Dandelion seems to be drinking too much!

[Runestonez]

I know that the amount of water a rabbit drinks will increase and decrease depending on what they want/need...but I am wondering if Dandi is going a little overboard!

We free feed veggies and he has been polishing off over7 cups of veggies a day...if his bowl is empty and you give him more he will suck those back too. In addition he went from drinking almost no water(probably due to the amount of greens they get a day) to drinking a 16 oz bottle dry every other day. :shock: Does this seem to be a little excessive to anyone else?? Or odd? He seems to be in great health...wagging his tail and bouncing around everywhere. I started to really keep an eye on him when he started to really drink a lot and didn't slow down after a week or two. He is peeing massive amounts too...so what isg oing in is still coming back out. Think I should be a little worried or am I just being a bunny mom??

Thanks! Dani, Skittles, Peppers, Solembum, Dandelion and Socks!

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Drinking excessively can be a sign of health issues, but I don't think 8 ounces a day is excessive. You knowDandi best though, and if it seems out of the ordinary,you may want to get him checked out at the vet's.

My two girls empty a 32 ounce bottle almost daily (they share, so it's about 16 ounces each).

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

That sounds excessive to me but then again, my rabbits drink very little water. I think between all 3, they don't even drink 8 oz. a day.:?

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Yeah, Toby drinks very little - maybe three or four ounces a day. I used to worry about him because my other three all drink close to sixteen ounces a day.

They don't get a lot of veggies, though - only about one to two cups per day (each bun).

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I think Zoey probably drinks the most --probably around 2 oz. a day. But Mocha and Spice probably only drink about 1 oz.:?And they only get about 1-2 cups of veggies a day.

 

[naturestee]

He eats 7 cups of veggies on his own, or is that shared with the other buns? If that's on his own plus 8 oz of water daily that sounds like a lot of water to me. It's probably a good idea to have a vet check him out. There are some health problems that could cause this.

Mocha and Loki started drinking a lot more since this summer, but between the two of them they get 3 cups of veggies and they've been drinking about 8 oz together. It's just a lot more water than before. I'm pretty sure that it's because they started eating insane amounts of hay at the same time as they started drinking more. My vet told Loki he had to eat as much hay as possible or he might need dental surgery and he actually listened!:shock:

 

[Runestonez]

7 cups of veggies is what he eats on his own...he has a dog dish we use to put his veggies in. He and the other buns don't usually drink at all. I change their water bottles every day or so but the bottles are rarely touched! It seems in the last month he has started to drink a lot. He weighs about 5lbs so he isn't gaing in or losing weight. He is actually really active and cheeky. I would say he has been more outgoing than usual...but doesn't look sick at all.

What health issues are associated with excessive drinking? He is also my abscess bunn so I tend to worry more about him sometimes!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Taken from http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/water.html

"Excessive drinking can be a symptom of diabetes mellitus, but this typically is accompanied by excessive food intake and inability to maintain or gain weight."

I would have to say that if he is not gaining weight and eating too much, that this statement possibly applies to him.

 

[naturestee]

Although diabetes is supposed to be pretty rare in rabbits. The excessive drinking could also be caused by kidney problems or bladder problems.

 

[Runestonez]

This is a pic of Dandi and his greens...when he is done these he usually gets another level bowlful. It is a four cup dog dish...

 

[HoneyPot]

:shock2:heehe, the bowl is bigger than he is.



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Nadia