{"topic_id":"exotic_husbandry_rabbit_environment","category":"exotic-pet-husbandry","context":"---\ntopic_id: exotic_husbandry_rabbit_environment\ncategory: exotic-pet-husbandry\ntitle: \"Rabbit environment — heat sensitivity; water-bowl intake higher than bottle\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Merck Veterinary Manual — Rabbit husbandry/environment\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/rabbit.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-29\ntokens_estimated: 114\nverified: true\nverification: c1_substring\nsource_document: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual\"\n  title: \"Rabbit environment — heat sensitivity; water-bowl intake higher than bottle\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/rabbits\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-07-29\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary reference\"\n  needs_review: false\n---\n\n# Rabbit environment — heat sensitivity; water-bowl intake higher than bottle\n\nThe text below is reproduced verbatim from the first-hand source (Merck Veterinary Manual).\n\n> Rabbits are sensitive to heat. Hot, humid weather, along with poorly ventilated hutches or transport in poorly ventilated vehicles, may lead to the death of many rabbits, particularly pregnant does. Affected rabbits stretch out and breathe rapidly. Hutches should be constructed so that they can be sprinkled in hot, humid weather. Free access to cool water should be provided. When the environment can be controlled, optimal conditions are a temperature of 50°–70°F (15.5°–21°C) and a relative humidity of 40%–60%, with 10–20 air changes/hour.\n> A rabbit drinking readily from a water bowl. Research has shown that the water consumption is significantly higher with this method than if water is only offered through a cage bottle.\n\nSource: `pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/rabbit.txt` (first-hand professional veterinary reference, tag-stripped).\n\n## Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)\n- `Rabbits are sensitive to heat. Hot, humid weather, along with poorly ventilated hutches or transport in poorly ventilated vehicles, may lead to the death of many rabbits, particularly pregnant does. Affected rabbits stretch out and breathe rapidly. Hutches should be constructed so that they can be sprinkled in hot, humid weather. Free access to cool water should be provided. When the environment can be controlled, optimal conditions are a temperature of 50°–70°F (15.5°–21°C) and a relative humidity of 40%–60%, with 10–20 air changes/hour.`\n- `A rabbit drinking readily from a water bowl. Research has shown that the water consumption is significantly higher with this method than if water is only offered through a cage bottle.`\n","sources":["exotic-pet-husbandry — Rabbit environment — heat sensitivity; water-bowl intake higher than bottle (retrieved 2026-07-29)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-pet-husbandry","title":"Rabbit environment — heat sensitivity; water-bowl intake higher than bottle","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/rabbits","retrieved":"2026-07-29","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","verification_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/rabbit.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","source_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-toxicology/rabbit.txt","tokens_estimated":114,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}