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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Bun Car Ride Across the Country

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    • bmt87
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        Hi all – I know it’s been SO long since I’ve posted and I wanted to check in!

         

        Life has gotten WAY crazy.  I accepted a 6-month fellowship on the west coast so have to graduate early (soooo muchhhhh thesissss writttingggg – hence the lack of posting) – it was something I couldn’t pass up.  In the mean time, my boyfriend got into a PhD program on the east coast in Richmond, VA so we will be moving there…him and Lola will be making the trek across the country the first week of August (and I’ll be joining them in December…I already miss them…mostly Lola!) and I am SO nervous as she is SUCH a mess when it comes to car rides.

         

        Any one have any suggestions?  We are trying to get her used to going back and forth to his parents every other week (about an hour trip) and about a month before he is going to make the drive he is going to tear down her condo in our apartment in San Diego and have her “live” in her old baby bun pet store cage (I say ‘live’ because her cage door is always open so it’s pretty much just her home base)…..it fits PERFECTLY in the back seat of the car so we thought it would be a much smoother transition and less of a shock to her if she had that little bit of familiarity and room to stretch for the drive since it fits her normal litter box and she HATES her carrier.  We also plan on covering the cage with a sheet for shade and making sure she eats wet greens everyday before the drive. I’m just so nervous since I won’t be making the trip with them.

         

        Any advice is welcomed!

         

        And – a pick of the girl!  Don’t worry…she didn’t eat the pillow…she’s just been working on the seams since she was a baby bun and it didn’t survive the last wash and I let her pull all the stuffing out for fun before breakfast one morning.  She loved it!  Ignore her lionhead mane…she didn’t have time to tame her bedhead.


      • Monkeybun
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          Take breaks at least every 2 hours to let her relax a bit during the drive. Open windows for fresh air and such too. Offer noms on the breaks, and fresh water too as bowls and bottles tend to get knocked over or drip during drives. Her favorite treats may help ease the worries too

          She’ll do fine, I’ve driven a portion of a few trips now for some buns from Canada to San Diego (me the Portland to Redding leg) so I do know they make it okay. Just gets a little stressful during, and she may be cranky when she gets there, but she will forgive you


        • NewBunnyOwner123
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            Wow you are literally traveling across the entire country. I don’t think I would stop every 2 hours… that would drag out an already extremely long drive. I would still stop for breaks but not as frequent because I doubt she would want to eat and drink much on those breaks anyways. Maybe after a couple days of driving she will adjust enough to be able to eat and drink. But that’s like what, a 6 day drive? We drove from Texas to Delaware and it was 3.5 days. But it was a military move and we were only allowed to drive a certain amount per day… how many days do you think he can make that trip in?


          • MimzMum
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              Oh, I hope all goes well on this trip. I may have to take three bunnies, three cats and two dogs across country before the end of the year, so I can relate.
              Wishing you good luck on your journeys and please give some snuggles to Lola for me.


            • LittlePuffyTail
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                It sounds like you guys are taking all the necessary steps to make it easier for her.

                She’s so cute! Love that pic of bunstruction!


              • Deleted User
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                  Lola is a doll!

                  The big thing about car rides is that rabbits tend not to want to eat or drink for the duration of the trip so it rather upsets their overall GI balance. Take their favorite fresh (water-filled) foods along to try to coax them to eat at break stops, make sure they have plenty of hay, and be prepared to deal with a little bit of diarrhea or other mess for a day or so after the trip, depending on how well the rabbit travels.

                  Since a rabbit can’t predict the direction or momentum of the car, I find mine travel best in one of two ways. First is on the passenger seat beside me, either in or out of their carrier, with one of my hands constantly on them essentially as a seatbelt to shield them from shifts in center of gravity. The other is on the floor on a blanket where their low center of gravity means they are less likely to lose their balance and get nervous when the car takes a turn. . . Hope that helps.


                • MimzMum
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                    I’d have to say, bun would do best staying in her carrier. If you can get a small clean doggie kennel might give her some room to wander a bit during the trip but still be contained, depending on how large the vehicle is and what other stuff is in it.
                    I’m just thinking of when one of our older members drove from the east coast to Colorado and at the near end of the trip, her car went out of control and rolled, by a miracle she came out with only bumps and bruises and the two buns with her survived, albeit somewhat shaken. You just never know what’s coming up on the road and you don’t want to take a chance that your attention to Lola whilst driving causes you to lose control of your car.
                    Plenty of time at rest stops to let her roam the car if necessary, but watch the doors and windows.
                    Sure you know all this, but this thread just brought back the memory of what happened to this other bunny mum.


                  • jerseygirl
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                      A small tip; a rubber mat or liner in her carrier/cage if Lola won’t try eat it! She should be too distracted by the motion of the car hopefully.
                      I just find they don’t slip around when I line carriers with something like this.

                      A lot of people have mentioned those memory foam bath mats for their rabbits habitats. They’re covered in microfibre i think. Those in her cage would give traction and stop her sliding about.


                    • Deleted User
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                         Another thought is a show carrier — the advantage of these is that they have slotted floors so the poop and pee pass through to a pan below (usually put aspen shavings are recycled paper there to absorb.  For those rabbits with sensitive underfeet, there are special standing mats that still let the stuff through but aren’t as hard on feet as polyurethanecovered wire.  These also keep the rabbit in a safe position–they don’t let them stand up so they will never have a bad fall.  Typically you fill the inside with hay to sleep on and a n attached bowl for food and water . . . and a favoratie play toy.  You don’t have to go to a show to get one from a vendor.  Just look on line– most will mail them with a small amount of do-it-yourself assembly.  They really are better suited to rabbits than dog or cat carriers.  Or at least that’s my opinion.


                      • Monkeybun
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                          I would not suggest a show carrier. With t he wire floors, a bun in a car for that long would VERY uncomfortable. A cat carrier with a small litter box in it would be better.


                        • bmt87
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                            Thank you so much for all your suggestions guys – they’ve been really, really helpful! I printed them off and plan on coming up with a concrete gameplan with my boyfriend soon.

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                        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Bun Car Ride Across the Country