Rabbits are intelligent, affectionate creatures. They’re also soft, quiet, and fluffy, but they’re sometimes misunderstood and often don’t get the proper care they need. These are prey animals, so stress is felt more often and intensely and is more dangerous to them. They also don’t understand thunder and lightning and what it is, so being out in a storm can cause their stress levels to skyrocket.
It’s crucial to reduce the stress that rabbits feel during thunderstorms (and in any other loud environment or situation). Large amounts of stress can cause them to stop eating, which can quickly become fatal. High stress can even cause rabbits to die suddenly due to shock.
As rabbit owners, we can de-stress our pets and keep them calm during thunderstorms. Read on for the top 15 tips on keeping your bunny calm when a storm hits.
The 15 Tips for Calming Your Rabbit During Thunderstorms
1. Bring Their Hutch Inside
Moving your bunny from outside in the rain to a quiet, darkened room indoors can help reduce stress. Rabbits kept in outside hutches should always be offered a warm, dry place, as being out in the thunderstorm will be nothing but cold, wet, and scary for them.
Bring them inside if you can in order to help relax them and protect them from getting too cold or being frightened by the noise.
2. Be Calm
Rabbits can pick up on their owner’s emotions, even if you don’t feel stressed yourself. If you’re anxious (or anxious about your rabbit being anxious), it can create a feedback loop, meaning they are also more nervous.
A full circle of stress and anxiety can be broken if you keep yourself calm. Your rabbit will look to you for comfort and guidance, and if they see that you’re relaxed, it can help them realize they don’t need to stress as much.
3. Reduce Noise Levels From Outdoors
Reducing the noise levels from outside can help de-stress and calm your rabbit. For example, closing doors and windows and moving your bunny away from those areas is ideal for keeping them relaxed by reducing the noise they can hear. Remember that their hearing is much keener than ours.
4. Try a White Noise Machine or Music
Trying a white noise machine or playing soft music can help your rabbit unwind. While they’ll still be able to hear the thunderstorm (as they have sensitive hearing), they will be able to concentrate on something other than the thunderclaps and the sudden bangs, which means that if anything else, the music can be a distraction.
White noise could also help calm them during a thunderstorm, but be sure not to play it or any music too loud, as the constant noise will cause your rabbit more stress.
5. Comfort Your Bunny With Gentle, Soothing Words
Rabbits that have bonded to their owners may look to them for comfort and safety in times of stress. To help calm your pet, you can offer some gentle words and a soothing presence.
Despite loving their owners just as much, other rabbits want to be alone in a hiding space when they’re stressed, to wait out the storm. Move in a slow, measured way if your bunny decides to stay with you, and make sure not to use any fast or jerking movements (particularly with your hands over their heads). Rabbits can mistake a moving hand for a bird of prey, which will cause more stress.
The critical aspect to remember is to go at your rabbit’s pace. Let them come to you, and if you see any signs of elevated stress, take a break, and let your rabbit do what they need to do.
6. Offer Them a Hiding Place
When stressed or afraid, rabbits will go to enclosed spaces or hiding places, such as their warrens in the wild. This closeness and darkness help them feel safe, and you can replicate that feeling by using rabbit houses or tunnels. If your bunny has a rabbit house that they use, you can place it in a quiet and darkened room, along with any tunnels they like to play in.
Blankets can also be given to your bunny to burrow under in a pinch, and cardboard boxes with holes cut out can act as a safe space (particularly if there are two entrances and exits).
Supervise your rabbit if you provide them with a blanket or a cardboard box, since rabbits like to chew, and eating these materials can prove dangerous if ingested.
7. Be Present With Them in the Room
Being in the same room as your rabbit, even if you’re not directly interacting with them, can help them feel safe. If your pet is the type that likes to do their own thing and is hiding to wait out the storm, you can still talk to them gently. Consider reading a book or newspaper out loud, as this gentle, constant, familiar sound can help reassure your rabbit that you are there with them and that they are safe.
8. Reduce External Stimuli
If your rabbit only wants to be close to you, you can sit them on your lap and cover their eyes with your hands. A rabbit’s senses are so sharp that they can become easily overloaded, especially with constant thunder, lightning flashes, and heavy rain.
All the sensory input can cause stress, so helping them by gently covering their eyes with your hands will allow them to adjust and cope.
9. Provide an Alternative Activity or Distraction
If your bunny is receptive, you can allow them to display natural behaviors, which often helps rabbits calm down. For example, providing them with a digging box with shredded paper or substrate will let them exhibit this instinctual behavior. Hiding treats and toys for them to forage, either in a box or a blanket, is another rewarding distraction from the storm. This can encourage your rabbits to dig for the treat, which is also an excellent distraction from the thunderstorm raging outside.
