How Long Should A Rabbit Be Left Alone?
Written by The Rabbit Hole Hay Team
Bunnies, like all other pets, will at times need to be left home on their own. Whether it is in eight-hour stints during your 40-hour work week or for quick trips, you won’t always be able to remain at home providing rabbit care. Yet, like with any good small pet owner, you’ll most likely be constantly wondering if your bunny is doing alright when you’re gone.
How Long Away Is Too Long?
Anything longer than 24 hours is too long – and even that is pushing the solitude limits of rabbits.
Bunnies, like all other pets, will at times need to be left home on their own. Whether it is in eight-hour stints during your 40-hour work week or for quick trips, you won’t always be able to remain at home providing rabbit care. Yet, like with any good small pet owner, you’ll most likely be constantly wondering if your bunny is doing alright when you’re gone.
How Long Away Is Too Long?
Anything longer than 24 hours is too long – and even that is pushing the solitude limits of rabbits.
Rabbits are social creatures and require about as much, if not more, interaction and maintenance as dogs do and more than some cats need. Considering rabbits to be low-maintenance pets does them a grave disservice.
Reasons Why a Day Is the Limit
Domesticated rabbits are without survival skills and completely dependent on the good will of their owners to live and thrive. Below are some reasons to limit the time your rabbit spends alone.
They are social creatures. No one enjoys being left alone that long in solitude. You may own a bonded pair of same-sex or spayed and neutered bunnies. Two rabbits can entertain themselves longer than a single bun that’s anxious and stressed from being left alone.
Bored buns get into trouble. In addition to their near-constant need to gnaw on wood to keep their teeth from growing too large, rabbits chew out of both curiosity and frustration. They can do some damage if they are not safely contained and supervised.
They need clean hay daily. Good rabbit care requires a steady supply of fresh, clean hay and/or meadow grass so their diet remains nutritionally balanced and healthy.
Rabbits Like Clean Quarters
Bunnies are among the most fastidious of nature’s creatures. They do not want to use a dirty litter box! They also need their bedding changed regularly, whether it’s shaking and washing their blankets or replacing the paper bedding, wood shavings, or hay.
Rabbits typically self-groom, and a pair will groom one another. But occasionally, a bunny needs a good bum-cleaning to avoid far worse health problems. Your pet sitter should understand when it is appropriate to wet or dry cleanse your rabbit's bum and how to do it.
Bunnies Need a Safe Space for Exercise
Rabbits who eat but don’t exercise face mobility challenges that come with obesity. For instance, they may no longer be able to reach their back ends to consume the needed cecotropes – a whole other issue for rabbits.
If you are working an eight-hour shift and commuting an hour both ways, it’s a minimum of 10 hours that your bunny is sedentary. To allow them space, make sure the bunny room or rabbit area allows for sufficient movement and exercise when you are gone. Sometimes, this can involve physically moving your bun from the hutch area to a safe spot to move around.
Consider a Pet Sitter
A rabbit is not going to enjoy or adjust to a pet daycare situation. That is far too stressful an option to even contemplate for your beloved bun. When you know that you have to be gone longer than 24 hours (or want your bun to have daily interaction while you’re away during your work week), engage a reputable pet sitter for your bunny.
Since this individual will be in your home spending time with your pet rabbit, make sure that you exercise due diligence like you would with anyone who cares for your pet. But also make sure that they have experience providing rabbit care, as it is different taking care of bunnies than walking dogs and feeding cats.
Let Your Bun Bond
If you decide to try out a pet sitter, arrange for the person providing the actual rabbit care (and not some agency representative) to spend some time together with you and your bunny. You can then see if your bun "takes" to this person or seems avoidant. At the least, however, you want your rabbit to have a prior introduction to the person who will be caring for them while you are gone.
Why Pet Sitters Make Good Choices When You're Gone
Rabbits are notoriously sensitive to temperatures, particularly when there is a sudden transition from one extreme to another. While they can withstand and even enjoy cold temperatures, rabbits don't do well in heat.
If a storm blew through while you were gone and knocked out your power, a competent pet sitter would recognize that as an emergency. They could then take the necessary steps to protect your pet from overheating or otherwise succumbing to adverse conditions.
Keep Their Diet Unchanged While You're Gone
The more that you are able to keep your rabbit's routine the same, the happier your bun will be. Walk through your rabbit's feeding routine with your pet sitter. Make sure they understand that their regular diet is to be 80% clean and fresh grass hay! Make it even easier for them and have an order of Rabbit Hole Hay delivered straight to your door before you leave.
