Question
I was thinking about my sister's rabbit today, who she keeps indoors. Her house doesn't always keep a stable temperature, as it is mostly wood-heated. It is getting warmer out, so I suspect there won't be any issues for the rabbit come spring/summer, but I wonder nonetheless - is there anything she can do to make sure the rabbit stays at a good temperature if the house gets really cold?
Answer
John has great points in his answer (+1).
Domestic rabbits are more tolerant of cold temperatures than heat. I reached out to the chief medical officer of Rabbit Wranglers to get more information before posting this answer. In general, inside of a home, rabbits are unlikely to encounter temperatures that are too cool. See related question for temperature ranges.
But in situations where there is lack of power, or a sick bunny needs supplemental heat, there are some options. With all of these it is important that the rabbit is closely monitored or has the ability to move away from the heat source.
- Hot water in a thick plastic bottle (Gatorade) inside of a wool sock or thick towel.
- Rice packets heated in the microwave
- Warm towel just out of the dryer
- Snugglesafe heating disks
- There also some rabbit safe (cord enclosed in metal) electric heating pads.
- Share your body heat, snuggle with the bunny under a blanket
- In very extreme conditions without power, the rabbit's litter can compost to create supplemental heat.
Any of those solutions should be used in a bunny proof area, where the bunny can freely move to or away from the heat source. They should have access to hay and water at all times.
NOTE on composting heat sources
Compost systems are complex and beyond the scope of this answer to fully address. Effective systems can be designed with a volume as small as 10 gallons. An animal (or person) next to or sitting on top of the compost system can be warmed by the waste heat.
Answered By - James Jenkins