How warm is too warm?

[BethM]

What's an ideal temperature range to keep rabbits in?

It's been really warm here lately, and my air conditioner is struggling to keep the temp. decent inside. I'm in an apartment, so there's not really anything I can do, as far as making any sort of home improvements. Seriously, the a/c has been running non-stop for the last hour and it's the temp has not even moved from 73. (I'm on the top floor. My last elec. bill was more than it's ever been in 3 years of living here, and it wasn't even hot yet. I don't remember it being this difficult to keep it cool last year, so I don't know what the problem is.)

I usually try to keep the apartment right about 70, year round. Above that, Amelia tends to breathe more heavily, and will start shedding in small tufts. Nick has been panting a little this evening, Tobi doesn't seem to be bothered.

I have noticed that Amelia (and/or Nick) has been drinking more water than she previously has. They still came out to play this evening, and ran around a lot.

I got a big ceramic tile but haven't had a day I could watch them with it, to put it in the cage. They are big chewers, if they chew on the edges of the tile, could they hurt their front teeth? Should I just put the tile in the cage and not worry about it?

The frozen water bottle won't work for me, they will chew on it and when the water melts it will flood their cage. (happened before) I have a small fan but I don't trust it to be safe, running when I am not home. (I'm OCD. I can't even leave the house without checking to make sure the toaster oven is unplugged!) I try to keep the blinds in the living room closed, but my fiance often opens them because he thinks the dark room is depressing. (Yes, it is. But it's also cooler! I have explained this to him many times but he either doesn't care or forgets.)

Nick and Amelia have fur that is about an inch to an inch and a half long, would trimming their fur help to keep them cooler?


Sorry this is so long. I've had Nick and Amelia for 3 years, and this is the first summer I've had problems with them seeming warm. I'm worried about the air conditioner not keeping up, since it's heading into the hottest part of the year. (It can get into the upper 90's with a heat index as high as 120 degrees. Summertime in Kansas!)

 

[tonyshuman]

I keep my apt at 73 (with a window unit), and that should be ok. If they're having trouble, you could always buy a second unit (they can be as cheap as $100 new, and even cheaper resale ie craigslist). Another idea is to put the bunnies in a smaller room during the day with the AC on, keep the shades down, etc, and put the AC on a little higher, so that you don't have to cool your whole apt ($$$$) but can still keep it at a good temp for them in the area that they run about in.

Also, ceramic tiles from the hardware store put into the freezer and then given to the bunnies to lay on can be good, I hear. What about freezer packs like you put in your cooler? I don't think they could chew through some of those too...

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Best temps for buns is not over 80F/low humidity. I would think that if your a/c is struggling, it may need frion. Check on that.

Otherwise, the frozen ceramic tile is ideal, but them chewing it could be an issue. Not something you want them doing. You could use the tiles while you supervise and waterbottles when you don't?

Let us know how it goes. Best of luck.

 

[BethM]

Thanks, it's good to know they are at least in the safe range.
I wonder about Amelia sometimes, she will be breathing more heavily than normal but choose to lay on the carpet or small rugs in their cage. (There's linoleum over plywood under their cage, with rugs and a grass mat in a few areas for traction.)

I do think they would chew on ice packs. Amelia will chew on *anything.* Especially if she decides she doesn't want it in her cage.

I will try the tile this evening when I can supervise.

We're not allowed to have extra ac units. I will check into the freon thing, though. I've also been meaning to shake out the filter. They are changed once a year by maintenance, but the ones they put in look suspiciously like the ones you're only supposed to use for a month.

Unfortunately, Nick and Amelia live in the living room, where the only window is the sliding glass door. I will try leaving the ceiling fan on today, but it's in the dining room, so I don't know if it will do a whole lot of good. The only small room that stays cooler is the guest bathroom.
The room Tobi is in actually stays a couple degrees warmer than the living room (the vent doesn't seem to work well in this room or the kitchen), but she doesn't act like she minds much.

It's mostly Amelia that has issues. She is a little chubbier this year, maybe that is the problem.
It's supposed to rain tonight and then be down to the mid-80's next week, so that will help a little.

