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<\/a><\/p>\nShade<\/strong><\/p>\n Make sure your rabbits are kept in a shady area of the garden or house, eg under a tree, or away from a window. Offer more shade to the exercise area or enclosure using a parasol, sail-cloth, tarpaulin or towel. You can also put in some things which crate share such as a tunnel or a box. For indoor rabbits, position your rabbit\u2019s cage away from direct sunlight. If possible, move rabbits to a cool garage or into your home during the hottest days.<\/p>\n If you have an exercise area away from the hutch, it is very important that you ensure there is water shade and cool items available there as well as in their run.<\/p>\n Water<\/strong><\/p>\n Make sure your bunnies have plenty of water to drink and if possible replace it during the day to make sure it is cool and not warm. Provide both a bowl and bottle of water and add ice cubes to keep them cool- rabbits can get a bigger drink out of a bowl. Check the spout of the water bottle daily to make sure it is working properly. We do not advise giving them frozen treats or ice cubes because they can cause intestinal problems.<\/p>\n Ventilation<\/strong><\/p>\n You can safely used battery operated fans which can be attached to an indoor or outdoor hutch. Ensure that your rabbits have the choice whether to sit in the air flow or not. If the hutch is in a shed make sure it is well ventilated \u2013 open the door.\u00a0 You can consider fitting a wire door to the shed.<\/p>\n Keep cool<\/strong><\/p>\n In the wild rabbits live in underground warrens that are very cool in summer (and warm in winter) if you can provide an earth base to their enclosure, or big soil filled tray, which you keep cool by making it damp is an alternative. \u00a0Marble or ceramic floor tiles can also be placed in their enclosure (out of the sun) as a cool place to rest. The ceramic will stay cool, even in warm weather and will be a great place for your rabbits to relax on.<\/p>\n Rabbit spritzer<\/strong><\/p>\n You can use a plant spray\/mist bottle to gently spray water on your rabbit\u2019s ears which can help them to cool down.<\/p>\n Bunny cool blocks<\/strong><\/p>\n You can use a large 2 litre pop bottle filled with water and frozen (leave room at the top for the ice to expand).\u00a0 Give the frozen bottles to your rabbits so they can lean against them and keep cool.\u00a0 Have a spare bottle in the freezer, ready to swap out.<\/p>\n Give your rabbit a trim<\/strong><\/p>\n Consider giving long haired bunnies a short summer haircut, remove as much excess hair as possible to help keep them cool.<\/p>\n Give your rabbit lots of fresh green things to eat<\/strong><\/p>\n Wash the greens in cool water to help your rabbits get extra water and make them more appealing<\/p>\n Heat Stroke<\/strong><\/p>\n Heat stroke can be fatal, which is why it\u2019s important to keep your rabbits cool in hot weather.\u00a0 If you think your rabbit has heat stroke you should get them to your vet straight away<\/a>. For the journey to the vet, wetting your rabbits\u2019 ears and feet and draping their body in a wet towel can help. Never use ice, icy water or submerge a rabbit to try and cool them down.<\/p>\n Be aware of signs of heat stress<\/strong><\/p>\n Refusal to eat or drink<\/strong><\/p>\n This can also be a symptom of heat stroke, if your rabbit does not drink or eat for more than six hours, contact your vet for advice.<\/a><\/p>\n Flystrike<\/strong><\/p>\n In summer it is really important to check your rabbit two times a day for flystrike \u2013 do it when feeding them and refreshing their water.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Advice brought to you by Streetly Vets in Sutton Coldfield. If would like your rabbit (or any other pet) to join the Streetly Vets family then you can register them now by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wild rabbits would not be out in the hot sun, but instead in their nice cool burrow underground. But we keep rabbits as pets above ground so we need to help them keep cool. We have some advice and tips on how to do it. Shade Make sure your rabbits are kept in a shady […]<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n