Some rabbit owners can worry if they’ve seen their bunny sleeping on their back. As you wouldn’t normally assume that your bunny slept this way, it may come as a surprise. Generally speaking, there’s no need to worry.
Some rabbits simply like lying on their backs. It’s probably not be anything to be concerned about. However, in other cases, sleeping on their backs with the belly facing up could signal that your bunny could have something wrong with them.
Of course, without investigating, it’s almost impossible to know the case of your bunny. So, here are some useful tips about a bunnies’ sleep and when if you should ever be concerned.
Why Is My Bunny Sleeping On Its Back?
If you look at your bunny when it’s sleeping, you may notice that it’s lying on its back; you could be forgiven for thinking the worst and assuming that something horrible has happened. However, most of the time, this isn’t the case.
Just like humans, animals, including bunnies, have a preferred sleeping position. There’s no right or wrong way for them to sleep, but it’s more common for bunnies to sleep curled up rather than sprawled out on their backs.
One of the first things you should consider is whether your bunny sleeps like this all the time or whether this is something new.
If your bunny has always slept on its back, then it’s likely that they merely enjoy sleeping in this position and feel very comfortable when doing it. Provided that your bunny is otherwise healthy, you should let them stay like this; as it isn’t harming them.
On the other hand, lying on the back could mean that there could be a problem, and your rabbit is feeling uncomfortable. But there could be a number of reasons they’re behaving this way.
First, you should check whether your rabbit is too warm. The reason is that lying on its back is a way of trying to cool down. If the bunny’s cage is in a warm room or perhaps next to a heat source, it could be that your rabbit has overheated.
It’s important to remember that your bunny’s cage needs to be in a cool and dry location where it won’t get too warm. Remember that they have all of that bedding to keep them warm.
At the same time, you don’t want to place the rabbit’s cage in a draught or an environment that is too cold. You need to get the balance right.
If you touch your rabbit and they feel warm, then you should consider moving the cage somewhere cooler or placing a fan nearby until their body temperature lowers.
Of course, once you think that they’re comfortable again, you should turn the fan off to avoid things going in the opposite direction.
Another reason that bunnies lie on their backs could be because of a poor diet, which could be making them uncomfortable.
In this instance, if you think that this is the case, then you to look back over your rabbits’ recent diet to determine if everything they have eaten is nutritious.
It’s also essential to keep in mind that bunnies need a lot of exercise; in the wild, they can be known to travel for miles each night. For this reason, you will need to make sure that they have enough room in their enclosure to run explore.
Once you make some changes to a rabbit’s diet, you may notice that they begin to sleep in a way that looks much more normal.
Should You Wake Up Your Rabbit?
If you believe that your rabbit could have a medical problem, then have it seen by a vet or check the rabbit over. Of course, this situation would warrant disturbing their sleep.
If you wake a rabbit too often, it could cause them to become stressed, which could result in other health issues.
