Prepare now to make this ‘fireworks season’ a happier time for your small furry pets
October 21, 2021
Fireworks are now more of a year round occurrance than a seasonal treat. This is bad news for naturally nervous animals, such as a rabbits, hamsters, and guinea pigs as the majority of small furry pets are naturally afraid of loud noises. To help owners, here are four simple ways to manage your pet’s environment to best deal with scary sounds.
If the advice below doesn’t work for your pet, feel free to contact us and we can advise on alternative ways to keep your pet calm, such as the use of pheromone diffusers and sprays.
Ask us about calming products for rabbits
Many small furry pets spend a lot of their life in outdoor hutches, which means fireworks can be extremely frightening for them. To keep rabbits, guinea pigs (or any other small furry pet) happy and healthy when there are fireworks in the air, you should consider the following.
- Recognise the signs of stress. A change in eating habits, intense grooming, or scratching that causes fur to fall out, are common signs of a stressed pet. If your pet is stressed by noise, you should recognise the changes and take action.
- Create a refuge. As you can’t necessarily predict when there will be noise, make sure your small furry pet always has a safe space that’s naturally and effectively insulated from noise. Lots of fresh, clean bedding in a solid structure like a box is best.
- Bring them inside. At times of the year when you know the noise level will rise, (such as the period around bonfire night and New Year) bring pets inside to a quieter place.
- Mask the noise. If you have a house pet or you’ve brought your pet inside during a particularly noisy period, you should shut windows, draw curtains, and drop blinds to keep the noise and light show outside. Also, consider turning up the TV or radio to mask the worst of the outside noise.
If your pet guinea pig, rabbit, rat or other rodent stops eating or shows other signs of extreme stress, they need to see a Vet as a matter of urgency. If you think you need more help, give us a call. Patrick and the rest of our 28 Clarendon Street team have lots of pet specific advice and can recommend the most appropriate pheromone spray or diffuser to help calm your pet.