I’m going away with my family for 4 nights and need to figure out the best way for Leo to be taken care of

[Guest]

I need some advice. Please read to the end!

I’m going away with my family for 4 nights and need to figure out the best way for Leo to be taken care of.



One option is to leave him in my dorm room, which has AC, and have three friends take turns feeding him. My concern here is that he will get lonely and not eat. He has a history of GI stasis so it’s a big fear of mine that he will get stasis while I’m away because he’s too stressed from being lonely.

The other option is to drive him to stay with a friend’s mom. It’s a 3.5 hour car ride and I just made the trip a few days ago. On the ride home, it got up to 90 degrees in my car because my AC doesn’t work very well. But the house was air conditioned so he started eating right away when he cooled down.

However, the ride back had the same conditions, but I added ice packs around his cage and stopped periodically to put ice water on his ears to cool him down. When we got back to my dorm, it was about 80 degrees and the room took a while to cool down once I turned on the AC. He refused to eat and didn’t poop all night, but around 11 am he pooped a bunch and started eating.

My concern with this option is that he will get too stressed out from the heat and stop eating. However, he will be much better taken care of once he gets there, it’s air conditioned, he knows the house, and he won’t be lonely. This was originally the plan but now I’m rethinking because of the hot car ride.

I’m agonizing over this decision. Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated!!

[Yama]

Try driving at night it should be cooler for him …will the friends mom know what to do if he has stasis while there? How far would his vet be?

I would take infant gas drops & any other meds you may have incase of that like reglan or metacam … I don’t know that I would trust a few college friends to look on him & they probably wouldn’t be able to tell about stasis.

You could put a wet towel over part of his cage or carrier while driving also

[Stephanie]

I love that you're a college student and still put this much thought and energy into having a pet. Truly admirable quality. I definitely agree with the fan idea...

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[Kirstie]

No chance you could borrow a car from a friend or relative and take him on the car ride? If he’s used to you being around a lot I’d be scared he would get too lonely.

[Kim]

I always feeling mine is more comfortable at home where they know their surroundings but some buns love to travel!

[Heather]

I can completely empathize with your situation. I don't know your monetary situation but this is what I have done in the past with my rabbit since most of them been seniors. My vet will board them for between $30 to $40 a night.

They will feed them their food specifically when they need to and if there's a problem where they go into GI stasis then that is right there.

Where I took my rabbits, they had never had overnight rabbits. But they worked it out knowing that it would be the best place for them to stay. My advice is to call around or talk with your vet to see if that's a possibility. I can guarantee you you'll feel so much better doing this. I called everyday and the morning afternoon and evening to check on them. They will fill you in detail about their day as far as eating, going to the bathroom, etc.

There is somebody overnight as well at my vet that is there to observe animals and feed them if they need to eat that late. And if there's a problem they call the on call veterinarian. With my older guys I had to be very careful with the temperature just because they would immediately get ear infections and respiratory infection.

I initially had taken them to my mother's house over Thanksgiving and that was a huge mistake taking them out of their homeostatic environment.

Now, it could be because I had much older rabbits and yours may be younger and that may not be an issue. But I really encourage you to look into that to ease your own mind and know that your rabbits being cared for 100% of the time properly!

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[Anna]

He is super cute

I don’t know what to advise you though…

Are there bunny shelters in your area ? They usually do boarding and take care of the bunnies throughout a day . We took out. Undies there when we left for 4 days last year …

Maybe to take him with you and put as much of ice bag around as possible - like to make house of ice ? Good luck with whatever you decide !

[Kayla]

Hard to say really . based on your post i wouldn't feel comfortable transporting my bun anywhere based on the gi stasis issue you've had and the not eating etc . i have 6 of my own and honestly I wouldn't trust anyone but myself with them . even boarding places neglect pets and a bunny is way to sensitive . if it was me i would forgo the trip . but that's just me.

I don't trust anyone to take care of my buns . even family -- if anything choose someone who has owned bunnies before at least . they know what it takes to care for them and know warning signs to watch for etc . hope you have a good trip and bun is safe while your away

[Maui]

Maybe you can make a little mini swamp cooler with frozen water bottles and water and a portable plug in usb fan. (Assuming you have a usb port or port to plug in) Add a tile to his carrier to lay on along with a soft blanket and pack all the necessary meds and a bit of alpha hay.

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[Julie]

I think if you travel at night as someone else said and if ice packs are still needed you can take them, it seems he is comfortable once there, your college friends may not be aware of symptoms of gi stasis and it may happen between their visits, by then it could be to late. I would go with option 2. The day you are due home you could ask your college friends to put on your ac at your place so it is cool before you get home

[Jennifer]

I have been traveling with 4 bunnies. Once a four hour ride.

They definitely need a ventilated cage with soft bedding.

Luckily my AC works amazing.

The thing for us is that they are best in our loving care and would feel lost without them, so with this we know they are best taken care of in any situation.

Keep the ice packs and we feed ours watermelon -- throughout the rides so they stay cool and hydrated.

We

also put a blanket on the side of the window they are facing to keep the sun out.