Questions about leaving bunny alone or traveling with it

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Sofam

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Hello everyone! I am new to this forum, and I do not yet have a bunny, but I am starting to consider having one and I decided to do lots of research to see if they could fit my lifestyle (and if not, that's okay, I'll have them in the future when my lifestyle changes, perhaps). So I have a couple of questions, I hope you can help me!

One, I would have enough space for the bunny. I have two extra rooms in my apartment where I live alone with a dog (tiny dog, no prey drive). I would free roam the bunny when I'm home to keep an eye on it, but probably bunny-proof an extra room or at least have a very large pen so it could stay in when I'm out or in general for the bun to sleep in. My week's schedule is fine for now, I do have university classes all morning, but then I'm home, most days, for the rest of the day.

The weekends get trickier. I live in the apartment by myself, but on the weekends I often come over to visit my parents, 1 hour away. That means leaving the apartment on friday or saturday morning, and returning on sunday after lunch. The question is, would it be better to leave my bunny alone for these weekends, or bring them with me? What would be less stressful for bunnies in general? Could I leave them alone with enough hay and water and all of that, for these 48h I'm away?

And then on school breaks, around the summer and holidays, I spend a lot of time at my parents' house. I could bring my bunny with me! My parents have a large house as well and I would only get a bunny if they accepted it as well, so they would accept me bringing over the bunny when I stay. But they have a handful of other dogs, so I would keep the bunny to a playpen/just my bedroom at all times, not roaming the whole house. Still a lot of space! But a whole different atmosphere.

Or, I could find someone to watch my bunny instead, leave them at my apartment and see if I can find a friend or family member who will pop in and give them extra hay, water, etc. For the few weeks I'm gone.

So basically I'd just like to know how you guys would go about this? What do you do with your bunnies when you have vacations, if you have the chance to take them or leave them? And what about weekend trips? Basically I have my dog that I carry with me even on these short weekend trips, and I have a bird (parrotlet) that I leave on these short trips because she does well for a short time just having lots of food and water. So are bunnies more like dogs, that you can get them used to going everywhere with you, or are they more like cats or birds, in that it's less stressful to leave them in their own place and just get a petsitter?

I'm sure it changes depending on the bunny, but I'd love to hear opinions! And also if any breeds would be more/less chill with being alone or trips? I'm considering a netherland dwarf so far.
Hope this made sense, thank you all!
 
It all depends on the bunny. My netherland dwarf boy always moved around with me. It could be 7 hrs train trip to 1 hr car trips. We did it quite often the first year. Often the first 30 mins he will be stressed but will settle down after that.

I always make sure he have hay and I have his favorite treats with me.

I can leave my bunnies home alone for a day but I need to be back next day to check on them. A chill comfortable bunny can get use with moving around as long they have safe space. For example making the travel cage a safe spot. Often when I do weekend trips I will leave my bunnies at a bunny hotel or let a family member check on them. I feel safer that way and I can’t take 3 or 4 bunnies with me when I move around. When I had one, he always followed me wherever I went but he also had the personality to enjoy it.
 
Generally speaking, a rabbit does best when remaining in their familiar environment. Taking them to new places is frightening and stressful. There is always the rare exception, but as a general guide, I would say it is best to leave the rabbit home.

A petsitter would be ideal for those times you'll be away for awhile. For an overnight, bunny should be fine if left with plenty of water (spillproof) and plenty of hay. Don't leave extra pellets or bunny might eat them all at once and get an upset tummy.

Breed doesn't predict temperament by any means. Each individual can be quite unique, even within a particular breed type. Some Netherland Dwarfs can be a bit high strung and a challenge for a first-time rabbit owner, but some Netherland Dwarfs can be very sweet & gentle.
 
Thank you both for the input, this was really encouraging!

I am thinking that a bunny could fit me, I can have petsitters see him for any long weekends when it's a short trip away, and for my holidays and months away I'll still be figuring out what I'll do. But good to know that it can be doable to travel with them sometimes! Perhaps just my house and my parents' house won't be too much for a bunny to get used to. Thank you for answering about breeds too, I guess I'm used to dogs, where you can tell some of their temperament through breed haha.

Thank you!
 
Not all bunnies would enjoy a trip, and because when a bunny get sick it can go bad really fast, I wouldn't recommend leaving alone for 48h, no. You can't leave all the pellets at once or it will all be eaten in one go and make the bunny sick. Water needs to be refreshed as well and changed at least every day. Plus bunnies are very social, and can get depressed (recently had an issue with mine who got separation anxiety after one night away at the clinic...)
All in all, a pet sitter is the best option, if not during the whole time, to at least check several times that the bunny's fine and top up food and water. It all depends on his/her character as well, so it's hard to tell ahead what would work best regarding the vacation time
 
We have two bunnies and when we were gone for 3 days we would hire a sitter to come twice a day to take care of the stuff. This was before one of them started having GI problems, since now we won't risk it. There is a "hotel" for Rabbits where the owner is prepared for force feeding, medicine etc.. If we would need to we would take them there.

It's really a gamble to be honest. Leaving the Bunnies alone. Maybe a camera system would help so that you can check on them and then alert the sitter if something is wrong.

Anyway these are only my thoughts.
 
Again, thank you all for the extra inputs! I have a good few months of more research ahead of me, so I'll continue to read up on this forum and thank you so much @Blue eyes for the links, that page is great. Appreciate the info, everyone!
 
Our daughter and grandson live with us so we have a built in sitter. We went on a cruise a few years ago, so my son will stay here if needed--I'm his landlord, so I can be convincing since he only pays a 6th of what the place could rent for. Better if you could have someone check on the bunny--we have rescued over 60 bunnies over the last few decades, so, it really depends on the bunny--some are very mellow and some are really furry little turds. When we move here to Las Vegas, our avatar, Nikki held a grudge and was a real brat for almost 4 months--and it was a one-time move. Serena, our 20 pound Checkered Giant didn't mind anything as long as you rubbed her head and she could sit on your--very large but mellow rabbit.
 
People travel to bunny shows all the time. I think it would be fine to bring the bunny along with you.
 

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