Mini Lop concerns

[josh.bohmier]

I guess I have a couple of questions being new to rabbits and all. We have two Satins and two mini lops. The Satins drink a lot of water, at least a half bottle a day. The two mini lops are not drinking nearly as much. They are drinking and eating and they are urinating and defecating so how concerned should I be? ... and how much water should they be drinking each day?

I also wonder if their is a special container for mini lops to eat out of. I have the ones that mount on the outside of the cage, screened bottom and they extend about 1.5 to 2 inches inside the cage. I can't tell if they just cannot get their heads down to the bottom to eat the last bits or if the feeder is preventing them from being able to get to it. Thanks for you help.

Joshua Bohmier

 

[LakeCondo]

WATER There is such a wide variation among rabbits in the amount of water they drink. I'd mainly be concerned if the amount changed.

FOOD BOWLS I have no experience with lops or with clamp-on bowls. My only thought is with hound dogs, whose ears aren't that different from lops, they often use a more raised bowl, so the earls don't get dirty. I have no idea if that is relevant, though. Do the lops seem extra hungry when you 1st fill the containers?

Are your rabbits full-grown & how much does each drink & how much & what do they get fed?

And welcome to the forum.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Water consumption varies by the rabbit--our smaller bunny usually drinks the most. We use crocks for food and veggies--when they get emptied, we take them out.

 

[josh.bohmier]

One is just about a year old and the other is 9 weeks old. I have had them for about a week now.

The older one gets a 3/4 of a cup of pellets and the younger gets a 1/2 cup. They both have hay too.

At this point I can't tell if they are eating and drinking as much as they should because they are so new to me. They don't seem excited at meal time. They tend to have a little food left in the bottom from the previous nights meal.

As far as how much they drink... I'd say 4oz a day. (a quarter of a 16oz bottle.)

Josh Bohmier

 

[LakeCondo]

You've had them only a week & they're still settling in, so their consumption might change. Honey doesn't drink much water [probably about the same as yours], but that seems to be her normal. And that's from a bowl, which if anything, gets rabbits to drink more than from a bottle. The main reason is if the bottle's isn't positioned correctly, the rabbit isn't comfortable drinking from it.

The one being full-grown & the other still very young means they should have different food. The full-grown one should be eating timothy pellets & the youngster, alfalfa pellets. The pellets should be unlimited for the youngster. If the adult isn't eating veggies, he should be slowly introduced to a green such as romaine, parsley, cilantro, etc. And then you can cut back on the pellets in compensation.