Bunnies and heat...

[Imbrium]

I know bunns like it best at 61-72F, but I normally set my AC to 77-78 in the hot part of the day because if I set it too cool, it doesn't get a chance to cycle off occasionally and bad things happen (my AC is ancient)... their pen is directly below a ceiling fan that stays set to high, which should reduce the ambient temp in that room by about 10 degrees.

well, today I screwed up big time - when I checked on them and filled their hay/gave some pellets at noon, all was fine... except that I forgot to turn up the AC, leaving it set to 74. when I woke up at 8, the AC was broken (heard it running, but no cool air coming into the house) and it was 85-86 degrees inside

they've got a big water bottle in their pen and a smaller one in the cage - I filled the smaller one with ice water, plus I made an ice-pack, put it in their hammock and showed them where it was - they're chilling on top of it right now. I don't own a portable fan that I can put in their room, just the ceiling fan and I don't have a clean spray bottle that I could use to mist their ears. neither bunny has shown any signs of heat stroke.

I went outside and saw that the line on the AC was frozen, so I flipped it off at the breaker and used the hose to de-ice things a bit - I'll be able to flip the breaker back on and have the AC functional again in a couple hours.

I was wondering if the ceiling fan and ice pack should be good enough to keep them cool in an 85F house for a couple hours or if I should stick them in their little carrier with some hay/pellets and a water bottle and drop them off at the neighbor's house until the AC is working again (1-2 hours). I hate to make them stay in the carrier so long, but I also hate having to resort to them sleeping on an ice pack.

 

[Blue eyes]

With the ice bottle to snuggle against they should be fine. It's already evening and shouldn't be getting hotter. If it gets any hotter, then I'd consider switching to a cooler place.

I'm not sure how humid it is there. I know 85F in MD with high humidity can be unbearable, while 85F here in Phoenix area is quite comfortable. Our AC is often set for 83F in the summer and we are actually comfortably cool. So you'll have to judge the temp with how humid it may get inside.

I'd keep an extra bottle freezing in the freezer so you can switch them out as needed.

 

[Imbrium]

it's pretty humid, at least inside the house. I seem more miserable than the bunnies, but then I don't have an ice pack to snuggle with and the ceiling fan in my room is broken to where it's stuck on medium/can't be put on high like theirs is

 

[Imbrium]

well, with the first ice pack, I used a gallon ziplock bag with some washcloths on top of it (found a pack with a ton of cheap ones for only $4 at walmart that are designated as the bunnies' washcloths). Nala pushed/dug the washcloths out of the way and chewed holes in the top-side and one corner of the ice pack, then Gaz pooped on it.

ice was starting to melt and threatening to flood the hammock so I took it away, put it in a second ziplock bag and put it inside an old bath towel, folded so that on the top (bunny) side there was only one layer of cloth but the towel was all folded in on itself on the bottom to make it really hard for Nala to get the ice pack out. I put a 1L rubbermaid water bottle full of water in the freezer in case they needed another one... should I leave it in there permanently in case this happens again or is there a better way to make an ice pack for them?

I ran to home depot for the part to fix the fan in my room, more zipties and some coroplast to finish their condo then flipped the breaker for the AC when I got home, hoping it had thawed out enough to work again. the temp is down from 86F to 77F already, which is great news for all three of us 'cause I'm about as sensitive to heat as the bunns are!

it occurs to me that the AC does have a habit of breaking 3-5 times a year, 1-2x of which are in a way that I can't fix myself within a matter of hours. unless it breaks on a saturday night, I've always been able to have someone fix it either the same day or within 24h which isn't too unbearable when it's just me... but now I have bunnies to worry about.

there are a couple options I can think of - would love to hear opinions! they live in the living room, which has two small skylights and a sliding glass patio door but no windows. right now, they've got a bit over 30 square feet to call their own, but by the time I'm done it'll be more like 60.

~ I could get a window AC unit and move them to a smaller cage in a room with a window (only during the AC emergency, of course). heck, I see one that says it can cool 350 square feet and the wall between the living room and the front parlor was removed before I got the house, so that might not even require me to move them since the cool air should be able to make it into the living room. it looks like if I go with a refurbished unit, I could get one for $139 w/free shipping, which I can easily afford (link)... does anyone know if window units are easy to install yourself?

