How can i keep my rabbit cool in this hot weather?

Question

she stays indoors all the time with me, but i dont have an AC so its still hot... how can i help her be cool in this heat??

thank you! :)

Thank you everyone for your help, i went a head and gave her a frozen water bottle, she liked that a lot.. i notice too she wasn't breathing so hard, she rested her head on the bottle as she layed there im glad shes relaxed now :) thanks a bunch!!

Answer 1

Get a two liter water bottle and fill it almost to the top, freeze it and lay it in the cage or area where your rabbit likes to sit. It will lay next to it to cool down. That's what I did with mine.

Answer 2

We don't have much of a problem with keeping the rabbits cool here at home but often times at shows heat is an issue.
We use two litter bottles filled with water to about an 1/8 from the top (to allow room for the expansion) Remove label of course then place them on their side in the cage with the rabbit. They not only cool the air around the bunny but the rabbits will often lay next to them. They also sweat as the ice inside melts and the rabbits enjoy licking the cold condensation off the bottles. Of course fresh water should be supplied. You can purchase another water bottle then fill 1/4 of the bottle with water put it in the freezer once frozen add fresh cold water to the bottle and give to the rabbit the melting ice inside the bottle will help keep the water cooler. This requires two bottles one for the rabbit while one is in the freezer of course.
These are the tricks that we use to keep the rabbits comfortable when heat is an issue.
We have NEVER lost a rabbit due to the heat, even in the added stress of the show environment.
I would not recommend a fan pointing at the bunny as she would not have the ability to get away from it when needed.

Answer 3

A fan?
What makes you feel cool when a fan blows on you is evaporation of sweat for the most part.
Rabbits do not sweat, so a fan will only blow more hot air on them. It won't really hurt much, but it won't cool them off.
The way you can tell that a fan doesn't really cool a room off is by putting a thermometer into a hot room for a while, check the temp and then turn the fan on and check the temp again a bit later. Nothing's changed.
You can gently blow the fan across a large block of ice if you have access to that(a large bag of ice works too), but it's messy and you'd have to keep replacing the ice.
The frozen water bottles would work as well, as long as you keep replacing them. Make sure the rabbit doesn't chew on any part of it.
Here's one thing I've tried and it works wonders. Keep large pieces of rocks like marble, brick, slate or granite in your fridge, enough so you can have one cooling while you got one cooling your rabbit. You can sometimes get chunks of these materials at home improvement stores. Ask if they have any they are throwing out, like pieces of counter top that were either leftovers or broken. I have found something similar in a petstore. It was a small piece of marble labeled "ChinChiller" and I found it in the smallpets/Chinchilla section. It was a bit pricey though.
Wrap the rock in a dishtowel and put it in the bottom of the cage for your rabbit to sit on. Make sure you keep lots of water available for drinking.
Good luck to you and your bunny. Stay cool!

Answer 4

If you have a cage you put her in, put her in a special room, maybe a bathroom or something, and turn off ALL the lights, except one night-light. Also, if you have 1 fan, (two tops -- don't want to freeze bunny!) place it in there. Not pointing AT her, because she'll freeze. Just point it at the ceiling. It will rotate the air, and it will be colder.

Although, it's importand that she gets time out of the bathroom too -- just like humans, 100% darkness in the daytim can be depressing!

Also, go to your local grocery store or walmart should have it, and get a Ice Pack.. If you have a healthstore I'm sure they would sell them there. Freeze it, and put two thin blankets around it, and your rabbit can lay there.
I would freeze it twice a day, make yourself a scheduel so you can make special time to go home and stick it in the freezer and/or pull it out.

Do this while she's out of the bathroom; lie it beside wherever she's sitting, so it's available for her to get to at any time. -- But if you do the "fan in a dark area" you shouldn't need the ice-pack.

However, if you don't have a small room that isn't in use, then just try to find shade in your house, maybe a plant that you have? Or if you have something you can put over the top of his cage. Another good thing, use a big sheet/towel to cover the top&sides of her cage.

If you go with the "dark area with a fan" idea:

While she's out, don't worry about the heat. Although it's importand that you don't keep her out to long, because the schock of being from extremely hot to extremely cold can be hard on her.

When picking a fan to place in the destined area you will put her in, go by size of the area. --

If the area is huge, get a HUGE fan. If the area is tiny, get a TINY fan. Like, if she's going to be kept in the bathroom, get a small fan, because you don't want it to be TO cold, or when she comes out it will be TO big of a shock from cold to hot like that.

If the heat isn't TO unbearable, keep the door to her "area" opened. That way, the tempatures of hot and cold will meet, giving a perfect temp. for your bunny.

Now, I would also be worried about YOUR health -- Humans can get heat stroke, as well you know. You should get that AC installed ASAP!

Stay Safe!! (And cool)!

Princess-V

Answer 5

We used to fill up an old pop (soda) bottle with cold water and put it in our rabbits cage. He'd lean against it to cool off. You've got to make sure to change the water to keep it cool, but it worked really well for him---that, and having a water source for the rabbit to drink out of at all times.

Answer 6

Like others before me, I agree with the fan. Also, if your rabbit has a cage (a plastic-bottomed cage, for example) add less bedding during the hot weather so she can stretch out her belly on the cool surface.

Otherwise, fan her with palm leaves and feed her grapes!

Answer 7

put ice in a try under her hutch... as it melts and evaporates it will cool her. you can put a fan near her cage. set on low too.
if you have a basement that you can move her to till the cooler weather comes ... that might be an option too

Answer 8

cold water to drink, move into shade if possible, and attach a fan.

Answer 9

fan and water