What is hot for a bunny?

[OhTisLove]

Hi all, new bunny owner with more questions every day.

What's considered hot for a bunny? What are the signs of overheating/getting too warm? When should I break out the chilled tiles?

Are we talking 70? 80? Bunny is not in direct sunlight, of course, but it still gets warm in the house. (At least until the air conditioning goes on...but it's only early April!)

Thanks!

 

[elrohwen]

My own personal gauge is 80 degrees in the bunny's area. If it's 80 or above, I start turning on the air conditioning, maybe getting a frozen water bottle out, etc. Above 85 and you have the potential for real over heating.

You can recognize over heating if your bunny is listless, breathing very fast/heavily.

Also, bunnies can regulate their temp through their ears, so it's common for their ears to feel very warm when they're running around and need to cool down (this isn't a cause for alarm). The blood vessels open up to let out heat and this is why they feel warm. However, if your bun is sitting very still and his ears are still very hot (and the environment is hot) you can wrap a damp towel around the ears to help cool him off using his body's natural mechanism.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

elrohwen wrote:

My own personal gauge is 80 degrees in the bunny's area. If it's 80 or above, I start turning on the air conditioning, maybe getting a frozen water bottle out, etc. Above 85 and you have the potential for real over heating.

You can recognize over heating if your bunny is listless, breathing very fast/heavily.

Also, bunnies can regulate their temp through their ears, so it's common for their ears to feel very warm when they're running around and need to cool down (this isn't a cause for alarm). The blood vessels open up to let out heat and this is why they feel warm. However, if your bun is sitting very still and his ears are still very hot (and the environment is hot) you can wrap a damp towel around the ears to help cool him off using his body's natural mechanism.

Yeah, depending on humidity too, the more humid and towards 80F is getting a bit warm. You could throw in a frozen water bottle. Warmer, a fan but not directly on the bun. I'd say over 85, bring on the tiles.

 

[Erins Rabbits]

I would say 80, because at this point, if a male rabbit is exposed for longer than a few days, he may go through periods of infertility.

You can fill empty 2 liters and freeze them and leave them out during the day- the rabbit will lounge against them when he discovers that it's cooler. You can also go smaller if he's caged during the day and you feel like the 2 liter takes up too much space.