my one concern with a window unit is that the windows on the sides and back of my house are wide windows where you slide a panel to the side to open them (instead of up) and I suspect these wouldn't accommodate a window AC, which means it has to go in a window on the front of the house that can be seen from the street (like the parlor window where it could probably also cool the bunny room). I live in a safe neighborhood, but of course no neighborhood is immune to crime and I'm concerned that a window with an AC unit in it might strike a burglar as an easy way to get into the house. I've never actually had a window unit before, though, so that's just an uneducated guess on my part. (also curious whether it might make it possible for roaches to get into the house through that window, 'cause I'm terrified of those little bastards)

~ fans: I could get them an extra fan or two in addition to the ceiling fan... I'm not sure if it would be better to go with 1-2 box fans placed to cool as much of their cage/run as possible or to get an oscillating fan or two that could move back and forth and probably cover more of their space. I'm vaguely worried that a floor-level fan powerful enough to keep them comfy could blow hay and poops out of the bunny area/off their tarp, though.

either way, I'm only concerned with safety and effectiveness - price doesn't matter since I can afford both options... I just want to have a plan in place to keep my bunnies safe and happy in the event of another AC emergency.

also, does anyone know if it's possible to get a battery-powered fan that's big/powerful enough to cool at least a corner of their cage without the blade being exposed to the bunnies (ie free-standing or can be clipped to the outside of the cage)? it occurs to me that CPS sometimes welches on our arrangement where me paying my power bill = my house having electricity, heh - my neighborhood tends to have a few power outages a year... often at night/in cooler months but it HAS happened on a hot summer day once before and the outages can sometimes last as much as 2-4 hours. something that runs on AA, AAA, C or D batteries is preferable, since I <3 rechargeable batteries.

 

[Blue eyes]

I use either empty 2-liter soda bottles or similar size plastic juice bottles. I almost fill them with water (leave room for expansion) and keep 2 in the freezer at all times. That way I have them when needed.

There's a brand of o.j. that comes in a plastic bottle that is more square. I like that kind because it doesn't roll so easily.

It's also a good idea to have the bottles available for emergency trips to the vet. I'm sure you know what it's like when it's so hot and the car takes forever to cool.

Even if I pre-cool the car, I'll keep an ice bottle with me in case the car breaks down or whatever and the car A/C is no longer available.

Rather than a window A/C unit, you could also check into portable units. They are free standing and can be put in any room. That would be a backup if your A/C goes out, but not if the electric goes out.

 

[Imbrium]

oooh, they make portable ones? nifty! I'll look into that

last time I deliberately scheduled the vet trip in the late morning because I didn't want them in the car during the hottest part of the day - in retrospect I still wish I had brought them an ice pack to make them more comfy. even with the AC running full-blast, it probably hit 80F in their carrier inside the car considering it was upper 90s outside the car >< they looked a little warm by the time we got home and I felt bad about it. ...and of course if there was an emergency later, I wouldn't necessarily be able to schedule the appointment around the weather and it gets into the 100s sometimes.

I'm a brat and won't drink soda unless it comes straight from the fountain, so I don't have 2L bottles (and I'd bet anything Nala can chew through one. the one in my freezer right now is the kind that comes empty/gets reused and is sturdy enough to be dishwasher safe. I do sometimes buy the squareish plastic 1/2 gallon OJ containers though, so I'd just need to make enough freezer space for one.

 

[Imbrium]

I got a powerful box fan for about $20 today in case of an AC emergency... ended up going with that over a portable or window AC unit because I happened to walk down the fan aisle and was thoroughly impressed with the blast of cold air some of them provided (may still look into the AC units later, though)

they only had one battery-powered fan at walmart and some jerk stole the batteries out of the "test" model so I couldn't see how powerful it actually was, so I'm gonna shop around a bit more for an "in case CPS decides to break something again" battery-powered fan.

also, I found some flat rectangular ice packs at the dollar store (about 1''x4''x7'') that are filled with this blue gel gunk and labeled environmentally safe/non-toxic, so I bought a few and stuck 'em in the freezer. I can't see nala managing to chew through the thick plastic container during a single use (and ofc I'd inspect for tooth marks between uses), so they seem better than ziplock bags or 2-liter bottles and have the added perk of being flat.

I should be prepared now for AC emergencies and any vet trips that involve driving them around in hot weather - just need to get a couple battery powered fans in case of a power outage and we'll be set!

 

[Sweetie]

I would like to point out that it is hot in the late mornings. It is cool in the early mornings, late afternoons, early and late evenings. It is never cool in the late mornings. It is always hot in the late mornings and early afternoons those are the hottest parts of the day.

Glad that you are keeping your bunnies cool during the summer. Yeah when I had to take my rabbits out in triple digit heat, I brought along a spray bottle filled with water and squirted their ears to keep them cool while they were travelling to the vet and back home.

