheated very quickly, whereas the dutch rabbits I had before him never got too warm (And they were black and white dutch, too)

~Diana

 

[Offspring2099]

Molly our Netherland dwarf was hot at 75+, while Penny cotton tail mix can stand 80+ just fine.

 

[hotchocolatewithsmarties!!!!!]

thing is bonnie has sticky up ears so i dont know, i always assumed size made a diference tho as bigger rabbits are generaly more docile :?

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Rabbits personalities and exercise levels do vary a lot regardless of size. Keep in mind that every rabbit is an individual like people and don't always conform to the 'norm'.

I have 2 half brothers and one is a lot more active than the other one is, they are 2 weeks apart in age and very close in size. I don't think much has to do with ears because my 2 lop girls are always running around like nut cases, regardless of temperature, and my boys with uppy ears are the 2 that have such different activity levels from one another. I mean, they do tend to run a bit more before flopping in cooler weather but that is the general trend for all my rabbits, not just 2.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Oh but ear length and fur type can have an affect on how fast a rabbit gets warm.

Ever see an Arctic Fox? They have really tiny ears to prevent too much heat loss versus the Desert Fox who has large ears to help cool the animal down.

Also, between my 4 rabbits, none of my rabbits have similar fur types. Spice is very plush with 1" long hair and so much undercoat that his fur sticks out (it does flatten in the summer) in the winter. Zoey has very thin hair but she has a lot of the fine undercoat like feel, very little guard hairs that sits against her body. Reese I'm still trying to figure out but she does have quite a bit of guard hairs. Mocha's hair sits flat against him, he probably has about average amount. Out of all them, Spice gets the warmest the fastest and Zoey seems to keep cool the longest.

Oh and I guess how the rabbit holds its ears can have an effect, a rabbit who holds the ears close to their bodies will not lose heatas easily as one who holds their ears away from them.

 

[maherwoman]

I find it interesting that my Maisie (who is just minimally larger than SweetPea, who is 5lbs) gets hot (and laying about, not wanting to move around) much quicker than Trixie, who is 9lbs, and a lop.

I would think it would be the other way 'round...:?