Help! Hot Weather

[MiniLopMad]

Summer in Australia is getting closer and today temperatures were around 40 degrees Celsius. Luckily I was home today so I could bring the rabbits inside and turn on the air conditioner and keep an eye on them. They seemed fine but it was really hot outside and I won't be able to bring them inside all the time because everyone on my house goes to work and school. I give them 3 frozen water bottles each in the morning before I leave. There is not much shade in my yard.
Has anyone got good tips I can use to keep my bunnies cool in the hot weather?
Thanks

 

[bunnylovin1093]

If you are home wet a heap of cloths/old sheets, hang them on the hutch and peg them down. Re wet them every hour or less. If everyone is out put them inside all day with the air conditiong on.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Ok
I don't know about bringing them inside.. Our air con is really old and doesn't work very well unless you are in the room and today it turned out quite bad with them in the room. The floor is all carpet and they peed and pooped everywhere.
My neighbours are nice though and I'm sure they won't mind re wetting the stuff of the rabbits cages for us

 

[MontanaMayhem79]

Holy I have to keep my bunnies warm!

 

[majorv]

Ok
I don't know about bringing them inside.. Our air con is really old and doesn't work very well unless you are in the room and today it turned out quite bad with them in the room. The floor is all carpet and they peed and pooped everywhere.
My neighbours are nice though and I'm sure they won't mind re wetting the stuff of the rabbits cages for us

Is there a breeze where they are? If not, is there any way you can set up fans, to keep air moving around them?

 

[Blue eyes]

We live in the Sonoran Desert where summer temps match yours. Be aware that any lop breed has a much more difficult time with the heat since rabbits lose heat through their (normally up) ears.

With temps that high, it is best to keep them in an air conditioned room. Temporary measures like the frozen water bottles and wet cloths can help for a day or two of high heat, but extended heat is a killer and the possibility of forgetting to re-wet the cloths could end badly.

If your rabbits are not litter trained, then you'll need to protect your flooring with tarps. But for more ideas on keeping rabbits indoors (even if only temporarily) you can check my site. I keep my rabbits indoors 24/7 since our temps are just too high to comfortably keep a rabbit outdoors.

 

[Jamie714]

I live in Saudi Arabia, and it's always hot! Our bunny is indoors only, but a lot of the meat markets keep them out in the shade with frozen water bottles. My bunny likes to get out on the balcony once in awhile to get some sun. Our ac runs 24/7 so he usually leans up against the screen while sunning and enjoying fresh air(he always has the option to come inside though).
Maybe set up a play area inside with some sort of matting to make it easy to clean. We have tile floors and he uses his litter box pretty well, so we usually just leave him inside with the ac on if we go out.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Is there a breeze where they are? If not, is there any way you can set up fans, to keep air moving around them?

It depends on the weather.. They are in the open in the middle of my yard with bars on the sides of the hutches so that if there is a breeze they will feel it I'm not sure if I can set up fans but I will try

 

[MiniLopMad]

We live in the Sonoran Desert where summer temps match yours. Be aware that any lop breed has a much more difficult time with the heat since rabbits lose heat through their (normally up) ears.

With temps that high, it is best to keep them in an air conditioned room. Temporary measures like the frozen water bottles and wet cloths can help for a day or two of high heat, but extended heat is a killer and the possibility of forgetting to re-wet the cloths could end badly.

If your rabbits are not litter trained, then you'll need to protect your flooring with tarps. But for more ideas on keeping rabbits indoors (even if only temporarily) you can check my site. I keep my rabbits indoors 24/7 since our temps are just too high to comfortably keep a rabbit outdoors.

I've heard that about lops before

I've never thought of using tarps, that's a great idea haha
I will check out your site keeping them inside while I'm not home may be my only option, especially considering that it's not even summer yet and temps are high

Thanks for the help

 

[MiniLopMad]

I live in Saudi Arabia, and it's always hot! Our bunny is indoors only, but a lot of the meat markets keep them out in the shade with frozen water bottles. My bunny likes to get out on the balcony once in awhile to get some sun. Our ac runs 24/7 so he usually leans up against the screen while sunning and enjoying fresh air(he always has the option to come inside though).
Maybe set up a play area inside with some sort of matting to make it easy to clean. We have tile floors and he uses his litter box pretty well, so we usually just leave him inside with the ac on if we go out.

I think I'll set up a play area inside with tarp on the bottom Your bunny sounds so cute. Mine act miserable when inside hahaha