An outdoor bunny who has grown a heavy enough coat to withstand such cold weather isn't prepared for indoor temperatures any more than an indoor bunny is prepared for the freezing cold outside temps.
I am curious about what this is actually based on...
I wasn't correlating the *degrees* of un-preparedness, mind you, simply using a general comparison to illustrate my point that you can't just bring an outdoor bunny used to below-zero temperatures into a house that has central heat with the mindset that the temperature indoors is completely safe for them. My point was that it's dangerous to take a house bunny out in freezing winter weather and it's dangerous to bring an outdoor rabbit from freezing temps to a heated indoor environment.
Bunnies have exactly two ways to regulate their body temperature - growing an appropriate coat for the climate they live in (which happens seasonally when they go through a molt) and their ears (which can only do so much to counteract overheating).
A human accustomed to climate control can go out in 100F+ temperatures for an hour or two reasonably safely because of how effective sweating is at regulating body temperatures (assuming one drinks enough fluids to stay properly hydrated). It may not be particularly comfortable (god knows I hate summer afternoons with the fire of a thousand suns, as I get warm very easily and thrive in cold temperatures), but it doesn't kill me to be outdoors on brutally hot days just because I'm used to a steady 75F (and wish it were more like 65-70F
). Also, we don't really adapt seasonally to the climate like animals do because we use clothes as our main way of adjusting.
A bunny accustomed to climate control, by contrast, becomes susceptible to heatstroke at temperatures above 80F because their ears don't "give off" heat nearly as effectively (plus, humans can sweat everywhere on their body while bunnies ears have comparatively little surface area). The more heat their body naturally tries to retain (through a thicker coat, for example), the more they have to try to get rid of... meaning the temperature at which their ears can no longer keep up is lower. You'd get overheated much more easily too if you dressed for below zero weather (a really heavy winter coat, multiple layers, snow pants, heavy gloves, a scarf, a hat, etc.) and then lounged around in a heated house all day.
Another thing that affects their ability to counteract heat is their ear type/style. Wild bunnies native to desert climates have adapted to have larger ears which have less fur (shorter, thinner, etc.) on the backs (allowing both sides of their ears to aide in cooling). Lop-eared rabbits tend to be more susceptible to heat - the inside/front of a rabbit's ears is where the vast majority of the cooling takes place (excepting desert species) and on a lop, this part of the ear doesn't get nearly as much air passing over it; also, they can't hold their ears up higher to enhance heat exchange.
:threadhijacked:... sorry for the educational tangent, heh.
Back to the actual topic...
He really does need to get to the vet today if at all possible. I know the closest exotics vet is 2 hours away, but is there a regular vet that will still be open when you get off of work or an after-hours/emergency clinic nearby? If they know they're your only option, regular vets are often willing to treat an exotic pet with the help of a phone consult with an actual exotics vet.
I would start by calling your regular vet, explaining things and asking if your vet would be willing to do an (after-hours, if applicable) phone consult with a local vet in order to get your rabbit started on an appropriate treatment sooner. Rabbit vets are well aware of how quickly a sick bunny can go downhill, so there's a good chance they'll accommodate you within reason to get your bunny medical attention sooner.
If that doesn't pan out, then start calling emergency vets in major cities until you find one that will have an exotics vet on duty at the time you would be wanting to take him to a local vet. Explain that you live too far away to bring your pet to them, that there is NO exotics vet at all available in your area right now and give a brief explanation of the situation, then ask if their exotics specialist would be willing to consult with your local (non-exotics) emergency vet by phone. If you strike out, keep calling - with every major city in the US as an option, you're bound to find one if you're persistent.
It's crucial to specify that you're asking if they'll speak
directly with another veterinarian, who would be treating your pet in person. Most vets will not (under any circumstances) give you treatment instructions/medical advice over the phone in an emergency situation to be relayed to your local vet - it's a matter of liability/covering their butts because there are simply too many variables involved. It's a completely different situation if they're advising the treating veterinarian, though.
