It may be very nice to publish videos, but perhaps running or digging tunnels are more advisable activities.
If it didn’t happen in the last few days, it happened before: a video published on social media shows a rabbit swimming.
“Oh, how beautiful! How cute! The ears even change position, they go into swimming mode!” – must be the most common reactions.
The images are beautiful, unusual, unexpected considering the animal it is. But this swimming adventure can lead to illnesses in the rabbit. You can even kill him.
Rabbits can swim! Additionally, their ears adopt a “swimming position” while in the water.
— Did you know? (@VoceNaoSabiaQ)
Rabbit contact with water can cause fungal diseases on the skin, or a level of stress unnecessary.
Rabbits were made to be burrowers, Marcela Ortiz begins by remembering: “They make burrows and stay in earthen environments; swimming is not a habit”.
The veterinarian reinforces that rabbits have a very dense furtakes time to dry; wet fur for a long time can cause infections e skin diseases.
And they “exchange air” through the nose, so they don’t have the correct anatomy to swim.
Even so, some manage to “get away with it”. In fact, many people use water to to escape of a predator.
But, he emphasizes, swimming is “totally contraindicated for domestic rabbits”, highlights another veterinarian, Talita Santos.
“Also there is no benefit in encouraging swimming. Placing the animal against its will can cause a very intense spike in stress, as they react as if they were being hunted. This containment can lead them to collapse”, warns the expert.
The ideal is to let the rabbit run and explore the house, or dig holes. You spend energy, have fun, and are safer.
