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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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 Travel

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    • Pam
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      7 posts Send Private Message

        Hello!

        I found a long haired lop who had been abandoned in a park. I decided to keep him, and this has been a learning experience to say the least! He’s pretty cool though. 

        I have to leave for the summer and don’t  have anyone around who can take care of him for me. I am going to try to take him with me, but it means a 3 day car ride. I’ll have two dogs in the vehicle with me. One in cargo and a 35lb in the back seat. Still not sure where to fit the bunny.

        I have a small carrier, but I can’t see him staying in that for 3 days. I have a dog carrier I used when I first brought him home. He did well in that. Kind of big for my car.

        Has anyone tried to do something like this? Any suggestions?

        Thanks!


      • Mikey
        Participant
        3186 posts Send Private Message

          Thank you for rescuing the little fluffy bun!

          Traveling is stressful for rabbits. Youll have to make break stops to feed and water your bun every hour or two to ensure it wont be overly stressed out. During the rest stops offer pets, water, and food for 10+ minutes before heading off again. Make sure your rabbit is eating, drinking, and pooping normal. If there are any signs of gi stasis starting in, make sure to set up a vet appointment with a rabbit savvy vet after you reach your destination

          If there wont be long break stops for the night (like at a hotel for the night), then youll want a bigger cage for the ride, i think. My 2 minis and my dwarf share a small/medium dog crate on long (3+ hour) car rides and do fine. Just make sure its secure and has a nonslip flooring


        • Pam
          Participant
          7 posts Send Private Message

            Good idea on the non-slip floor. I have some foam squares I use for his courtyard. I’ll cut them to fit the carrier.


          • Pam
            Participant
            7 posts Send Private Message

              If anyone is interested, my bunny did very well on our 3 day car ride. I’ve done this trip a lot of times with my dogs, so we have the routine down well, but I needed to add this bunny this time. This is a long post, but I thought if anyone else needs to take a trip with their bun, it might have some useful info.

              I bought a dog carrier for the trip. The one I got is big enough for him to fully stretch out plus a little extra room. I lined the bottom with very absorbent material, a bunch of timothy hay, and attached his bottle to the door. I love the Ferplast bottle and wouldn’t try this with a standard bottle due to the probability of leaking.

              So, I had my big dog in the cargo area, medium dog in the back seat with the bunny. My cooler and gear were in the front passenger seat. I put all the veggies for the bunny in the cooler.

              The worst of it was managing the heat. There are three main routes east from CA: I-40, I-70, I-80. I-40 goes through the desert states and will be hot at least 2 days – no way. I-70 is better, but you still have to go through Vegas and Utah, which are pretty hot. I opted for that one because I-80 is longer, very boring, and precariously few services in some areas.

              The first day and part of the second were hot. I cranked the AC and the bunny seemed comfortable, but I’d prefer better ventilation than the carrier provided. I might drill some holes in its top for the trip back.

              Stopping is the most dangerous part. If it is 110 outside, the car gets hot very fast. I use frozen water bottles to keep the cooler cold, so when I stopped to take the dogs out I would put one in his carrier. I made it a point to try not stopping when it was super hot and to hold out until we got under 100. Fortunately my car has an outdoor temperature gauge. We only had to make two short stops over 100. Day 2 we went from 112 in Mojave to 62 in Aspen with snow. We were fine with temperatures from that point on.

              He was eating well, but not drinking very much, which had me concerned. I did not know if maybe the bottle was too low or if he was shutting down. I put a little bowl of water in his cage when we stopped, but he wasn’t interested. He did lick the frozen bottle I put in. I also made sure to rinse the veggies in water just before giving so he would get more liquids when eating.

              Finally I did see him drink from the bottle at one of our stops. I think he does better when he has private time, so when we got to cooler weather I made it a point to leave him alone a bit longer. We spent nights in the car instead of getting a room, so I also took extended breaks in the mornings and brought his carrier out of the car for fresh air. That seemed to perk him up a lot.

              In the end though, everything went well. It took him a few days to perk up at our destination. He was still sluggish about drinking and peeing at first, but now he is doing both in spades. He’s getting fresh picked veggies every day from my mom’s garden, and we built him a large pen in the back yard for exercise. It is all good.

              I will be here for a couple of months before returning, which is long enough for him to recover. The heat is concerning. I got a flat in Utah and was able to change it quickly, but it was mighty hot. The thought of being on the side of the highway for an hour or more from a breakdown makes me wonder if I should go the I-80 route on the way back.

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          Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Travel