Bring bunny on vacation or leave him home?

[njbunny]

We are going to visit my parents soon who live in NC (we are in NJ). It’s a 11hr ish drive and we usually only stop 3 quick times for gas/bathroom/stretch. This will be the first year we have the bun so I am not really sure what to do with him. We bring our dog with us who just sleeps the entire way. We also have a cat and will have someone come in every other day at the least to do his litter boxes and refill food/water dishes. Our bun is pretty laid back but has not really gone anywhere in the car for a long time. Once we get to my parents I can setup a cage in their garage with the nic cubes so once we get there he will be fine. My concern is getting him there.

So my question:

Do you think it is better to do a 11hr car trip so he can be with us and have more time out of the cage all week OR is it better to leave him in his home with a sitter who will only let him out an hour a day? I guess which is worse, car trip and a strange place or less time out of the cage and home with a stranger?

Note: I have considered trying to find someone to take him into their home but I think I am better off getting a sitter to come in to the house.

If I do go the car route what do I transport him in? I know they recommend a small carrier (just big enough for them to turn around lay down) so he cannot get throw around inside incase of a crash but I feel bad cramping him into a tiny carrier for 11hrs….

If I leave him at home I will probably extend his cage to give him more space to compensate for the lack of free roam time (although he will probably just lay there anyway so not sure if will do much). I also will need to figure out a automatic feeder for him since I don’t want him getting all his pellets and green at one time once a day. I also don’t really want to pay to have someone come twice a day as I barely got my husband to let me rescue him and I promised he would cost us very little money.

Thanks!

[Elrohwen]

I have taken my buns with me to my parents’ house a few times, about an 8 hour drive, and they did well. I think some of it depends on the personality of the rabbit, but as long as he’s not extremely skittish and opposed to change, he’ll probably be fine with the car ride and new location.

I have also left my buns at home with someone to come in and feed them twice a day, but they don’t get any out of cage time (they have a large enclosure though), so both work. I would definitely recommend hiring someone to come twice a day if possible though if that’s how often he’s used to eating. You could probably make once a day work though if he always had lots of hay available.

It’s really up to you – there’s no right answer. As far as car travel, the crate doesn’t have to be tiny. For medium sized rabbits, under 10lbs or so, a typical cat carrier is fine. I don’t leave water in there because it’s messy, and because my rabbits don’t drink very much anyway. I do give them some romaine lettuce for longer trip because it contains a lot of water, but they rarely bother with it.

[njbunny]

He is laid back and very friendly. Not skittish at all. My kids can run past him and he just stands there.

[BlueMoods]

If you take him, take bottles of water from home and, know who the emergency vet is where you are going. Water there may have different chemicals and, you don’t need to risk upseting his drinking, or his GI tract and, you do need to know who to call if something does happen that requires a vet.

[Beka27]

I would be leaning towards leaving him at home and having someone come in to feed/water once a day. If someone is already coming for the cat, it’s not that much more to give him what he needs. He’ll be less stressed this way. If it were for 2+ weeks, I might say ‘take him’… but it’ll likely take a full day or two (or three!) there for him to acclimate, and then just a few days later you’re leaving again. He will be fine without out of pen time for a week.

[Beka27]

Posted By BlueMoods on 3/06/2014 4:03 PM

If you take him, take bottles of water from home and, know who the emergency vet is where you are going. Water there may have different chemicals and, you don’t need to risk upseting his drinking, or his GI tract and, you do need to know who to call if something does happen that requires a vet.

BlueMoods hit the nail on the head about the water too!  Good point!  That’s something I always forget about!

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