How to drive long distances with rabbits

[LaylaLop]

I may soon be traveling cross country with my two rabbits (and dog). But my drive may be double yours. I was thinking of buying a medium-large dog kennel (about 3 ft by 2 ft) and setting it up with a litterbox, hay rack, food bowl, and hiding box to keep them comfortable like a mini cage, and bring along an xpen for running around breaks every 3-4 hours. I've only ever had them in the car for 6-7 hours straight and both ate hay and peed/pooped like normal. They didn't have interest in their water until I stopped, but they were still behaving normally otherwise and did drink when I stopped and offered it to them.

 

[LaylaLop]

Mandy, I found this list of tips and hope it helps you as well.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2362269_take-road-trip-pet-rabbit.html

Apples/carrots can provide moisture in a non spillable form when driving between water offerings. It's what I did whenever I had to deliver gerbils on 2-6 hour drives so they had some form of moisture.

 

[mybunnyfurgus]

Hi Mandy,

Please keep me posted on how your travel works out. I too have a husband in the military (US) and we will be moving from Wisconsin to California with our rabbit at the end of May. We've only had our bunny for about a year and a half and he's never been on a long road trip, at least not with us. My plan is to load his cage up in our car and go. We have found pet friendly hotels on our route so we have planned stops. Most of the pet friendly hotels that we will be staying at will even waive the pet deposit because he is caged.

Thanks to everyone else who posted with all of the helpful tips!

 

[Flirtycuddle]

I just actually did 25 hour drive cross country here in the US 2 weeks ago. My rabbit was definatly ticked off by the time we got to our destination since I did have to keep him in the pet carrier most of the time. We only stayed at one hotel and that night he had run of the bathroom just refused to get out of his carrier. Stayed with a friend on the way down too and due to having a puppy pitbull he was stuck in the cage too. I offered carrorts/apples while stuck in the car and left the water till we stopped for a few mins. (Had a 5 and 7 yr old with so lots of breaks lol) All in all he was fine once we were home and I got his cage re-set up due to moving. His litter box was used every time I stopped and cleared it too so he really showed no signs of issues due to being cramped in his pet carier.

 

[candykittten]

I think the best way would to put them together in one of those small animal cages they sell for rabbits at the petstore. The 2ft by 3ft ones with the closed bottom. Leave down hay, water and toys, and wrap the cage so they can't see out

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Just be aware if you cover the cage, to allow for ventilation. Especially if it's warm in the car/the sun is shining in.

Hope that helps!

Rue

P.S. Love the glowbunny in your profile.

 

[hokankai]

This April I will be making my first trip with a rabbit as well, but I am a seasoned pet transporter...LOL. I've transported two rats, a crested gecko, and a betta fish in between WA and UT all at once in the middle of the winter and everyone made it safe and sound.

For me I made a transport cage for my rats, which will be used for the rabbit this time and the rats will go in a rat-proofed cat carrier. I provide food and fruits/veggies heavy in water content and provide a bowl of water at rest stops. That's what I plan to do for Theodore.

Here's the transport cage I made. It works GREAT and was extremely cheap. It's about 1.5'x3'

 

[deaners]

Many years ago we travelled 3 days with our rabbit in our car. We did at least one 18 hour day. About 6 months later we made the return trip home. (We went from Alberta to Tennessee for a family illness.) Our bun Munches did really well on the way down (February). We got a small/medium dog crate and set it up like a cage with her food, water, litterbox etc.
We were able stay at pet friendly hotels to let her out at night, but she was pretty scared of all the smells. We kept her in the bathrooms over night to let her stretch her legs.
The way home she didn't do as well (it was June). She seemed to be a little car sick as she didn't want to eat much and kept her head buried under the wet newspaper where her water bottle was dripping.
Once she got home she was fine and returned to her normal self. I think the cooler weather of the February drive made it more tolerable for her.

 

[mrbunny]

Hokankai, that looks great!

Is that a large storage container with chicken wire (plus tape and zip ties)? How did you add the shelf in there?

