Holiday Replacement for Rabbit Owners

If you go on vacation, you have to make sure that your rabbits are well cared for while you’re away. Read here how to provide your rabbits with good food during your holiday.

While dogs can and often want to accompany their people on trips, vacationing with rabbits is more difficult. For rabbits, transport means a lot of stress. In addition, rabbits are very sensitive to changes in their familiar environment. Responsible rabbit owners do not subject their long-eared rabbits to such stress and arrange for a stand-in to take care of the rabbits in their absence. Leaving the rabbits to themselves is not an option! This is animal cruelty and can lead to the death of the animals.

Possibilities for holiday care of rabbits

If rabbit owners are planning a holiday trip, it is best for the rabbits to stay at home. However, it is the duty of every rabbit owner to ensure that the rabbits are looked after while they are away:

• It is best if the rabbits can stay at home in their usual enclosure and have a friend, relative, or neighbor drop by daily to look after the animals.
• Holiday care and animal sitters are also arranged through some Internet forums or animal protection organizations.
• If it is not possible for the animals to be cared for at least once a day in their familiar surroundings, they can temporarily move to their pet sitter or to a special animal boarding house.

Checklist: Holiday preparations for rabbit owners

We have prepared a checklist for you that will help you to prepare your absence for your rabbits in the best possible way.

1. Practice handling your rabbits properly with your pet sitter. This includes in particular feeding and handling/lifting the animals as well as cleaning the enclosure.
2. Make a precise feeding plan for the period of your absence. Which types of feed, how much, and how often can/be fed?
3. Make sure that there is enough food and bedding for the period of your holiday.
4. Clarify how the run of your animals should be designed. (The holiday replacement must be present during the free run, pay close attention and should also have experience with rabbits)
5. Let the pet sitter know if any of your pets are prone to certain medical conditions or traits that need special attention.
6. Before you leave, put together a care pass for your rabbits, in which you document what the caregiver has to do and when.
7. Show your vacation replacement how the daily health check works.
8. Thoroughly clean the enclosure before you leave.
9. Provide your pet sitter with your veterinarian’s address and phone number, as well as your holiday address and cell phone number.
10. Inspect the premises with the sitter and point out possible sources of danger in the apartment.
11. In this way, you avoid emergencies in your absence. Ask your keeper to wash your hands thoroughly before handling the rabbits. Especially if the keeper has rabbits himself, you reduce the risk of transmitting pathogens and save the pet sitter a visit to the vet while you are away.