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現時兔子的消暑方法是否真的已經足夠？ / Have you done enough to keep your rabbit cool and comfortable? 現時兔子的消暑方法是否真的已經足夠？ 近日天氣愈來愈熱，愛惜兔子的我們都應該知道兔子必須要住在攝氏25度以下的地方以防中暑/引起腸胃問題/急性肝腎衰竭。根據過往經驗，每年天熱時兔協都接到大量兔子尿灼傷（訓尿/坐尿）/懷疑中暑的求助電話，或需要安排緊急局部清潔美容服務，甚至經由獸醫診所轉介的緊急局部清潔去改善尿灼傷位置清潔，令治療得到更好的效果。 大家是時候檢討一下現時兔子的消暑方法是否真的已經足夠？記得不要令兔子受苦/怪錯兔子/令自己後悔啊！ 為兔兔消暑 根據過往經驗，兔協收過不少主人都說兔兔在夏天時變得頑劣，明明懂得去廁所卻隨處尿尿，還攤在尿尿的上面，肚仔，屁股與手腳仔又黃又啡，預約兔兔美容服務的人數劇增。各位怪責兔兔隨處便溺時，有沒有想過為什麼本來乖巧的兔兔突然「唔乖」？其實「唔乖」的不是兔兔，而是未做足功夫的主人吧！ 全球迅速暖化，香港又是亞熱帶地區，四季的氣溫一年比一年高，我們在熾熱的氣溫下已經很難熬，何況滿身細密絨毛的兔兔？試想一下，3x度的高溫和你家的兔兔只是一牆之隔。當牠們感到過熱時，就會在地上或籠裡尿尿，睡或坐在尿尿上令自己有涼意，企圖為自己降溫（情況就像我們洗濕了頭/用濕毛巾抹面抹身一樣，會感到陣陣涼意），並不是全心搗蛋。 怎樣知道兔兔是不是過熱？過熱的兔普遍會： 1. 食量減少/停食； 有人會問，兔子一直都沒冷氣，但都健康沒問題沒死，但其實兔子是很會隱藏病痛的獵物類動物，牠們未到忍耐不住的一刻前，都不能輕易表面見到發病。如果長期輕微中暑，雖然表面見不到問題，但內在可能已經肝腎出現了問題例如慢性肝腎衰竭，這些都是要驗血才能發現啊！ 也許，有些主人會辨解說自己早做足消暑措施，兔兔沒可能會過熱？那請問你採取了甚麼措施？又是否真的足夠？ 剪毛/剃毛：兔兔的毛毛是兔子的其中一個保護層，如果剪/剃得太短會令兔子防護能力減弱/抵抗力減低/皮膚敏感/增加蚊釘虫咬的機會。另外，剪毛/剃毛其實只會令毛髮變短，但密度是不能改變的，因此是不足夠降溫。人類毛髮都比兔兔少，但依然都會中暑，因此，就算剪毛/剃毛後，如果沒有配合冷氣，結果跟人類一樣，仍然會有中暑可能！夏天想要降温，其實勤梳毛減低死毛聚集和做好降温防暑的工作比剪毛/剃毛更為重要，而且兔子皮很薄加上兔子比貓狗難控制，剃毛太危險絕不建議。 冰種/水冷機：請問你用了多少個冰種？一個冰種足夠令兔兔涼快十幾個小時嗎？在酷熱天氣下，你知道冰種會加速溶解嗎？使用冰種會產生倒汗水/水冷機會產生濕氣會令兔子容易患上皮膚病/毛蟎等，同時長期處於潮濕環境會導致腸胃病，總結就是冰種/水冷機始終都不能取代開冷氣，只可作短暫使用/迫不得已才使用。 風扇：你一天開多少時間？在空氣不流通，炎熱如蒸籠的家裡，風扇是不是足夠？風扇可以將3x度高溫降溫至兔子適合室溫25度以下？這是不可能的，否則就不會有冷氣的發明吧！ 散熱板/雲石/磁磚：請你整天試坐在散熱板/雲石上，看是否能足夠散熱？是否夠涼快？而且散熱板要在涼快的溫度下才會凍，雲石和磁磚都是一樣。 冷氣：你家所謂天天開冷氣，但並不是24小時，只限你/有人在家時，兔兔才可以涼冷氣。相反每天最熱的時間正正是中午至黃昏時段，兔兔卻獨自在家中穿著「厚毛衣」捱熱，怎會不中暑？ 我們感到很遺憾的是，不少主人都犯了這些問題，兔兔在炎炎夏日怎不辛苦？你還說自己很愛牠？再一次提醒，兔兔雖然不是人類，但都是生命，是你的其中一個家人，為何不能代入牠們去感受一下？再者，兔兔身處過熱的環境，有可能會中暑或食慾不振而引致腸停，輕則睇醫生食藥，重則可能隨時賠上性命。當兔兔企圖撒尿降溫時，則可能導致尿灼傷的問題。當兔兔睡在尿尿的位置時，屁股仔及腳仔都會沾上尿尿，隨後兔兔的屁股及大脾開始甩毛，皮膚直接沾到尿尿而逐漸變得紅腫，最後出現肌肉潰爛的情況。這時必需接受獸醫的治療，方有機會痊癒。 多年前發生了一件真兔真事 ：一隻兔兔因天氣過熱，便長期攤在尿尿上企圖一解暑氣。該兔兔的主人沒有及時作出處理，兔兔的大腿因而潰爛，最後需要把一隻後腳切除方可保住兔命，後果相當嚴重。 為你家的兔兔著想，希望各位可以為兔兔做足消暑措施。有需要時不要吝嗇少少電費，開冷氣給兔兔吧！此外，請在籠內加上適當的墊材，保持兔兔及地方清潔，均可減低尿灼傷的機會。如果有天兔兔因天氣酷熱而撤尿，請不要再責備兔兔「唔乖」，抵打的應該是那個「唔乖」的主人！記得，兔兔不能自己選擇主人及自己的家，牠的一生只有你，一切靠你依賴你！
Have you done enough to keep your rabbit cool and comfortable? As the weather becomes warmer, responsible rabbit owners should be well aware of the risk of heatstroke as well as heat-induced gastrointestinal, liver or kidney failure when rabbits are exposed to temperature over 25C. Every year during the hottest days of the summer, HKRS would receive a large number of calls seeking urgent help related to urine scald (caused by the rabbit sitting on its on urine to cool down, leading to skin inflammation) or possible heatstroke. Most often we would need to take the rabbit in immediately for grooming service, or in worse cases refer to the vet for emergency care and treatments. Have you done enough to keep your rabbit cool and comfortable? Learn how to prevent your rabbit from suffering from heat-related problems early, so you don’t end up regretting for life. Keeping cool in summertime As summer approaches, demand for HKRS’s grooming services would skyrocket, and we constantly hear the same story over and over again: “My bunny has been misbehaving! He started urinating everywhere outside of his litter box, and he even sat in his own pool of pee, and the fur on his tummy/bum/hands are soaked and browned!” But before you start blaming your rabbit, consider this: why would an otherwise well-behaved bunny suddenly become “bad”? Perhaps, the “misbehaved” is in fact the owner, not the bunny! Hong Kong’s subtropical climate compounded with the effects of global warming means that temperature is getting hotter year after year. Can you imagine wearing a dense fur coat when the temperature outside is over 30C? While we can take a cold shower or wipe our skin with a damp towel to