Australian Heat- How to keep a bunny comfortable

[Bangbang]

The last few days (and i'm positive its going to get worse as we approach feb) have been 40C!!!!!!!!!
I work during the week so Bang bang is outside, any suggestions on ways to keep her cool?
She's undercover during the day in the open garage, she had frozen juice bottles in the cage, frozen veggie treats and if someones around we spray misty water on her.
Today it was so hot i ended up dunking her in luke warm water (is it ok to do that?) I did that around lunch so she would dry in time for the night...(she was dry within half an hour!)
I was thinking of buying a fan to put outside the cage?? I'm just really worried with the heat in western aus, its so dry and hotttt!

 

[JimD]

Hi Bangbang,

Be very careful about the dunking in water part.
It can be very stressful for the bun.....not to mention dangerous.

Everything else your doing is good.

The fan is a good idea to. Air circulation is very important in keeping a bunnie cool.

Ceramic floor tiles work well. Keep them in the fridge and put them in the hutch/cage for the buns to lounge on.

Here's a link with a lot of good info:
Cooling A Rabbit (Buck's Bunny Wisdom)
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=864&forum_id=1

~Jim

 

[naturestee]

I agree with Jim- dunking her in water does not sound like a good idea. You don't want to stress her like that plus fast temperature changes could cause her to go into shock. That's also why you're not supposed to bring a bun in from a very hot place into an air conditioned room or vice versa.

A fan will help a lot.

Other than that, it sounds like what you are doing is okay.

 

[Mikoli]

Hey Bangbang!

Ah, Australia Where we live it only usually stays at 40C for a day,then goes down a bit, but my bun still doesn't like it very much.

I bring my rabbit inside and put him in his carrier on the hottest days, and sometimes let him loose in one of our 'safe' rooms. But you'll have to do that in the morning or in the evening, so the tempretures outside and inside would be more similar, because, like naturestee said, a fast change in tempreture can be dangerous.

Dunking the bun in water does not sound like too good of an idea, but y ou could always provide the bun with a few ice blocks, a fan, or even j ust a damp towel to help her cool.

What your doing so far sounds good. Make sure you keep her well protected from mosquitoes and other bugs, as they seem to get more attracted to houses on the hotter days, and they will hide in your rabbit's hutch if it isn't properly protected. They can carry disease sand such, which can be deadly to your bun. If you see that there seems to be a lot of flies and such hanging around your rabbit's hutch, you might want to do something about it (they might not all be just flies).

A fan sounds good, just make sure the noise and wind does not upset her.

Rachel.

 

[Bangbang]

When I saw we wet her we didnt dunk her in water she was sprayed, i attached a rubber shower hose thing to the tab and sprayed her bottom end off not her whole bod, she actually likes water if we have the sprinklers on she loves getting underneath them and does binkies under them, when she's done she's drenched!
When i'm at work I cant leave her inside there's no where safe for her to stay, plus my cat is inside and thats her domain if bang bang visits she's ok but if she's inside for too long my cat gets really stressed about it.
I'll definetly try the tiles idea. I'm quite sure the fan wont scare her, she was exposed to so many noises when she was young and circumstances she really doesnt scare easily like my past rabbits did,i'm pretty sure she thinks she's a dog