 

[gwhoosh]

It's (obviously) really hot here, in the 90's every day. And our house is kind of open, so it's hard for our AC to cool it down well without us paying a million dollars in electrical bills, lol. Both our units are usually at 78, but I have my ceilling fan running on high 24/7, so it's probably a little cooler than 78. My bunny has a tile to lay on (which she does a lot, she really likes it), the blinds are always closed, and the lights are off most of the time. And she's totally fine, so I would think yours would be too. But maybe that's because she's used to it? (a house being 70 all the time?! I'd be walking around in a sweater every day! Brrr)

 

[JadeIcing]

Ice in the water bowls.

 

[BethM]

gwhoosh wrote:

But maybe that's because she's used to it? (a house being 70 all the time?! I'd be walking around in a sweater every day! Brrr)

Yeah, 70 is really cold to me. I'm cold if it's less than about 75. Sometimes I will let it get closer to 74 for a couple hours so i'm not freezing, but then I'll see Amelia's breathing get faster, and feel guilty. I keep a blanket on the sofa and I'm constantly under it.

It's pretty painful to get these high electric bills right now, but our heat is gas which is included in our rent, so the average bill in the winter is fairly low. I guess it evens out through the year. I used to keep it really warm in the winter (since heat was "free"), but now it's 70 to keep Her Highness comfortable. Which is fine, really, because I don't want to be wasteful.

I am hoping she might adapt to 71 or 72 if I keep it like that. She's started shedding, but doesn't like being brushed. I managed to pluck enough fur of her last night to make a ball the size of a gerbil. (When it was rolled up tight!) She could use more plucking, but she was fed up with it at that point, I will keep trying.

Nick's fur is a little longer, I may trim it a little bit, since he tends to ingest more hair, anyway. Two bouts of stasis is enough. He's got some short areas on one side, anyway, he slept on a urine puddle and stained part of one side so I trimmed it a little bit. He was still sick then and I didn't think he needed to be grooming that.

Ice in the water.....great idea, JadeIcing. Will try it tonight, along with the tile.

Will also clunk my fiance over the head next time he leaves the blinds open.

 

[JadeIcing]

BethM wrote:

gwhoosh wrote:

But maybe that's because she's used to it? (a house being 70 all the time?! I'd be walking around in a sweater every day! Brrr)

Yeah, 70 is really cold to me. I'm cold if it's less than about 75.

OH MY GOD! Anything over 60 is hot for me.

Ice in the water.....great idea, JadeIcing. Will try it tonight, along with the tile.

Anytime!

Will also clunk my fiance over the head next time he leaves the blinds open.

I like that idea.

 

[gwhoosh]

Oh! Also, frozen canned pumpkin cubes! Yummmm :biggrin2:

 

[fancybutterfly]

I live in an apartment too and it tends to get warm and humid.

When it's really bad, I have fans along with the a/c. I will also put frozen water bottles out. SOme people say fans are not ideal, but honestly, by bunnies LOVE them. THey are mini size, so they do not blow a lot of air, but just enough. Bob will sit a distance in front of it. But Zeus will lay right down in front of it!!

I figure if it's bad or uncomfortable for them, the wouldn't do it.

Also, my buns are free range/litter trained, so they easily find a dark, cool place.



Good Luck!

Fancybutterfly

 

[BethM]

I tried the cold tile last night. Amelia was initially annoyed at having me messing around in her area, but sat on it for a while. Nick tried to eat it. Well, I think he was just investigating it with his teeth. I took it out overnight, I will put it back in this evening.
Dropped an ice cube in the water, Amelia turned her nose up at first, but drank a lot of water later on. (I added another ice cube before bed, and I'll drop another in before I leave for work.) I'm letting the temp. stay up around 73.

Also managed to pluck more fur. It's mostly coming out over her thighs and right above the tail, and now she has a "bald" spot on her rear end. It's not really bald, the fur there is short and sleek, but then it's long and scruffy all around. I find it interesting that she is orange-y brown, but a lot of the fur that's coming out is the white undercoat. I now have a ball of fur that is the size of a small rat. (Yes, I'm saving it to see how much comes out!

They've never had an actual full-blown molt, just constant occasional shedding. (Probably because I keep the temp is constant year-round?)