Once you find a willing exotics vet, start calling local vets/e-clinics. Explain that you know they normally only treat cats and dogs, but you've got a very sick rabbit and you've found an on-duty exotics veterinarian in [whatever city/state they're in] willing to consult with their vet by phone and find out if they're willing to treat your rabbit (the location of the other vet should be specified just to make sure they're willing and able to place a long-distance call).
ANY e-clinic will almost certainly have the equipment and medication necessary to diagnose and treat your rabbit and any vet has the training to do non-species-specific procedures, so it's generally possible for an exotics-trained vet to diagnose/evaluate your pet over the phone with the help of the treating veterinarian and then explain their recommended course of treatment.
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As a note, if you're willing to pursue the phone-consult option, can't get your own vet to consult and think you can get him to a local vet by 7 pm CST, I highly recommend trying my vet here in Houston -
Dr. Jordan is an exceptional exotics vet; while I haven't had to take the bunnies in yet, I've taken gliders to him numerous times (details provided below if you're curious) and he's always been impressively thorough.
If you don't have time to call or aren't very comfortable with the idea, let me know via PM - I'll call and see what information I can get on your behalf... if you plan to call yourself, I can PM you my full name so that you have the option to "name drop" by mentioning that AAV was suggested by one of their clients (the receptionists probably won't recognize my name alone off the top of their heads but if you add that they've treated my gliders and possibly mention a glider name, I guarantee they'll remember me.
Lemmy's probably the best to mention, as my first visit was regarding health concerns with him (he "seemed" bloated/I was paranoid due to not knowing his cagemate's COD yet) and Tabby's death/arranging for a necropsy... plus Lemmy's very unusually colored in addition to being a little charmer and even when I'm there for a different glider, he always comes out to visit with the staff.
Details re: vet visits, if you'd like to know why I'm so willing to vouch for his bunny skills without seeing them in action:
~ He necropsied Tabitha to determine COD after she abruptly fell deathly ill and passed en-route to the nearest exotics e-vet.
~ He examined Lemmy because I thought he felt a little bloated (he checked for gas or an obstruction, ran fecal tests, etc. and even x-rayed him for free to double-check that there really wasn't anything wrong).
~ I brought Hobbes in for constipation and hissing/chirping when trying to potty... he pooped on the exam table while the vet tech was weighing him; Dr. Jordan ran fecal tests that came back clear but felt that the poop looked abnormal. He sedated/scoped and x-rayed Hobbes to check for an obstruction or anything else abnormal, swabbed him during the scoping/examined the sample (looking for a possible infection) and even sent it off to a lab to be cultured (no charge) so that the results would be available if a follow-up visit was necessary, since he was diagnosed with enteritis (inflammation of the intestinal lining) but the cause was unknown at that point. Hobbes was prescribed metacam and flagyl and recovered very quickly.
~ I brought Hurricane in maybe 3 weeks later... she was pooping but seemed to strain a little when doing so; I felt there was a chance she'd also come down with enteritis (she and Hobbes are cagemates, so if his enteritis was due to an environmental or communicable cause, she could be exposed as well (I hadn't bothered to get the culture results, since he made a full recovery)).
Also, I was being extra paranoid because I thought she had a joey in her pouch and my first "pregnancy" experience ended with Tabitha dying with her first joey 4 weeks IP. Lemmy was temporarily housed with Hurricane and Hobbes after Tabby's death; he's intact and I was removing him when Hurricane went into heat. She didn't appear to go into heat one month; about a month later/a week and a half before the vet visit, another (very experienced) breeder and I both palpated her and concluded that she appeared to have one joey IP).
Hurricane was given a clean bill of health - again, I turned out to be paranoid. Dr. Jordan went a step further and asked if I'd like him to take a careful peek inside her pouch (not out of any medical concern, just a "while we're here and since you think she's carrying a joey" thing). As it turned out, she wasn't carrying a joey... I still really do think she got pregnant, but I did also notice that I couldn't seem to see the "baby bump" anymore starting a week or so before the visit. He was able to tell me that, if she'd had a joey IP but it got pulled (a VERY likely scenario in an intact male/neutered male/female situation; joeys can't reattach to the nipple if they get removed while IP), it had been more than a couple days since that happened... which lined up with when the bump seemed to disappear.
