Summer Vacation ???

[2BunsOfLove]

This summer I wanted to take a weeks trip to Minnesota .I live in Philadelphia and really dont have anyone that can take care of my Buns the way I do or anyone who really knows how to properly .Should I just not go or leave enough food , water , and hay for them with for the week .I know my sister will peek in on them but she has no idea how to take care of them.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Don't you have friends, relatives, or neighbors that could do it? Of course they aren't going to take care of them as good as you do but I'm sure they'll be fine at it. if I ever go away on vacations I usually have my brother take care of them, I write down everything explaining what to do and then show him how to do it. I'm sure you could show your sister everything if she's willing to do it.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You can't just leave food and water, it is a good way to end up with a dead rabbit. Many rabbits will just eat what you give them right away. A water dish can be dumped and bottles can leak. At a minimum, someone should come every 24 hours to check on the rabbit and give food and water.
There are pet sitters if you need one. Not all know much about rabbits, but there are some that do. If you have a good vet, you could call and ask if they know anyone. Some vets board rabbits as well, but it can be expensive.
If your sister can check on your rabbit, she can feed and give water. Show her what is need and write instructions. It's not hard to give food, water and hay daily.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

I agree with what the others said, it's not a pet you can just leave unattended. Not to mention that they will need for someone to let them out of the cage for exercise.

 

[Bville]

Even if they don't get out for exercise for a week, it would be better to have someone refill their pellets, hay and water once or twice a day than to leave them unattended for a week. My neighbor watched my rabbits last summer and I just wrote out for her what she needed to do and left her all the supplies. I thanked her with a gift because I didn't think she'd take money from me.

 

[ntwhelan]

I may get hate mail over this answer but for several years now I have left my buns alone for up to one week. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them any longer than one week. Here's how I do it: I place 6-7 water bottles attached to their pen. I have an automatic pellet feeder (cat-dog feeder) that dispenses the proper amount of food daily. I leave several boxes of fresh hay attached to the side of their pen with a square slot at the bottom front of the box to allow them to pull hay out of the box as they eat. The hay will naturally slide down the inside of the box due to gravity as they consume it from the box. I also have a web cam set up so I can watch them on my laptop where ever I go. We do have an animal loving neighbor who has a house key that will come in if I think anything may be amiss when I look at them through the web cam. So far the buns do well with this arrangement and when we come home they look at us as if to say hohum I see you're back again. ( A little deflating as dogs would dance around in excitement as seeing their owners return!) BTW our buns are small (3-4 lbs) each.

 

[Bville]

I may get hate mail over this answer but for several years now I have left my buns alone for up to one week. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them any longer than one week. Here's how I do it: I place 6-7 water bottles attached to their pen. I have an automatic pellet feeder (cat-dog feeder) that dispenses the proper amount of food daily. I leave several boxes of fresh hay attached to the side of their pen with a square slot at the bottom front of the box to allow them to pull hay out of the box as they eat. The hay will naturally slide down the inside of the box due to gravity as they consume it from the box. I also have a web cam set up so I can watch them on my laptop where ever I go. We do have an animal loving neighbor who has a house key that will come in if I think anything may be amiss when I look at them through the web cam. So far the buns do well with this arrangement and when we come home they look at us as if to say hohum I see you're back again. ( A little deflating as dogs would dance around in excitement as seeing their owners return!) BTW our buns are small (3-4 lbs) each.

I'm glad that has worked for you, but I would worry that no one would know if they stopped eating/drinking/peeing/pooping and you know what that means for rabbits.

 

[2BunsOfLove]

I may get hate mail over this answer but for several years now I have left my buns alone for up to one week. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them any longer than one week. Here's how I do it: I place 6-7 water bottles attached to their pen. I have an automatic pellet feeder (cat-dog feeder) that dispenses the proper amount of food daily. I leave several boxes of fresh hay attached to the side of their pen with a square slot at the bottom front of the box to allow them to pull hay out of the box as they eat. The hay will naturally slide down the inside of the box due to gravity as they consume it from the box. I also have a web cam set up so I can watch them on my laptop where ever I go. We do have an animal loving neighbor who has a house key that will come in if I think anything may be amiss when I look at them through the web cam. So far the buns do well with this arrangement and when we come home they look at us as if to say hohum I see you're back again. ( A little deflating as dogs would dance around in excitement as seeing their owners return!) BTW our buns are small (3-4 lbs) each.

This sounds like a great set up ! Also if you know your buns are well then you don't have to worry about watching thier pee or poop ! Thank you so much .

 

[Aushi]

This sounds like a great set up ! Also if you know your buns are well then you don't have to worry about watching thier pee or poop ! Thank you so much .

A rabbit can die if they don't eat for 12 hours. Unless you have a person you trust to come in once or twice a day to refill for food or water, I wouldn't consider even leaving them for more than a day. They might come over and refill, but will they notice if they aren't drinking water? Or not eating? Will they just come, refill and leave without noticing these VERY important things?

Just because your rabbit is well the day you leave, it doesn't mean it won't get sick by the end of the week. Some viruses incubate in your system and only reveal a symptom a week later. The common rhino virus (cold) on humans for example, you get exposed a week or so before, and only after some time of it incbuating it shows symptoms.

My boyfriend lives a couple of hours away and I come over to stay with him for up to a week every once in a while and since I don't have anyone I trust, I bring my buns with me. If you are going somewhere that allows bunnies, this is what I do with my buns.

I use the panels (those that are used for storage cubes that most people use for their bun cage) from their normal cage (I bought two boxes so I have a lot of extras) to make a mini cage and just let them go in his house for exercise.

 

[Lati]

When ever we go away my partner's father comes and stops at my apartment to look after her, they both love it. We write down everything and let him know what to give her and when. We also call daily to see how she is and check up on her eating and drinking. He also sends us regular picture updates.

Rabbits aren't the type of animals you can just leave, even if you leave them a ton of food, they will eat it all at once. They can get sick, hurt themselves, stop eating. It's not fair on them and will probably cause stress. If my partner's father isn't available when we're booking our holidays, we don't go. We may miss out on a vacation but it's worth it for her.

Unless you can get someone to come over daily to check on them, someone you trust who knows what to look for, I'd postpone.

 

[lovelops]

I had to have my rabbits looked after for 5 days and one was recovering from GI Statis. I would not trust any of my rabbits on their own by themselves. Anything could happen. I know many house rabbit societies do pet sitting. I would check around in your area.

Vanessa

 

[MMK]

I would try and find someone to at least come once a day and just leave detailed instructions. Or get a pet sitter. I recently started using a pet sitter since my SO and I moved farther from our families and feel bad asking them to come by when we travel. Its $20 a visit for two cats and my rabbit...but SO worth it. She is a registered veet tech and send me email updates with photos!