 

[Imbrium]

I dunno where you live, but it's NOT cool in the early evenings here, lol - often still in the 90s even at 10-11 pm >< it takes AGES for things to cool off!

I chose late morning for the vet appt because it was the earliest they had - it was either that or mid-afternoon and I'll take 90s over 100s any day! (definitely would've preferred early morning if it had been available, but given the limited options, I went with the lesser of the evils)

I do take the bunnies outside regularly 'cause they love it... I've found that shortly after sun-up (6:30-8:00ish in the morning) is the one time of day when it's not obscenely hot and is also light enough outside that I'm not concerned about icky bugs I can't see coming - if we go outside to play, it's during that time frame.

for the most part, we just stay inside until the brutal texas summer passes, though - depending on how hot it is outside, I set the AC anywhere from 72-77F in the summers (it has to be set high enough for the unit to cycle off every once in a while or it freezes up and stops working like it did the day I started this thread) and I've got the bunnies under a ceiling fan to help keep 'em cool as well.

 

[Blue eyes]

Sweetie wrote:

I would like to point out that it is hot in the late mornings. It is cool in the early mornings, late afternoons, early and late evenings. It is never cool in the late mornings. It is always hot in the late mornings and early afternoons those are the hottest parts of the day.

Glad that you are keeping your bunnies cool during the summer. Yeah when I had to take my rabbits out in triple digit heat, I brought along a spray bottle filled with water and squirted their ears to keep them cool while they were travelling to the vet and back home.

Down in the south and southwest, the weather isn't the same as Washington State. For us, the hottest time of day is around 4-5pm.

We've actually had cooler temps lately. But even so, it is now 6:30 pm and still over 100F.

 

[Imbrium]

yup, it's dark outside here in texas and *still* way too hot for bunnies to go play

 

[BabyRue]

It gets really hot here but the humidity is the worse. I keep two 2L soda bottles in the freezer and give Rue one when I leave for work in the morning. When I get home its pretty much melted but cool and I will switch them up. On the really humid days I come home at lunch to switch them.

You can pick up a fan at walmart for like $15. I have one I keep on high ocelating pointed at Rue's pen and Maggie(dog) cage. They both seem to do well.

I don't have an AC. I really wish we did but alas we don't. We keep two window fans on in our apartment, one in the living room and one in the bedroom blowing out so it pulls the heat out of our apartment. Works really well actually.

But yea the bottles work great. Rue will plop down beside it and just the cool coming off it cools him off.

 

[Imbrium]

man, I couldn't live without AC! even an evening without it is positively brutal. I like the same temperatures that bunnies like, so I keep the AC cranked up and the overhead fans going and we're all happy.

 

[BabyRue]

Haha honestly AC's tend to give me really sore throat and ears and give me bad headaches. The AC in my office at work is always on because the other girls I share an office with are always hot for some odd reason. I actually sit at my desk wrapped in a blanket lol.

The window fans are really good at pulling the heat out of our apartment. I have 4 fans running most of the time. We have arranged them and the placing and settings we have them keep my apartment nice and cool all day and night. And my 4 legged children have no issue.

 

[Blue eyes]

BabyRue, I don't think we could make it without A/C. :shock:

I just looked up a chart to make sure I was being accurate and it showed that the average high temps here in the Phoenix area are over 90F from May 1 all the way through mid-October! Three and a half months in the summer are triple digits. :boohoohee,hee) Actually I don't mind the heat -- provided I have a pool to jump in. I much prefer the heat to the cold. And I LOVE sunshine!

The rest of the year our highs don't go below 65F. We do use a heater for winter nights which are in the 40s.

 

[BabyRue]

I actually lived in Chandler Az for almost a year. I totally know the Az summers... as well as Nevada(lived in Vegas for a few months and Cali). So yea I know the heat there lol. I wouldn't have been able to do it without AC. However its a different heat there then here. We have crazy high humidity which just makes you want to die. Standing in the sun here isn't bad at all. There are days its cooler outside then it is inside because of the humidity lol.

Either way, I wish we had an AC, in a way that it wont make me sick.

 

[Imbrium]

so follow-up question... how do you guys get rabbits to go along with the "keeping cool" tactics? mine are kinda... stupid... in that department, bless their little hearts.

today, I had to pick my bunnies up at the vet a little before 2 pm when it was around 98-100F.

I packed some mustard greens (their favorite veggie so far, which they don't get that much of due to the OA content) in a baggie right after washing them so they were still damp since it was lunch time anyway... bunnies didn't want to eat them.

