Although we thought that the boom in the popularity of keeping pet rabbits would only be temporary, we have seen more and more people deciding to add a rabbit to their family over the last few years and their spike in popularity just doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
As more people get themselves a pet bunny, the number of questions that we see from the community each month also increases and its great to see so many responsible bunny owners out there!
We see a number of questions spread over a range of topics about caring for rabbits and we have already answered a number of them but more recently, we have noticed people reaching out and asking about keeping their pet rabbit indoors and if room temperature is good for rabbits or not.
With so many people new to owning rabbits reaching out about keeping their pet rabbit at room temperature, we decided that we wanted to publish our own article on the topic as it really is not as simply as it seems due to there being a number of different variables that you have to factor in.
Our hope is that we will be able to help our readers understand when they should bring their pet rabbit indoors and what room temperature ranges are suitable for most rabbits.
We have our table of contents below that should make it easier for people to navigate the article to skip to specific sections and save time but if you are new to keeping rabbits and you live in a cold area, we would recommend that you at least skim the full article if possible.
Is Room Temperature Ok For Rabbits?
The average room temperature is 20°C/68°F putting it within range of a domesticated rabbits recommended temperature range of 12°C to 21°C (55° to 70°F).
This means that the average room temperature is often safe for rabbits but due to it being at the upper end of their recommended temperature range, you should check your room temperature to ensure that it is below 21°C/70°F.
There are a number of factors that come into the average room temperature too ranging from where you live, the type of building you live in and even if you are male or female.
The average male tends to prefer their room temperature to be slightly lower than that of an average female making the standard room temperature of a single males home more inline with what a domesticated rabbit should be living in.
As we touched on above, 20°C/68°F is the average room temperature meaning that many homes will be well above this and outside of a domesticated rabbit’s upper temperature limit of 21°C/70°F.
]You should always keep an eye on the room temperature of your home if you are planning on keeping your pet rabbit indoors and keep your homes temperature within the suitable range for your bunny.
Why Should You Keep Your Rabbits At Room Temperature?
The majority of domesticated rabbits are not suited to be kept outdoors, especially during the colder months of the year so many people will bring their rabbits indoors to help keep them warm.
Depending on where you live, you may need to keep your rabbits indoors and at a suitable room temperature year round depending on the outdoor temperatures in your area.
As we covered in our articles on how rabbits can freeze to death, the majority of domesticated rabbits are bred from species that evolved in warm areas and tend not to do well in colder temperatures.
We often see people thinking that their pet rabbit will be fine outside because the local rabbits live outdoors through winter without issue but this is far from accurate.
The majority of domesticated rabbit species have a soft, fluffy coat that is not well suited to retain heat or deal with moisture.
The local wild rabbits in your area have evolved to live in those conditions and usually have a totally different type of coat to the majority of domesticated rabbit species allowing them to survive in much colder temperatures than your rabbit can live in.
Do All Rabbits Need To Be Kept At Room Temperature?
If you live in an area where the outdoor temperature is suitable for your pet rabbit year round then you may never have to bring your bunny indoors.
Most people live in an area where outdoor temperatures will end up dropping to below the recommended temperatures for a domesticated rabbit needing the bunny to be brought indoors and kept at a suitable room temperature.
You can usually Google the average local temperatures for your area during the winter months and easily gauge if you will have to bring your bunny indoors when it gets colder outdoors but the majority of people should probably be doing this.
As we touched on above the majority of popular domesticated rabbits are bred from species of rabbits that are not from cold areas and they tend to do very badly in cold temperatures.
On the flip side of that though, you also have to factor in that rabbits also have an upper temperature threshold as we covered earlier in the article.
Some people may keep their room temperature above this upper temperature limit and potentially overheat their rabbit leading to other issues so it really is a balancing act that can take a little getting used to.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over keeping your rabbits at room temperature to an end and we hope that we have been able to help our readers understand the suitable room temperature ranges for rabbits. The majority of our readers should be bringing their pet rabbits indoors for the winter months to help keep them at a suitable temperature and the average room temperature in North America and Europe does fall within the recommended temperature ranges for rabbits but always check your specifc room temperature to make sure that it is within range.