 

[fancybutterfly]

When Zeus first molted, I freaked out! IT was the oddest thing! (He's black with a white under coat.) It looked so scary, that I thought there was something wrong with him!

Bob turns his nose up at everything at first. They often need to be introduced to something and then get repeating before they get used to it.

 

[gentle giants]

gwhoosh wrote:

Oh! Also, frozen canned pumpkin cubes! Yummmm :biggrin2:

Hey, now there's an idea!! My bunnies would looove that. I think I will try it today, mabye mix them upa bit with Pedialyte to make them freeze better and keep the bunnies hydrated in this heat.

 

[gwhoosh]

gentle giants wrote:

gwhoosh wrote:

Oh! Also, frozen canned pumpkin cubes! Yummmm :biggrin2:

Hey, now there's an idea!! My bunnies would looove that. I think I will try it today, mabye mix them upa bit with Pedialyte to make them freeze better and keep the bunnies hydrated in this heat.

:biggrin2: I started freezing them to keep it from molding, but they become lovely bunny popcicles! I just spoon the pumpkin into an ice cube tray, and voila, they are frozen and the prefect size The Pedialyte sounds like an awesome idea! I might do that next time

 

[chinmom]

With the chinchillas, the room can't be over 75 degrees, and even that is a little too hot for them. So they have their own air conditioner, then there is a separate air condition in my kitchen with a fan going in the hallway to keep the living room cool. All of the critters also have marble slabs (which they cannot chew through). Ceramic is something that if they chew, a chip can break off and they could possibly ingest it. With marble, it is so hard that chips cannot break off.

They have marble slabs (when I say slab, I mean a piece of marble that's about a quarter of an inch thick, and 12" x 12") at Lowe's. They're used for floors and other decorations in hoses. They stay cool no matter how hot it is, and if one of the chins or bunnies need extra cooling, I stick them in the freezer for a few minutes and they are perfect. Some of them are only a few dollars, too! They are just like the marble that they sell in a petstore under the name "chinchiller." These are absolutely wonderful!

Hope I helped a little

-Annie

 

[missyscove]

For a while it was upwards of 110 here and our AC couldn't keep the house under 95.
We got the buns ceramic tiles, they already had a personal swamp cooler and then we bought an ac just for their room.

In the summer, our house is never under 80 during the day. There's just no way to get it that cool.

 

[BethM]

Nick and Amelia seem to enjoy the cold ceramic tile. I got 2, and rotate them through the freezer. They don't seem to be chewing it too much, so I may leave it in full time. I hadn't really thought of pieces breaking off and being ingested, I was more worried about them hurting their teeth if they chewed on it really hard.
Even so, I will try to find marble tiles for them. If I can't find one (our Lowe's and Home Depot's around here suck big time), I think I still have one of those fancy-pants marble "pastry boards" somewhere. It never worked for pastry (even cold, the pastry would stick to it, and even if it didn't it wasn't really big enough to roll much of anything out on), but it would work for bunnies. They would both be able to fit on it, too!

I think I will try the frozen pumpkin thing, though neither of them liked pumpkin last time I offered it. It's been awhile, though, so they might go for it. (Neither would touch fresh mint last summer, but can't get enough this year.)

Today was really really warm, I put the fan on them this evening and they're laying in the breeze.

Also, I pulled the filter out of the a/c closet on Tuesday, and the underside was like a carpet with all the fur on it. eeewwww. I cleaned it off, but I will get some new replacement filters if I can find the right size this weekend. The cardboard edge, which is falling apart thanks to the condensation in that closet, does indeed say "30 day filter." Maintenance changes them ONCE A YEAR!! The air ran a lot better yesterday, and it got cooler than it has been. The extreme temps today seem to have stressed it out again, though. :X

 

[missyscove]

Remember when you're running a fan for them to be sure that they have some way to get out of the direct breeze. Some buns love to lie in it, but others don't. Give them the choice.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Yeah, they hate breezes... Thanks Missycove!
missyscove wrote:

Remember when you're running a fan for them to be sure that they have some way to get out of the direct breeze. Some buns love to lie in it, but others don't. Give them the choice.

No fan right in the buns' faces (they hate that), butlengths away is perfect!

Also, we run a attic fan when the a/c is off and it cools so well! whoohoo!