I brought along two ice packs wrapped in two washcloths each and showed them where they were... bunnies sat on the opposite side of the carrier (at one point, I was waiting to make a turn and fussing into the backseat for them to get their butts OUT of the sunbeam because they were sitting in the ONE sliver of sunlight in an otherwise shady carrier).

when I got home, I took them straight to my neighbor's for a little play-date and I could tell they were still a bit warm (though her house is about 70F, which was helping them cool off). I hooked up their water bottle as soon as we got inside so they could drink some water to cool off faster... they wouldn't drink any. (they also rarely drink when we're outside 'cause they'd rather play)

I did eventually convince them to lie down and relax on the ice packs, but by then they were pretty much cooled off anyway.

I guess I just thought it would be instinct to drink water, gravitate towards cooler spots, not stand in sunbeams, etc. if they're hot... but they don't.

I feel like they don't actually mind laying on the ice packs, it's just that they don't grasp the correlation between laying on them and not feeling as hot. or maybe they don't mind being hot? I mind them being hot, though...

any tips on how to teach bunnies what they're supposed to do to cool off?

 

[Blue eyes]

Imbrium wrote:

so follow-up question... how do you guys get rabbits to go along with the "keeping cool" tactics? mine are kinda... stupid... in that department, bless their little hearts.

today, I had to pick my bunnies up at the vet a little before 2 pm when it was around 98-100F.

I packed some mustard greens (their favorite veggie so far, which they don't get that much of due to the OA content) in a baggie right after washing them so they were still damp since it was lunch time anyway... bunnies didn't want to eat them.

I brought along two ice packs wrapped in two washcloths each and showed them where they were... bunnies sat on the opposite side of the carrier (at one point, I was waiting to make a turn and fussing into the backseat for them to get their butts OUT of the sunbeam because they were sitting in the ONE sliver of sunlight in an otherwise shady carrier).

when I got home, I took them straight to my neighbor's for a little play-date and I could tell they were still a bit warm (though her house is about 70F, which was helping them cool off). I hooked up their water bottle as soon as we got inside so they could drink some water to cool off faster... they wouldn't drink any. (they also rarely drink when we're outside 'cause they'd rather play)

I did eventually convince them to lie down and relax on the ice packs, but by then they were pretty much cooled off anyway.

I guess I just thought it would be instinct to drink water, gravitate towards cooler spots, not stand in sunbeams, etc. if they're hot... but they don't.

I feel like they don't actually mind laying on the ice packs, it's just that they don't grasp the correlation between laying on them and not feeling as hot. or maybe they don't mind being hot? I mind them being hot, though...

any tips on how to teach bunnies what they're supposed to do to cool off?

It's important to realize that car trips are very stressful for bunnies, so they seldom will eat or drink anything while enroute. They will only be anxious to get back home and settled into their familiar surroundings. Once settled in, they will begin drinking & eating again.

Stopping by for a play-date is only going to add stress to an already stressful situation. It'd be better next time to bring them straight home. Bunnies don't do play-dates anyway -- that isn't how they socialize. They either bond with one or more buns and then stay with them 24/7. They don't make "occasional friends."

And as for cooling, again, they won't behave typically while in a carrier -- they are too stressed. If you provide a frozen bottle in their cage when they get home, they will snuggle against it or near it if they need to. Don't force it. I'd forget the frozen paks and washcloths and just use the water bottles. I know you were concerned about chewing, but I've never, ever seen that happen. Since the bottle is frozen, it's too darn cold to keep their snout on it long enough to do anything. It'll also be to slippery for their teeth to get a grip. :wink

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, I know rabbits are either bonded or separate - no "casual friends" - the play-date was just with a human, no other bunnies involved. they acted normal during the play-date and were friendly, outgoing and active/sociable just like they would've been at home and did lay on the ice packs after we'd been there 5 mins or so. they also ate all their veggies shortly after we arrived there.

I didn't really expect 'em to eat much (if at all) in the car, but was surprised they were on the opposite side from the ice packs. Nala WILL nom on plastic bottles of ice and was even nomming on the ice pack for a while yesterday. she's a very stubborn bunny like that and cold/slippery doesn't seem to deter her. I find it difficult to find room in my freezer for round bottles where the darn things won't slide out from time to time because I don't have space to stand them up and I find they're even less likely to lay against a round bottle than they are to lie on the flat ice pack.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

I live in Minnesota and my buns live outside and do just fine even when the temps are over 90 F. Rabbits are outdoor animals arn't they? Just give them a frozen water bottle, plenty of fresh ice cold water, and of course shade and they will be fine My rabbits love it outside in the fresh air and sunshine!:apollo: