When traveling is in your future, whether it be a vacation or a move, plans will need to be made for your rabbit. Rabbits have different personalities and each will react in varying degrees to stress, but you should keep in mind that most rabbits are stressed by changes–unfamiliar surroundings, changes in routine, changes in type of food/water and changes in temperature. Rabbits show stress by getting diarrhea, becoming withdrawn or aggressive, or by refusing to eat. By planning carefully, you can minimize these stresses for your rabbit.

Leave Rabbit With a Sitter

Find a reliable friend who knows your rabbit or a pet sitter who knows rabbits to care for your furry friend. Have the person meet with you and your rabbit to go over care and expectations.

Leave a list of instructions covering feeding and cleaning routines, signs of illness, and phone numbers of your vet and other people who can give advice on rabbits (in case a question arises when your vet is unavailable).

Daily portions of vegetables and fruits can be fixed ahead and stored in Ziploc bags in refrigerator drawers for up to a week (parsley, carrot chunk, broccoli and celery store well, but your rabbit should be accustomed to these before your trip).

How to find a pet sitter:

• Call the HRS for references.
• Veterinary technicians at experienced rabbit vets may do pet sitting.
• Look on bulletin boards at vet hospitals, pet supply stores and humane societies, then check references.

Pros to having a pet sitter come to your house

• Your rabbit will be in familiar surroundings.
• Feeding routine will be closer to usual routine.
• It will be quiet.
• A veterinary technician or someone familiar with rabbits is more likely to notice symptoms of illness.
• Pet sitters can be more cost effective than boarding if you have more than one animal.
• Your rabbit is not exposed to unfamiliar animals as in a boarding situation.

Cons

• Your rabbit may get lonely, especially if she's the only animal in the house.
• She may not get out of her cage.
• Having a sitter or neighbor visit only once a day leaves a lot of time for symptoms of illness to go unnoticed and also makes it harder to maintain the rabbit's routines.
• If you have other pets such as dogs or cats, you need to make sure they do not bother the rabbit.

Boarding in Someone's Home

This may be a friend or relative who will take your rabbit or an HRS volunteer who bunnysits in exchange for a donation to the HRS.

Pros

• If the person you choose is familiar with rabbits, symptoms of illness may be more quickly recognized.
• Your rabbit may get more attention than from a visiting sitter.
• A caged rabbit may get more exercise time than if left at home.

Cons

• Your rabbit will be in unfamiliar surroundings.
• Other rabbits and pets may stress your rabbit.
• You may need to move your rabbit's cage and supplies.

Board at Vet Office or Kennel

This is probably the least desirable option when leaving your rabbit behind. But if you choose this, there are several things to consider:

• Ask to see where your rabbit will stay. Ideally, the rabbit should be in a room away from dogs and cats. But, if in the "cat room," her cage should not face the cats.
• Ask if you can bring your rabbit's cage from home. This may minimize the change.
• The vet or kennel should be familiar with rabbits.

Pros

• An experienced rabbit vet can treat your rabbit should he fall ill or have a chronic health problem.

Cons

• Can be difficult to find a vet/kennel with space separate from dogs and cats.
• Kennel staff are not always familiar with rabbits, especially house rabbits.
• Unfamiliar surroundings and noise from upset animals may be stressful to your rabbit.
• Your rabbit most likely will not get out of his cage.
• Kennel staff probably won't give much personal attention other than feeding and cleaning.
• Can be expensive, especially if you are boarding other pets, too.

Take Your Rabbit With You

If you are going on an extended vacation with lots of sightseeing, you probably should leave your rabbit at home. If going on vacation for a month or more where you will be based at friends' or relatives' homes, you may be able to take your rabbit. However, you should make sure that your plans agree with your hosts and that there are no allergies to rabbits.

If your rabbit is not used to car rides (except to the vet), start regular car rides as early as possible before your actual trip. Start with short (30-minute) weekly or twice weekly rides in a pet carrier. Try to have some longer rides (1-3 hours) before the trip. Remember, don't leave your rabbit in a warm car.

If you are moving long-distance and are also moving several animals, consider renting a panel van with no partition between the driver and cargo (allows AC/heat to circulate). Place cages on top of carpet remnants or pads to minimize vibration, and secure cages to the wall of the van.

Carriers

Pet Taxis/Kennel Cabs are sturdy. Rabbits like the solid roof, but end-opening doors sometimes make it difficult to get some rabbits out. Some kennels have doors on the top, but these are usually not tall enough to allow many rabbits to sit up. Solid bottoms are difficult to keep clean unless you get a large carrier that will accommodate a small litter pan. It is also difficult to attach water bottles and food bowls to doors.

Rabbit carriers sold through pet supply catalogs are made of cage wire, sit in a metal tray which holds litter, and have top-opening doors. Small travel water bottles are made for these carriers.

A small rabbit cage or your rabbit's regular cage is perhaps the best choice if you will be on the road for more than a day.

Health Certificate

May need one for your rabbit if you are traveling between countries or by plane. For international travel, find out ahead of time about procedures at Customs. Quarantines could be a problem.

Supplies to Take

Water bottle/bowls
Fresh food
Hay
Water
Newspapers
Whiskbroom/dustpan
Garbage bags
Vinegar (for cleaning)
Paper towels
Pedialyte (infant rehydrating solution; comes in different flavors, useful because rabbits often become dehydrated while traveling)
Ice packs & towels to soak in cool water for heat stress
Medical supplies: eye droppers or syringes for feeding, any medications

Prepare for Emergencies

"Tattoo" a telephone number of a reliable friend or relative in rabbit's ears with a nontoxic felt marker. The ink wears off but provides temporary ID.

Type short notes for your purse, suitcase and car giving emergency instructions in case of accident, e.g., phone number of person to call who knows what to do with your rabbit and other instructions for rabbit.

Take the House Rabbit Handbook and other rabbit health information with you. Ask for the name and phone number of the nearest HRS educator to where you'll be on vacation. A local reference is always best if you need to find a vet fast.

If you need a vet, look for one with experience with "exotics" and ask about experience with rabbits, numbers seen, antibiotics (no amoxicillin/ampicillin), anesthetic, and fasting for surgery (no fasting for rabbits). Avoid emergency clinics if possible because they are often unfamiliar with rabbits and are more expensive.

Staying in Hotels/Motels

• Look for ones that accept pets. Well-known pet-friendly chains are La Quinta, Red Roof and Days Inns.
• Get a motel room on the ground floor in the back.
• Keep the rabbit in her cage except for exercise in the bathroom.
• Hang the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door at all times.
• It may be risky leaving the rabbit in the motel while sightseeing because of staff reaction and the rabbit's stress of being alone in an unfamiliar place.

Staying In Other Peoples' Homes

• Explain your rabbit's living conditions before you visit. Will they mind an indoor rabbit? Will there be space for exercising?
• Ask if they have allergies to animals? People who are allergic to cats may or may not be allergic to rabbits.
• Be diligent about cleaning up after your rabbit.

About Car Travel

• Rabbits cannot tolerate heat.
• If you have no air conditioning, drape damp towels over the cage and give frozen water cartons to lie against
• Don't leave your rabbit in a parked car in the sun. You may have to get food-to-go, take food along and stop in shaded rest areas, or wait until early morning and late evening to stop to eat.
• Rabbits do not like drafts. Carriers should not be placed where AC/heat blows directly on them.
• Water bottles will often leak out all their water. Rabbits tend to not drink while traveling, so offer water at all stops. Add Pedialyte to combat dehydration, but be sure the rabbit will drink it. You may have to syringe/dropper-feed water.
• Rabbits may also not eat while traveling. Offer favorite vegetables, pellets and hay at all stops. Put some hay and pellets in carrier while traveling.
• Even if you don't usually feed pellets, you may want to make an exception for traveling. Carrying enough hay for proper nutrition can take a lot of space. Instead, supplement the fiber of some hay with the calories in pellets.
• Try to establish some routine as to length of time in the car each day, stopping times, feeding and exercise times
• Strap down carriers so they do not slide during sudden stops

About Air Travel

"Imagine being a small animal inside a roaring, quivering airplane for several hours. Your ears may pop, probably for the first time in your life. The air on the floor where your box sits is hot and stuffy, or maybe quite cold. When finally let out, you're in a totally unfamiliar place. Ask yourself, is this an experience your rabbit really needs?" (B. Woolbright, House Rabbit Journal, Vol.2, #12).

Yes, if it is the only way to get your rabbit to a new home with your family. Perhaps, if you are going on a trip longer than a month. Probably not if you will be gone less than a month.

Consider

• Rabbits who are nervous, fear the vacuum cleaner, tremble in the car, who are older or have health problems will most likely find a plane trip too stressful.
• Rabbits who are calm and not bothered by car rides and new places will cope better, but may still find planes weird and scary.
• A one- to two-hour plane trip may be better than a 10-hour car ride. However, four days in a car may be less stressful than an all-day trip of changing planes and traveling to and from airports.
• If you choose to fly with your rabbit, you will need to:
• Shop around for an airline that will allow you to take your rabbit in the cabin. Some airlines allow pets in the cabin, but not rabbits. Some allow rabbits in the cabin, but check beforehand just to make sure. Some do not allow pets at all.
• If you get "no rabbits" as the first response, ask to speak to a supervisor and suggest that person refer to written company policy, which is often online in their computers.
• Make a reservation well in advance. Most airlines allow only one or two animals in the cabin per flight, so first come, first served. It will cost about $50 to carry your rabbit.
• Find out from the airline what type of carrier you need. Under-the-seat carriers cannot be any larger than 8" x 17" x 12" which is too small for some large rabbits. Most airlines require Kennel Cab-type carriers in the cabin. Line the carrier with synthetic sheepskin or CareFRESH. Do not take your rabbit out of the carrier in-flight.
• Ask the airline if there's a requirement for a health certificate.
• Take food, hay and water in your carry-on bag to offer at all layovers. Also take medical supplies and other supplies listed in this article.
• Accustom your rabbit to travel by taking him in his carrier on car rides at least one month prior to the plane trip. Work up to rides of an hour or more, if possible.

Cargo Realities

• Carriers are loaded from baggage carts while engines are idling.
• People wear earplugs; rabbits don't.
• Cargo is pressurized and has limited temperature control, but these are not activated on the ground.
• Animals cannot be boarded if ground temperature on the tarmac at departure or destination is too hot or cold, so the possibility exists that your rabbit might not get on the same flight as you. Adjusting your travel time to earlier or later in the day according to the temperatures may help.
• Try to get your rabbit hand-delivered to you and to the plane rather than letting him be put on a conveyor belt or baggage cart. A generous tip to a sky-cap may get your rabbit hand-delivered.
• Beware: The noise and smell of barking dogs can be extremely frightening to your rabbit, and if the cargo area is not cooled correctly, your rabbit could be in grave danger.

For a list of regulations for transporting animals by air which will give you some insight into travel conditions, write Animal Care-APHIS, US. Dept. of Agriculture, Hyattsville, MD 20782, or check the APHIS website.

For travel regulations for different countries and states,contact the ASPCA, 441 East 92nd. Street, New York, NY 10028 and request "Traveling with Your Pet" booklet. There may be a nominal fee. Check to see if theASPCA ha a website with this information on it.

by Carolyn Mixon, as published in HRS Internet resources.