10. Recognize the Signs of Fear in Rabbits
It’s essential to know when your bunny is scared and stressed. This way, you know when it’s time to intervene or when to step up your calming efforts with them.
- Screaming
- Freezing in place
- Having wide staring eyes with their whites showing
- Pacing their hutch or enclosure
- Baring their teeth
- Exhibiting a hunched posture
- Displaying aggression
- Stamping their hind feet
- Having flattened ears
Recognizing these signs can help you step in and de-escalate your bunny’s stress level as quickly as possible.
11. Provide Soft, Warm Bedding
Providing your rabbit with soft and warm bedding, such as extra substrate or even a blanket, can help insulate the noise from outside, particularly if your rabbit is in a place like a quiet and dark room, a box, or their hutch. This provides them a sense of closeness and can help reduce their stress by simulating being in their burrow.
12. Try an Anti-stress Product
Anti-stress products are beneficial (particularly for house rabbits) during thunderstorms. Many of these products continuously give off a calming blend of ingredients, such as valerian, which is inhaled by your rabbit and helps calm them down.
There are sprays available that you can use on fabric to cover it in a relaxing scent. If they have one, you can place this blanket into your rabbit’s hutch or house to comfort them. Even better, if they are house rabbits, you can use a plug-in that gives them a continuous stream of the smell.
13. Play a Game With Them
Playing a game with your rabbit, if they are willing, can be an excellent way to distract them. If your pet shows signs of stress during a thunderstorm but is not fearful and is still playing and interacting with you, a good game can take their mind off the storm outside.
Ensure that you are watching your rabbit constantly and reading their body language to know when they’re done with the game or if they are getting more stressed. A good option for a distraction game is playing catch with your bunny by letting them drop a favorite toy from their mouth, and once you “catch” it, you can throw it back. It’s almost like you’re playing fetch!
14. Ensure Your Rabbit Has Company
Rabbits generally thrive when living together. They are social animals, and they can get depressed if they don’t have companions, even to the point of refusing to eat.
If your rabbit has company in their hutch or living area, particularly in stressful situations, they can help calm each other as they would in the wild. Rabbits mutually groom and can cuddle to reduce each other’s stress levels, and as much as we want to de-stress our beloved bunnies, we cannot provide the level of comfort that the same species can.
15. Consider Medication
As a last resort, you can consider medication, such as an anti-anxiety medicine, from your vet. This can help if a forecasted thunderstorm is on the horizon, but it should be your last option. Don’t ever give medication to your rabbit without first clearing it with a veterinarian, since rabbits are sensitive creatures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Rabbits Be Outside During a Thunderstorm?
Ideally, your rabbits shouldn’t be outside in the thunderstorm, and you should bring them into the house if you can. This will reduce their stress, as leaving them out in the rain and the cold can frighten them, and if they get stressed or frightened enough, they can die of shock.
If you can’t bring them into the house, a warm, dry shed or outbuilding can suffice.
Can Rabbits Hear Thunder?
Rabbits can hear thunder and lightning much more clearly than we can. This is part of the reason that the stress levels that they can experience during a thunderstorm can be fatal.
These animals have an excellent hearing range; they have large ears that funnel and concentrate sound. Rabbits can hear sounds up to 42,000Hz in pitch, which is why reducing noise from thunderstorms is the most effective way to keep your pet calm when a storm is raging.
Conclusion
It’s our duty as responsible owners to prevent suffering and stress in our rabbits during thunderstorms. These tips are simple but effective in reducing the stress that your pet may feel and helping them calm down.
They can also be applied to other situations, such as fireworks and other loud events. Keeping your rabbit safe and calm as much as possible is one of the best things that you can do for them, as you won’t be able to change the weather, but you can make the whole situation more enjoyable for your furry friend.
See also:
Featured Image Credit: cottonbro, Pexels
Contents
- The 15 Tips for Calming Your Rabbit During Thunderstorms
- 1. Bring Their Hutch Inside
- 2. Be Calm
- 3. Reduce Noise Levels From Outdoors
- 4. Try a White Noise Machine or Music
- 5. Comfort Your Bunny With Gentle, Soothing Words
- 6. Offer Them a Hiding Place
- 7. Be Present With Them in the Room
- 8. Reduce External Stimuli
- 9. Provide an Alternative Activity or Distraction
- 10. Recognize the Signs of Fear in Rabbits
- 11. Provide Soft, Warm Bedding
- 12. Try an Anti-stress Product
- 13. Play a Game With Them
- 14. Ensure Your Rabbit Has Company
- 15. Consider Medication
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
