Swaddling a rabbit in a towel to calm it: what the study actually shows
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
The "burrito" towel wrap, used to immobilise a rabbit during a procedure, is often marketed as a calming accessory. Katy McIndoe, Rachel Saunders, Emily Blackwell and Nicola Rooney tested that idea in a study published in 2022 in Animal Welfare, covering 40 domestic rabbits handled repeatedly over five days (see the study). Our accessory guides are gathered in the rabbit accessories section.
What swaddling changes, and what it doesn't
The authors compared full swaddling and blindfolding against a control condition using a partial hood, measuring heart rate and respiratory rate at each handling session. The clear result: neither swaddling nor blindfolding significantly changed either physiological stress indicator compared with the control. In other words, the towel doesn't make handling less stressful on a hormonal or cardiac level, contrary to what its use often implies.
One behavioural result does nuance this, though: swaddled rabbits were more likely to approach food right after handling, an indirect sign of possibly faster recovery. The authors also note that baseline stress levels varied sharply between individuals, with a rabbit's prior experience clearly outweighing the technique used on any given day.
So what is the towel actually good for
- Shortening the procedure and cutting injury risk by limiting sudden movement: that's the conclusion the authors themselves draw, rather than a demonstrated calming effect.
- Don't expect a guaranteed calming effect: a rabbit used to handling remains the factor that matters most, well ahead of whichever accessory is used.
- Keep building habituation beforehand rather than relying on the towel alone: our guide to preparing for a vet visit covers introducing these steps gradually, and our article on nail trimming covers the care this accessory is most often used for.
Frequently asked questions
Should a towel be dropped from grooming routines altogether?
No: it keeps a practical value for limiting movement and the risk of scratches or falls during a brief procedure, which the study confirms. The point is simply not to present it as a tool that physiologically calms the rabbit.
Is blindfolding more effective than swaddling?
No, both methods produced comparable physiological results to the control condition in this study, with no clear advantage of one over the other.
Why do some rabbits seem calmer when swaddled?
Likely because forced stillness limits visible signs of agitation, without reflecting an actual drop in internal stress — hence the gap between the impression given and the heart-rate and breathing measurements. Find all our guides on the rabbit hub.
See it in the Planète Pets shop: Wooden hay rack with tray for rabbit, guinea pig and chinchilla (€21.90) · the whole shop
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Rabbits universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.
