Garage Habitat for Bunnies???

[Bosco_Da_Bunny]

Hey, so my family and I are moving soon, probably within the end of 2017. The houses my parents are considering have garages (unlikely our current home) and we were thinking about housing our wonderful bun, Bosco there. Currently he lives in a large laundry room ( not the best situation, I know) and gets free roam of the house after us kids get home (around 3pm) to when we go upstairs at night (8:30-9:00pm) to do hw and such. I was wondering if we could make the garage work, because it is *very* large, and no cars will be housed in there, so the door would never open, and the car exhaust wouldn’t harm his lungs or something. What are some ideas to make the garage the best habital living space for my bunny? The floor is concrete so we would definitely put something down ontop of it. Maybe fleece blankets. Also, we are thinking about bonding him with another bunny from TheRabbitHaven. Thank you so much!

[Wick & Fable]

My primary concern is temperature regulation. I know all garages I’ve interacted with get extremely cold and hot during extreme days since there is not insulation built into the walls of garages and the concrete floor readily spreads and contains those temperature. What are some measures you’re taking in regards to the winter and summer?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Boymom4]

If you live in a mild climate that doesn’t experience extreme heat or cold, and your indoor and garage temperatures stay pretty consistently the same this might be a good place for him, however I will say that when I was a child and had my first house rabbit we let him live in the garage woodpile during the winter (he loved it there) and come into the house whenever he wanted but the extreme temperature fluctuations ended up getting him sick and he died of pneumonia after a couple months. I was devastated. The vet said that without a consistent temperature he was unable to regulate his coat properly and ultimately it was the back and forth that killed him ?

[DanaNM]

My concern (in addition to climate) would be that he might get ignored a bit out there (even with the best intentions it could still happen). I think it’s best that his home base is in a high-traffic area, so he gets interaction even when he’s not give free-run, and so that he’s not forgotten if people get busy.

Even if he has more space, he would be happier to interact with his family.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bosco_Da_Bunny]

Thanks, guys. We were thinking about leaving the small door that leads to the garage open, given what you guys said about the forgetfulness situation. We could also install heaters during the winter and air conditioners during the summer. It shouldn’t be too hard, given we live in California. The weather doesn’t change much.

[simbabunny]

My concern with that would be the temperatures. If your bunny has been inside his whole life, he might have a hard time adjusting to the winter and summer temps. Especially in the summer because garages can get pretty hot. If temperature was out of the picture, then I would say that it would be a great space for him!

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