what do you do when dwarf rabbits are overheated?

Question

do we give them more water?
do we place them near a cool airconditioner or fan?

Answer 1

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.html
If you have a rabbit suffering the obvious symptoms of heat stroke, you can read symptoms and treatment on my page there - to quote -
"The symptoms of heat stroke are obvious and distressing - a bunny suffering heat stroke will pant (bunnies never mouth-breathe except when in severe respiratory distress), and may stretch out in an attempt to cool his body, and will often be limp and floppy. Unless treated immediately, and removed from such a hot environment, he will become dizzy, uncoordinated, and might go into convulsions. A rabbit with such advanced symptoms of unconsciousness or convulsions is most certainly near death. Seek veterinary help immediately if the rabbit is unconscious or convulsing - he might need intravenous fluids or corticcosteroids to stop him dying from shock. Heat stroke is a very dangerous condition indeed, which can be fatal or permanently damaging, and you must treat any bunny showing early symptoms of heatstroke, such as panting and limpness, sure signs of heatstroke when combined with an overheated environment, immediately:

"Immediate treatment involves cooling bunny’s body temperature, with tepid, room-temperature water (never use cold water - this sudden cold can put a rabbit into shock - always make sure it’s room-temperature water - judge the temperature of the water by putting it on our own skin the way you would with water for a baby). Douse your bunny with this tepid water by using a saturated towel, or repeatedly dipping your hands in the water and using your very wet hands to massage the water into bunny’s fur and skin. You can spray or flick the water gently over bunny, and continue massaging the water into his fur, all over, including his back and his tummy, via your wet hands."

And, as I also say in my article … many of the breeders we know 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!). 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! Try it if you like, but keep a close and continual eye on your bunny when you try it, and make sure he doesn’t chew the bottle … if he were to ingest plastic, he could get a stomach blockage, which would be an even bigger problem.

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 idea, which I've heard about from bunny-friends but haven't tried myself yet, is to drench a towel with cool water, then ring it out so it's just this side of not-dripping wet, and drape it over your bunn's hutch/cage - apparently this creates a moist, cool microclimate for him.

Another tip that I mention on my web page - on the really hot days, if you can spend the day with them, keep them constantly moist by wetting your hands with cool water and rubbing this into their fur and skin - as with all of us, if you keep his skin moist, the evaporation of this water on his skin will cool him.

Answer 2

First off, yes give them as much water as they will drink. You want the water cool, but not cold. Also, give it to them in a dish instead of a bottle. This will allow them to get bigger drinks of it and get more down faster. Second, you don't want to move them into a really cold room suddenly. Put a fan in the room and let that start to cool them down first. Then once they've cooled down a bit (at least 30 minutes), you can either get them into a cooler room, turn on the air conditioning, or if you have any ice packs or bags of frozen veggies, put that in the cage so that they can cool off their bodies. Keep an eye on them for the next few hours to make sure that they're okay. If after a few hours, you don't see improvement in their conditions, get them to a rabbit-savvy vet ASAP! Hope they're okay!

Answer 3

Do what you would do if you were over heated! Give it some water (not icy icy cold), and set it near a cool area, like near a window or under a fan. I think that a fan on it might be a bit traumatic for a rabbit. You can try fanning it down with a piece of cardboard or something, too.

Answer 4

They can die from heat stroke and need to be put in an air conditioned room but not right up against it. Put frozen water bottles in with them. Make sure they have plenty of cold water too.

Answer 5

I'd put ice on or near it and give it water, cause I heard that they can't cool down

Answer 6

Add onions and gravy