 

[MandyK]

Thanks for all the replies. I feel better now, knowing others have done it.

Is it a bad idea to keep them in their regular-sized cages? I worry about the eating/drinking/pooping situation if they were in travel carriers, and I'm thinking they will do none of the above unless they are in their normal cages.

 

[LaylaLop]

My bf and I will probably be doing a 40+ hour drive this summer and I will be using an airline dog kennel to keep them both in so they can have a litterbox, hay, and water available. I'm going to put down pee-pads made for puppies and probably cover it with hay/cardboard. I feel the carrier gives them ventilation without allowing there to be too much viewing of surroundings/my dog who will also be in the car but not in a kennel. And I know a dog kennel is typically dog proof, whereas I wouldn't trust a cheap rabbit cage to be as secure. I'll be bringing along an exercise pen, which can be used for them to stretch their legs when staying overnight at places, or to even keep my dog contained away from the rabbits' carrier if have to leave them in the hotel, etc. when going to eat or something. I've also seen where some people make carrier-size cages out of NIC cubes with a storage bin or coroplast bottom.

 

[hokankai]

Yeah it's a storage container from Walmart and 1/2" hardware cloth. The shelf was actually a total fluke. It's a plastic lid that was in the garage while I was building the cage and just happened to fit perfectly. It was more for the rats, but Theodore likes to hide under it. I'm sure a little cardboard box would have the same effect

 

[deaners]

If you have room for their regular-sized cages I would take them in those. The more room the better. Maybe just make sure they have a towel or something grippy on the bottom of the cage so they don't slip around especially if you have to brake hard.

This is similiar to what we used:

 

[MandyK]

Deaners, I will be using a dog cage similar to that for our Flemish Giant (actually, I think I'm using the exact one you posted).
We have a big van so everyone's cages should fit, I just worry about the safety aspect. I've been told that it's safer to keep them in a carrier than a cage. Is that true?

 

[hokankai]

That's true for other animals and I'm sure it's true for rabbits. It's because the likelihood of being jostled and slammed against the sides of the cage is decreased when they're in a carrier.

Edit: they should still be able to sit, lay down, and turn around comfortably in the carrier though

 

[ZRabbits]

hokankai wrote:

That's true for other animals and I'm sure it's true for rabbits. It's because the likelihood of being jostled and slammed against the sides of the cage is decreased when they're in a carrier.

Edit: they should still be able to sit, lay down, and turn around comfortably in the carrier though

:yeahthat:

Bunnies are fragile and need a sense of security. A firm place to sit, lay and rest.

K

 

[mybunnyfurgus]

Well, we are currently on our 3rd day of traveling in the car (have 2 more days to go) with Lord Furgus. He seems to be tolerating it fairly well. We are averaging 8 - 10 hours on the road. Have his regular night cage wedged in the back seat. He does not seem to eat or drink his usual stuff in there, but I have been offering him some apple and a grape or two throughout the day and he will eat those. When we stop for the night we schlep the cage in along with his accessories and he gets some quality floor time in the hotel room. He eats and drinks and perks up after he realizes he is settled in for the night. Have been staying in Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites - both allow pets (Candlewood charged us an extra $10 for the night and Staybridge waived the fee because he's caged). Unfortunately, in the car he has not been using his litterbox, but going peepee in a different corner, so I have to clean that up every night. He does go back to using the litterbox at night in the hotel though.

Here is his night cage that fits well in my back seat.

http://www.superpetusa.com/product-list/habitat-defined-rabbit-habitat.htm#

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We only had a ten hour drive, bu I rented a van so we could keep them in their hutches.

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm glad to hear that things are going pretty well. Thanks for letting us know that, & listing where rabbits are allowed.

 

[MiserySmith]

Glad the drive is going well so far. I just drove from Nova Scotia to Ottawa, Ontario with 2 cats, my bunny and 2 rats as well as my fiance with my mother driving.
It was very cramped but the animals were great, the rabbit was actually the best of them all. They were still in travel mode when we finally got here for another day or so, but then they realized they were home and there was no issues