how do i keep my rabbitts cool in the summer ? live in las vegas- up to 115 degrees ?

Question

i have 7 rabbits in an out door pen - can not dig underground - using ice bottles now - but i want to keep them cooler -- other then building a room and putting an airconditioner in --

Answer 1

have you thought of a wooden cage that is off the ground with a proper roofing? that is what most people do the in the philippines raising their rabbits. the big cage is on stilts, and the floor of the cage is a wire mesh, so that it is easy to clean, you just hose the ground. a big roof will disperse the sun's heat. but mind you, the roof must be a proper roof, to keep your rabbits cool. if it's not cool enough, put an electric fan inside the cage.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

It gets very hot here in Australia too - bunns have big problems in temperatures over 28 degrees celcius, and need to be kept cool, otherwise they can die from heat stroke - I've written an article on this -
http://au.geocities.com/leaswebsite/bunnyheatstroke
And, as I also say in my article … many of the breeders we know also freeze a soft-drink-bottle full of water, and then put that in their bunny cages - their bunnies then lean against it and keep their body cool (sort of like the reverse of a hot water bottle!). I know you mentioned this ;-) Unfortunately, however, this never worked successfully with our beautiful bunny Dasher, because he kept trying to chew the bottle, so we had to take it away!

Another alternative is to use a hard tupperware container (you know, particularly those hard-plastic square ones) - the hard plastic is a little safe (still keep an eye on your bunns that they don't chew them, though!) and additionally, won't roll around.

We know some people who use a big piece of tiling, too - they put it in their fridge to make it cool, and then put it where their bunns can lay against it.

Another really good suggestion, that I know some bunny-people use ... they wet a towel, so that it's saturated but not dripping, and drape this over the top of their bunny's cage ... apparently this creates a cooler,damper environment for their bunn.

Answer 4

Fill a water bottle with water and freeze it and give it to the rabbits. It is a good idea to freeze more than one bottle and switch them around. Just a soda bottle is good, but the bigger the better. Also, squirt a LITTLE water in their ear, because ears act as coolers, and that can really help. If your rabbit starts sweating around the mouth, take him inside, or somewhere cooler ASAP.

Answer 5

You should really keep them indoors. Rabbits do not fare well in extreme weather conditions as you are describing. I have my guinea pigs in the house and I still use ice bottles to keep them cool. I can't imagine what it would be like being stuck outside in 115 degree heat with a fur coat on.

Answer 6

This is a good, easy way to keep rabbits cool. Freeze water in gallon jugs. Put a frozen jug in the cage every day. The rabbit will snuggle up to the cool jug and be cooler. The jugs can last a couple of hours. You might have to slip them 2 frozen jugs in a day. Keep the spares frozen for quick replacement.

Answer 7

Obvious answers....
The pen is in the shade? Use more large ice blocks? Put a wet towel over the pen? I know you don't get much wind there but try to make sure the pens are where there is plenty of ventilation too.
Good Luck....Its a tough one...
Maybe there is one room in the house that you could set aside half of for the bunnies??

Answer 8

my friends that raised rabbits used the ice bottles, but they also put tarps over the pen and used a swamp cooler

Answer 9

well u can keep ur rabits cool by keeping them in the fridge for 1hr everyday at noon to avoid the hottest part of the day and tat will keep them cool K well jus joking in india when temperatures go high we keep rabits cool by making them drink lots of water and eat more food which are of the fluid type to keep their body from dehydrating and keeping their body functiong well so that that with enough fluids in their body they dont get tired fast or get sick make sure they have lots of fluid food give them their carrots,raddish,cucumber,tomatoes in a little fluid form and u dont have to worry about how to keep them cool and make sure ur rabbits are under a hay shelter to avoid the heat like if u use a kennel for it cover the kennel with hay it will make the kennel cool
take care bye

Answer 10

Try giving them a large pan of water (not to deep) and they will get in it and cool off. My bunny likes to be sprinkled with a water hose and you might want to think about a small fan to keep the air moving.