Traveling in the car is stressful for rabbits. The car vibrations combined with the unusual sights, sounds, and smells make it very frightening. This means traveling with a rabbit, especially over long distances, can be a difficult and stressful affair. If you don’t plan and take precautions, your rabbit can end up sick because of the stress.
These safety tips are meant to keep your rabbit physically safe while traveling in the car, in addition to keeping everything as low-stress as possible so that your rabbit can stay calm throughout.
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1. Get a safe carrier for your rabbit
Whether you’re just taking a trip to the vet, or your taking a longer, multi-day car trip, you need to use a carrier that is safe for your rabbit.
A correctly sized carrier will give your rabbit enough room to turn around inside and lay down along the length of the carrier. Typically, small cat carriers (about 19” long) are a good size for rabbits, but if you have a large rabbit or multiple rabbits together, you may want to get a size up.
When prepping the carrier for travel, you want to make sure your rabbit has a soft footing available. Place a towel along the bottom of the carrier to give your rabbit some traction.
Safe carrier brands for pet rabbits
Most pet carriers have not been crash-tested. If you get into a serious car accident, they will offer very little protection to your rabbit. While there are ways of securing a carrier in a car to make it safer (see the following section), there are only a couple of brands of carriers that put the effort in to make them safe for car travel.
The Center for Pet Safety tested several carriers and found that the only two carriers that passed the safety test were:
- The PetEgo Jet Set Forma Frame with the ISOFIX Latch Car Connection
- The SleepyPod Mobile Pet Bed (this is the pet carrier that I use)
Unfortunately, because of the durable build and the safety testing involved, both of these carriers are on the expensive side. However, if you do get into a serious car crash, these are the models that are most likely to protect your rabbit.
2. Secure the carrier in the car
If you have one of the two safety-tested carriers mentioned earlier, then the safest place to put your rabbit’s carrier is buckled into the back seat.
If you don’t have one of these carriers, both the ADAC and the Center for Pet Safety advise putting the carrier lengthwise on the floor in the back of the passenger or driver’s seat. They found this position safest because most pet carriers are not made to withstand the force of a car crash. When tested, the pets (not real) were thrown straight through the plastic side and the door of the carriers. The carriers also tended to be crushed by the use of seat belts, making them unsafe.
3. Make a plan before your trip
If you are going for a long car trip with your rabbit, the worst thing you can do is go in without a plan. By planning ahead, you’ll know where to stop along the way to help your rabbit de-stress and remain comfortable.
You can also make plans for possible emergency situations with extra bottled water and food supplies, and you’ll have supplies ready if your car shuts down and you’re stuck on the side of the road, and you’ll have emergency supplies ready just in case your rabbit starts to get sick. You can plan ahead to find pet friendly hotels (or friends houses) if you need to take a multi-day trip.
4. Plan for frequent pit stops
Rabbits typically won’t eat when they are stressed in the car. However, it’s very important to their digestion for rabbits to be eating frequently throughout the day. This means if you are planning on traveling for more than a couple of hours, you will need to make plans for pit stops along the way.
Plan to make these stops for 30 minutes to 1 hour long, so that your rabbit has time to relax a little.
5. Put together an emergency travel kit
Before going for that long car ride, you want to make sure you have emergency supplies available. This means you want to include medical supplies but also think about having extra days worth of food, hay, and water for your rabbit.
Emergency packing list
- A box of hay
- A few days worth of pellets
- Extra bottled water
- Fresh leafy greens
- Critical care (for if your rabbit refuses to eat) (learn more)
- Gas drops (simethicone) (learn more)
- A heating pad
- A cooler with an ice pack (in summer)
6. Pack an enclosure and supplies
In addition to emergency supplies, you also want to make sure you have the supplies for your rabbit when you reach your destination or stay in hotels along the way. These supplies will make sure your rabbit has everything they would normally need in their day-to-day life and will make sure they are not destructive in their temporary living spaces.
Rabbit supplies packing list
- An enclosure (an exercise pen is easy to transport and set up)
- A litter box and supplies (pooper scooper, litter, etc.)
- Food and water bowls
- A variety of toys
7. Keep fresh greens available
Since it is vitally important to get your rabbit to eat as soon as possible, it’s a good idea to bring fresh leafy greens along in a cooler. These are tasty and enticing for rabbits but also don’t have too much of the sugars that sweet fruits and vegetables do, making them a healthy option.
Every time you make a stop, pull some leafy greens out and offer them to your rabbit. It may take a few minutes before your rabbit decides to eat them, but it’s a good sign that your rabbit is starting to destress when they finally take a nibble. If you are going on a long car trip, leafy greens can be vital for keeping your rabbit eating throughout the day.