cool off, rabbits cannot do anything aside from trying to cool themselves off by sitting or lying on his own urine. They are not doing this for fun, but for trying to stay alive! How, then, do we know our rabbits are at the brink of heat exhaustion? Symptoms of overheated rabbits include: Sometimes we would hear people argue that their bunnies were fine and healthy even when they didn’t keep the air conditioner on in the summer. In fact, as prey animals, rabbits are innately good at hiding their pain and discomfort. Bunnies who are exposed to mild yet long-term overheating may already be suffering from near-fatal organ damages before showing and signs of distress, and can only be detected through blood tests. So, what are some things you have done to help keep your bunny cool? Do you know if these measures are appropriate or adequate? Trimming/Shaving: NEVER SHAVE your rabbit or over-trim the rabbit’s fur, since their fur serves to protect their delicate skin from nicks and cuts, irritations, allergens, and bug bites. Trimming their fur also does nothing to reduce the density of the fur, therefore cannot adequately cool off the rabbit and hence air-conditioning is still needed. A better strategy is to do regular and thorough grooming, which can reduce the amount of trapped dead fur stuck above the skin, and of course, keep the environment cool with air-conditioning. Ice pack/cold-air humidifier: both would lose their function quickly in hot temperature, and the condensation and humidity they produce would actually make the rabbit more susceptible to various illnesses, including skin conditions, fur mites, and gut stasis. Consider ice packs and cold-air humidifiers only as short-term emergency backups in case of air-conditioner malfunction. Fan: can only serve to keep the air circulating within the room, and in no way can it bring a room with a temperature of over 30C down to 25C. Fans have existed for centuries; why do you think air-conditioners were invented after? Cooling slaps/marble tiles/ceramic plates: try sitting on one and it will warm up to your body temperature within minutes, so they don’t work (unless you pee on it to make it wet and cool) Air-conditioner: should be kept on throughout the day, especially between noon to dusk. If it is only turned on when humans are home, then be prepared to come home to a bunny with heat stroke. It’s always sad to hear of a bunny dying or becoming severely disabled from heat stroke, sometimes simply due to ignorance of a loving owner. Your rabbit is part of your family and should be cared for as such. Even a mild heat stroke can cause decreased appetite leading to GI stasis, and worse case scenario of that is death. Let us share with you a true story about urine scald: a family decided not to keep air-conditioner on during the day, so the bunny would lie in his own urine all day trying to keep cool. The owner did not get the bunny to the vet in time for treatment; the urine burned a hole through the skin and muscle of the bunny’s hind leg, and finally the vet had to amputate that leg in order to keep the bunny alive. Please do what you can to prevent your rabbit from suffering from heatstroke. Keep your air-conditioner on when it’s over 25C: what little money you save from electricity would certainly be less than a resulting medical bill, and is definitely not worth more than your rabbit’s life. Also, be diligent in keeping the cage lined with appropriate floor mats and bedding, and keep it dry and clean to prevent urine scald. Remember, your rabbit was chosen by you to become part of the family, and you are all he’s got to depend on, for the rest of his life. |
