The Preferred Environmental Temperature of Newborn Rabbits

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Abstract
The preferred environmental temperature (TE) and rates of oxygen consumption (VO2) around the thermal neutral range were measured in rabbits on the day of birth and 2, 7 and 14 days after birth. On day 0, the preferred TE was 38.0 ± 0.8 °C, and it fell to 30.4 ± 0.5 °C by day 14. Day-0 rabbits kept for 1 h in a warm (41 °C), neutral (39 °C) or cool (28 °C) environment selected a different TE at 39.8, 39.5 and 37.3 °C, giving colonic temperatures (Tc) of 40.8, 39.9 and 37.7 °C, respectively. A similar phenomenon occurred on day 2, but not on day 7. It was concluded that newborn rabbits select a TE to match that which they experienced in utero and that this preferred TE changes after birth depending on the temperature of their surroundings and the development of their thermoregulatory control.

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