8. Offer extra water
One concern for rabbits on car trips is the potential for dehydration. Most rabbits will not want to eat or drink while on car trips, but you still want to find ways to give them the option to drink when you take breaks along the way.
Make sure that you offer your rabbit a bowl of water whenever you take a stop. Bring extra water with you along and pour it into a little water bowl. Offer it to your rabbit to decide if they’re thirsty or not.
9. Look up rabbit veterinarians
Before heading out, you also want to look up contact information for veterinarians or emergency clinics at your destination. This way, if you find yourself in an emergency where your rabbit is developing heat stroke or GI Stasis, you’ll be able to get them to a doctor as soon as possible. Visit the House Rabbit Society for a list of veterinarians across the US.
You’ll also want to have your regular veterinarian’s information available. If you’re worried or unsure what to do about symptoms, you can give them a call to get their professional advice.
10. Keep the car cool
Because of their fur coats, rabbits can easily become overheated. This means there is an increased risk of your rabbit developing heat stroke since cars tend to collect heat even in mild weather. To prevent this, you’ll want to make sure you keep the car cool for your rabbit at all times.
It’s better if you can use the AC and not rely on open windows, since the many foreign sounds from outside can potentially be frightening for rabbits. However, you also don’t want to point the vents directly onto your rabbit, since that may cause respiratory issues. Instead, direct the air vents upward to allow circulation of the air throughout the vehicle.
Since rabbits can overheat so easily, you also want to avoid placing them in direct sunlight. Bring another towel along to cover the top of the carrier if the sunlight is too strong.
11. Avoid loud music and radio
Rabbits can also be stressed out by a lot of loud noises in the car. While some car and outside noises are unavoidable, you can at least control the music and radio inside the car. At the very basic level, you want to avoid putting music on at loud volumes. To take it even further, however, you can avoid music altogether or only play calm classical music or podcasts.
12. Comfort your rabbit
Whenever you stop, you’ll also want to take the time to comfort your rabbit. Pet them and talk softly to let your rabbit know that everything will be okay. Being around someone that they trust can keep your rabbit calm and help them recover more quickly.
If you are not the one driving, you can also do this while the car is on the road. Be careful, however, about opening a carrier while a car is in motion because you don’t want the rabbit getting out of the carrier and being a distraction in the car, potentially causing an accident.
13. Watch for health concerns
Both during and after your car ride, you’ll want to watch for any signs of illness in your rabbit. These symptoms are not always easy to notice since rabbits often show very subtle signs. The two illnesses that you want to look out for most on car trips are heat stroke and GI stasis.
14. Pack cleaning supplies
Don’t forget the cleaning supplies while packing for your trip. Rabbits will have to pee while inside their carrier, and the urine can leak out and get on the car. To start with, you can have a towel underneath the carrier to prevent leakage, but having basic cleaning supplies will also come in handy.
If you are staying in any hotels or as a guest at someone’s house, these supplies can also come in handy for cleaning up after your rabbit. Even just having extra towels, an all-purpose cleaner, and a dustbin can do a lot to prevent destructive messes that your rabbit can leave behind.
15. Plan for any overnight accommodations
If you need to stay in any hotels along the way to your destination, you always want to book your stay in advance. Since many hotels don’t allow pets, this will prevent you from having to call every place last minute to find a place that allows pets.
It will also give you a chance to plan out your trip better. You’ll know approximately how long it will take between rest stops and then the hotel at the end of the day, so you can give your rabbit adequate relaxation time along the way.
Sources:
- Boyd, Emma. “Traveling With Rabbits.” RWAF. 2017. https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/ownership/travelling-with-rabbits.
- Praag, Esther Ph.D. “Best Type of Carrier for Rabbit Transport.” MediRabbit. http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Transport/Carrier/Carrier.htm.
- “Pet Travel Tips.” Center for Pet Safety. https://www.centerforpetsafety.org/pet-parents/pet-travel-tips.
- Sandner, Volker. “Test Report: Securing Pets in Cars.” ADAC. February 2008. Accessed: https://wachusett.pssweb.net/Test%20report%20pets%20in%20cars-1.pdf
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Recommended Products and Brands
Important: These are Affiliate links. As an associate to Amazon, Small Pet Select, and Chewy.com, I may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases.
The two brands that I use when buying food for my rabbit are Oxbow and Small Pet Select. These both have high quality rabbit products and are companies that care about the health of our small animals. If you are purchasing anything from Small Pet Select use the code BUNNYLADY at checkout to get 15% off your first order.
- Hay: Second Cutting Timothy Hay from Small Pet Select
- Pellets: Oxbow Garden Select Food for Rabbits
- Treats: Oxbow Simple Rewards
- Toys: Small Pet Select Natural Toys
- Enclosure/cage:A rabbit exercise pen
- Rabbit carrier:SleepyPod Mobile Pet Bed
