November 3, 2026
From Thanksgiving through New Year's, most homes in Nashville change a lot. There is more food on the counters, a tree in the corner, new cords along the baseboards, and people coming and going. Your rabbit, ferret, or guinea pig notices all of it, because to them the whole house has been rearranged overnight.
Most of the holiday problems I see in small pets are predictable, which means you can head off a lot of them.
It is tempting to share. A bite of sweet potato, a piece of roll, a little pie crust. For a rabbit, guinea pig, or chinchilla, those starchy and sugary foods can upset the bacteria that keep their gut working, and that can lead to diarrhea, bloating, or a gut that slows down and stops.
Ferrets have the opposite kind of gut. They are built for meat and don't handle sugar, dairy, or produce well. Sweets are a particular problem for ferrets, and chocolate and anything sweetened with xylitol should never be within reach of any pet.
What I usually suggest:
Rabbits chew. Ferrets explore everything with their mouths. Rodents will sample anything at their level. Holiday decorations hand all of them a buffet.
Electrical cords are my biggest worry. A rabbit that bites through a light strand can burn its mouth badly, and the injury can be more serious than it looks. Run cords up high, use cord protectors, or block the area around the tree so your pet can't reach it.
Tinsel, ribbon, and string can be swallowed and cause a blockage in the stomach or intestines. Ferrets are especially good at finding small rubbery or soft items. Getting down at their level and ferret-proofing the room before playtime catches most of it.
Plants. Holly, mistletoe, and amaryllis are commonly listed as toxic to pets. Research on which holiday plants are safe for rabbits and rodents is limited, so I tell families to treat every holiday plant as off limits.
The tree itself. Needles and tree water with preservatives aren't good for nibbling or drinking. A pen or gate around the tree solves most of this.
Prey animals like rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas feel safest when their day is predictable. A crowded house, loud music, kids who want to hold them, or fireworks around New Year's can all be stressful. Stress isn't just a feeling for these animals. It slows the gut and can be the start of a medical problem.
A few things help:
If you're leaving town, plan ahead. A trusted pet sitter who already knows your animal is often less stressful than moving them. If your pet will go to a boarding facility or a friend's house, send their own food, hay, and bedding so nothing changes at once.
Write down what normal looks like: how much they eat, how many droppings you expect, and what their usual energy is like. Ask your sitter to call if any of that changes. Leave the name and phone number of your exotic vet, and find out ahead of time which emergency hospital near you sees exotic pets after hours.
If your pet is on daily medication or has a chronic condition, check in with your vet before you leave.
Call right away if your pet:
Book a visit soon if you notice:
If something happens to your rabbit, ferret, or other small pet this season, call sooner rather than later. Dr. Logan Kopp is Nashville's exotic companion mammal specialist and sees rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, hedgehogs, and many other small mammals for families from Antioch, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, and across Middle Tennessee. Please call ahead to check holiday hours. To schedule, call Priest Lake Veterinary Hospital at (615) 361-4646.
This article is general information, not medical advice for your pet. Reading it doesn't create a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). Please talk with your own veterinarian before making changes to your pet's care.