Traveling with my rabbits

mochibuns · Feb 16, 2022

Hello everyone! Our whole family is set to an overnight stay for the weekend out of town which is almost a 2-hr drive from where we live for my mom’s birthday celebration. No one will be left at home to take care of Mochi and Matcha so my mom suggested that we bring them along. Would it be okay to do so? It will be the first time they will travel that long and I’m very much worried they will get stressed. Any effective tips or advices? Thank you very much!

Blue eyes · Feb 17, 2022

For just an overnight stay, that would be quite a bit of stress for rabbits. It's not just the drive but also the new environment. It takes rabbits time to adjust to new surroundings and until they get settled (could take days to weeks) they are in a constant state of stress. So that just means they would be under stress the entire time -- while driving there, once there, the time they are there, and the driving back.

It would be less stressful for them to just remain home. Provide plenty of water (attached so it can't be spilled) and a huge heaping amount of hay. That is all they need for 2 days. I've done this with my rabbits. I don't provide pellets then because they would just eat them all at one time which could cause gut problems. Having no pellets isn't a big deal. Hay is what is critical.

Just be sure they are enclosed in a safe space in which they cannot escape.

mochibuns · Feb 18, 2022

Blue eyes said:
For just an overnight stay, that would be quite a bit of stress for rabbits. It's not just the drive but also the new environment. It takes rabbits time to adjust to new surroundings and until they get settled (could take days to weeks) they are in a constant state of stress. So that just means they would be under stress the entire time -- while driving there, once there, the time they are there, and the driving back.

It would be less stressful for them to just remain home. Provide plenty of water (attached so it can't be spilled) and a huge heaping amount of hay. That is all they need for 2 days. I've done this with my rabbits. I don't provide pellets then because they would just eat them all at one time which could cause gut problems. Having no pellets isn't a big deal. Hay is what is critical.

Just be sure they are enclosed in a safe space in which they cannot escape.

Thank you very much for your advice! But it would really be difficult to leave them home especially I, myself, am a very anxious person and I have never left them alone at home without anyone to accompany them for more than 10hrs. A rabbit sitter is also not a choice for us at the moment since there are no such sitters around our area. Nevertheless, your advice is very very much appreciated! Thank you very much!!

Blue eyes · Feb 18, 2022

I understand your nervousness. Just please consider that it will be incredibly more stressful for them to be brought along for the trip. Stress alone can induce GI stasis. In my opinion, it is riskier to their health to bring them than it is to leave them home.

odyssey~ · Feb 18, 2022

A pet camera might help, I've found it particularly helpful when I'm worrying about my rabbit when I'm out of the house because I can monitor her and see how much she's eating!