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When the rabbit is resting in its burrow, never wake or disturb it, or it may lose confidence in you and its environment.
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To make your rabbit feel safe, it's important that you meet this need by providing enough hay, straw, or wood or paper shavings for the animal to build a nest and seek shelter in.
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Create a burrow: In the wild, rabbits sleep in burrows to protect themselves from predators.Whether your rabbit sleeps indoors or outdoors, here are some general tips to follow to ensure your rabbit gets the best rest possible: Continue reading this other article to learn more about constipation in rabbits, its symptoms and treatment. On the other hand, if your rabbit sleeps in a regular cage, it is better to keep it indoors at night.Īs mentioned earlier, rabbits are very sensitive to temperature changes and can become constipated quickly. During the colder months, you can also place blankets in this area. If you have a large rabbit hutch or enclosure with a covered area and an outdoor area, you may want to fill the inside with hay, shavings, or straw to create a sort of artificial nest or den. In spite of this, you should be careful when covering your rabbit's cage at night, because you should not forget that the cage must have good ventilation and, if possible, some dim light. For this reason, we must cover the cage as a precaution to prevent rain, snow, or frost from affecting the life of the rabbit. A sudden drop in temperature can even be fatally dangerous for the rabbit. If the rabbit's cage is outdoors: if your rabbit sleeps in the garden or on the terrace, we must take extreme precautions even before winter arrives.Additional protection in the form of a towel or blanket over the cage can help. Some rabbits are so sensitive that they have a hard time being quiet in the dark. However, even if it is not necessary, it may be beneficial for your rabbit to cover the cage at night. Also, as mentioned in the previous section, it is best to give the rabbit a dim light during the resting period, like the one that naturally comes in through the window. This is because the temperature in the house remains stable and a nest or a house for rabbits in the cage is sufficient for the animal to sleep in it without freezing. If the rabbit's cage is indoors: It is not necessary to cover the cage at night.
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If you want to know more about your rabbit's sleeping habits, read this other article, where we explain in more detail how rabbits sleep.ĭeciding whether or not to cover your rabbit's cage at night depends mainly on where the cage is located:
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In this case, it is ideal to place the cage in a quiet place and provide it with dim lighting, similar to what it would find in its burrow in the wild. If they cannot observe their surroundings, they may feel insecure and stressed. On the other hand, absolute darkness is also not recommended, as the animal will have difficulty seeing its surroundings clearly. Therefore, your rabbit will usually want to play and interact with you in the early morning and late evening, while preferring to sleep the rest of the day.Īs for lighting, in order to guarantee your furry friend a good rest, you should avoid placing his cage in an area that is too bright, since direct and intense light will not allow your rabbit to rest well. Nevertheless, they are primarily crepuscular animals. Even when hiding, rabbits remain alert, since they are prey to numerous predators, so they never get much sleep.īecause domestic rabbits are generally safe from danger and have more opportunities to relax and sleep than their wild relatives, their behavior, and habits differ slightly from those of their wild counterparts. During the middle hours of the day and at midnight, rabbits remain hidden in their burrows where only a dim light reaches them, and they use these hours to rest and sleep. In the wild, rabbits are crepuscular, meaning that their greatest activity occurs at dawn and dusk, when they emerge from their burrows to feed, play, and socialize with other rabbits.
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