Ears

What frequencies can rabbits hear?
The domestic rabbit is capable of hearing both high and low frequencies and possesses a broad range of best frequencies. Their range of hearing at 60 dB SPL extends from 96 Hz to about 49 kHz.

In low-frequency hearing ability, rabbits are significantly more sensitive than most other mammals. They are far superior in this regard to such animals as bats, but in addition they are also superior to a wide variety of rodents. Rabbits have a broad range of best frequencies extending from 1 to 16 kHz. Over this range, the average threshold varies by only ±3 dB making the selection of one particular best frequency all but impossible. While rabbits are not the only animal to display such a broad range of best hearing, the lack of a well-defined best frequency is sufficiently unusual to merit notice.

At the upper frequencies, rabbits exhibit the relatively steep decrease in high-frequency sensitivity (as compared to the more shallow low-frequency decrease) commonly found in mammals. With regard to their high-frequency limit, rabbits are about average among mammals with an upper limit less than ¼ octave below the average.

Can I determine the body temperature of my rabbit by their ears?
Rabbits are unable to sweat or pant effectively to dissipate body heat, and their main thermoregulatory mechanism is heat exchange by the ears, which have a large set of blood vessels.

Due to rabbits using their ears as their main thermoregulatory device, ears are not a good or accurate method to determine a rabbit's internal body temperature. The blood vessels in the ears can contract or expand minute by minute. Their ears may be cool when they are trying to conserve heat, and their ears may be warm when they are trying to dissipate heat. Normal rabbit body temperature is about 101-104&deg;F or 38.3-40&deg;C, which can feel warm to a human's touch even if a rabbit is relaxed and just passing normal blood flow through their ears.

However, if your rabbit is lethargic with cold ears and refusing to eat or drink, it is very likely that your rabbit is hypothermic and should be warmed up immediately.

Using a rectal thermometer is the proper method of reading a rabbit's body temperature.