Diabetes?

[AJPeacockk]

So I was talking to my grandma (just lost her bunny last monday) about my bunnies and I mentioned the behaviors of one of my rabbits.

Her name is Tootsie and she's 6 months old. We rescued her at 4 weeks. She's been spitting image of a healthy bunny. We already got her fixed (which leads me to mention that we found out SHE is a HE... I still called her a she though) and she recovered VERY well.

About 2 months after getting her, we got a holland and that's when I realized, hmm. Toots isn't like Berry.

Tootsie drinks about 32oz/day (and thereby pees about the same.. omg) and has a HUGE amount of energy. Super social with everyone. Is constantly sprinting around, and BEGGING for food. she'll sit at the fridge waiting for veggies of we're anywhere NEAR the kitchen.

She's constantly trying to eat our food and to get hers off the shelf.

Is this normal? She's a dutch mix and probably weighs about 3lbs?

My grandma says she's heard rabbits can have diabetes and that the excessive drinking, urinating, and endless need for food sounds like some cues.

I haven't called the vet yet but I know it's pretty rare.

What do you guys think?

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Some rabbits are more food motivated than others. You can have rabbits will just like to eat and get excited about food where other rabbits don't care as much. But most rabbits aren't that obsessed with food, so there could be something going on with that.

32oz is a lot for a rabbit to drink. Even a large or giant rabbit usually doesn't drink that much. There could be something wrong with her kidneys, but diabetes could also be part of it.

A vet visit would definitely be a good idea. You can help prepare for it by keeping a list of what she eats, and how much as well as how much she drinks in a day. When you give something, write it down and do that for a few days. This can help the vet get an idea on her intake of food/water. It can be hard to measure her pee and poop.

 

[missyscove]

If she really is drinking 32 oz of water a day (and it's not just a leaky bottle), I'd say a vet checkup with some bloodwork is in order.

 

[MiniLopHop]

*ponders* I think I better get Panda in for a check up then. I thought he was just a chow hound? Perhaps it is a medical issue. :?

 

[Imbrium]

it's possible for two rabbits to differ greatly in their eating and drinking habits.

when my holland lop was 26.5 oz, she was drinking probably 5-6 oz a day on top of lots of fresh veggies that were still damp from washing and my 32 oz lionhead snubbed veggies aside from a bit of kale now and then and seemed to drink less than half the amount my lop did (I could always tell who was drinking b/c Nala gets really aggressive with the water bottle, biting the tip as if to say "gimmeh waterz!!"). my holland lop is also a glutton for food (veggies and pellets especially) and seems to have a nearly bottomless stomach.

my lop would sit there drinking for 5 mins at a time sometimes, to the point that I took 'em to the vet for urinalyses (was only $27 and they both had to go to the vet anyway 'cause they're baby-bonded so I figured I may as well test both). turns out they're both totally normal and healthy, lol.

32 oz is an awful lot, though, especially for such a tiny bunny. my bunns are both 2 1/2 lbs and combined drink maybe 8 oz a day.

 

[missyscove]

I looked into this a little more in my Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents Clinical Medicine and Surgery textbook (3rd edition, Quesenberry & Carpenter). From what I've learned diabeties is basically nonexistent in rabbits, but polyuria & polydipsia (excessive urination and excessive drinking) can be a sign of kidney issues.
Water intake was estimated at 10%-12% of body weight per day and urine output was listed at about 130ml/kg body weight.
3 lbs is roughly 1.36 kg which means she should be drinking about 136 ml (~4.6 oz) a day and her urine output should be about 177 ml.
If she's drinking 32 oz a day that's roughly 7 times what her water intake should be.
I'd want a urinalysis and/or bloodwork to check the kidneys.