Bunny eating and drinking ALOT

[D1973]

Hi my female dwarf who is approx 3-4 years, has recently been drinking and eating ALOT !! when I say alot , I mean in a day 4 large handfuls of spring mix lettuce. Half a cucumber, and 2 large handfuls of hay (the type you get in a bag) .Plus a handful of fresh green beans, a generous handful. She drinks a 750ml water bottle in 1.5 days!!! She has the food I place down gone in minutes. I picked her up to pet her, and noticed her stomach was gurgling loudly alot. Poop looks normal, pee is normal and she is alert, and plays.. acting normal. but for her size.. seems like alot of food in a day. She is always looking for food !!! she will eat her poop and bedding which is corn based, dust free. as she is allergic to anything else. does this sound normal ???

 

[Watermelons]

Is she spayed?
Now do you normally offer her this ammount of food? as in when you offer it on a usual day is there some left over the next morning?
How often have you been giving her the green beans?
What type of hay in a bag are you giving her? (hay is typically free fed regardless of the rabbits age)
Is she getting rabbit pellets?

 

[Watermelons]

What kind of corn based bedding are you using and why is she allowed to eat it? Is this in her entire cage or just litter corner? Corn Cob?

 

[Maureen Las]

A better diet for your rabbit in your case is more grass type hay ( not alfalfa) and less of these types of veggies. Green beans and cucumbers do not often make it onany "Healthy veggie" list that I have ever seen although I am unsure if green beans are toxic( I may have seen that somewhere :?)

The gurgling that you are hearing could very well be gas which may cease if you give a dose of simethicone and cut back on excessive greens.


Is your rabbit in an area that is warm ? Does she have any urine leakage or scald?

Excessive eating and drinking ( usually accompanied by weight loss ) is a symptom of renal disease .

I am not saying that your bun has this but if she has a voracious appetite and thirst it may be worth it to take her to a vet and get a blood panel done. The blood panel will let you know if her kidneys and other organs are working normally.

Corn litter being ingested is an impaction waiting to happen ; ..may want to try another litter.

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#toxics


green beans are gassy

 

[tonyshuman]

:yeahthat:

Also, when was the last time she was seen by a vet? Does she go for annual checkups? When you say dwarf, are you talking 4.5 lb or 2.5 lb? For my 3lb dwarf girl, that would be a lot of food and water. For my 4.5 lb Holland lop (also called a Dwarf lop in the UK, Aus, and NZ), that would be her normal piggy self.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

^^Just waht I was going to say. I don't really recomend them. I used to feed them to Jelly but they caused tummy issues. Is she overweight? I'd keep a close eye on her weight. For Speckles my other bunny, she would eat and eat and eat and drink and drink but never put weight on.. That gave us an idea that there was a medical issue going on.

 

[D1973]

She is not spayed. And She eats that amount of food with nothing left, gone in no time!!! Green beans I give once in while. The hay I give is timothy hay. And pellets once every other day. My vet told me it should be the least on the list for food. Should be mostly greens and hay.

 

[D1973]

Thanks for the advice everyone!!! Makes sense green beans would be gassy.... in retrospect . And she has to have the dust free bedding , it was recommended by the vet. As I used a recycle able type before called carefresh and boxo she was VERY allergic to. In fact had breathing issues due to it. Since I changed has been fine on that end. Actually I should correct myself, she did not eat the actual bedding, she was eating her poop. Which I am told and read that is normal. I also thought about renal disease also. I think what I may do is add in pellets more and more hay, and no cucumbers or beans. Stick with mixed green lettuce .. thanks everyone for the tips. Much appreciated !!!