Hot weather concerns

Rabbits are unable to sweat or pant effectively to dissipate body heat. The main thermoregulatory mechanism is by heat exchange in the ears.

In general, rabbits are much less heat tolerant than cold tolerant. Temperatures of over 75&deg; can easily cause heatstroke in a rabbit. As a result, during hot days in the summer, it is important to monitor your rabbits to insure comfort and health.

Methods to Keep Cool

 * Make sure that there is plenty of shady space in your rabbit's housing enclosure that is out of direct sunlight at all times of the day.
 * Set up a circulating fan that will blow the air around your rabbit without blowing directly on him. Hanging a damp towel in front of the fan will also produce cooler air. Make sure that you bunny-proof the fan cord.
 * Place a ceramic, stone, or marble tile within access of your rabbit. The tile will remain much cooler than the air around it. These can easily be bought for <$2 a tile at home improvement stores such as Lowes and Home Depot. Marble tile is the coolest out of all the types.
 * Mist or lightly dampen your rabbit's ears. Rabbits do not sweat and use their ears to regulate their body temperature.
 * Remember to regularly brush your rabbit's fur. Extra loose fur provides unnecessary insulation in the summer months. If you have a long-haired rabbit, consider trimming their coat shorter.
 * Place a few ice cubes in your rabbit's water crock to give them a cool source of water to drink or container to lie against.
 * Fill large plastic bottles and jugs (e.g. 1L soda bottles, milk jugs, juice bottles) with water and freeze them. Once frozen, place them in your rabbit's housing enclosure so that he can lie against them to stay cool. Have more than one on hand to rotate out. Some rabbits also like licking the condensation off the containers. Others enjoy it better when there is a towel over the frozen container.
 * Feed your rabbit plenty of wet vegetables to make sure he is getting enough hydration.

Keep an eye out for older (5+ yrs), overweight, or incapacitated rabbits. Because of their tendencies to be sedentary, they may not get up to drink water when they are too hot and can easily succumb to dehydration.

Heat Stroke
If your rabbit shows signs of heat stroke, contact your vet immediately. Do not submerge him in cold water because it may place the rabbit in shock. Only lightly dampen his ears with cool water.

Flystrike
If your rabbit has a dirty bottom in warm weather, flystrike is a serious danger regardless of health or age.