My rabbit like to put their feet in the water bowl, is this a concern?

[user 35876]

2-month-old female Minirex rabbit often put their feet in the water bowl, is this a concern or normal behavior.

Is this a possible cause of fungal infection or any skin disease?
If there is a health concern, how to stop rabbits to wet their feet?

Other information
They are in separate cage and just visit each other when I open the cage.
the bowl is quite heavy and there is no chance to flip it.
I change the water twice a day, morning and evening.
They drink quite a lot of water, at least in my opinion.
They jump around happily and eat quite well, no external wound seen.
I'm Thailand, hot and humid country, if this is related.
I use electronic fan in the daytime.
I put several ice cube in the bowl every morning.

thanks in advance.

 

[Preitler]

I wouldn't be too concerned right now, just have a close look at her feet if something looks off. If you want to stop that behaviour, try putting something like a brick under the bowl to make it higher.

There are several ways to keep them cool, like offering them a big tile, slab of concrete or a big flat stone to rest on, or even a sheet of metal.

 

[Blue eyes]

Just an observation... not sure if you have hay elsewhere for them but my first thought when I saw the photo was "they need more hay!" The rack should be overflowing with hay. Ideally it shouldn't get as low on hay as it is in the photo. Rabbits like to pick through the hay and choose whatever they deem to be the choicest pieces. So fresh hay should be added to the rack every day at least once (preferably more often).

 

[user 35876]

Thanks for your concern.

I can make sure that I refill the hay to the maximum capacity at least twice a day, around 6.00 - 7.00 am and then around 6.00 - 7.00 pm. Maybe thrice a day (plus midnight extra) if needed. This morning I woke up and see there's still a lot of hay in the rack (last refill about midnight) but I refill it to maximum capacity anyway.

 

[Diane R]

Don't allow any visits until 8 weeks after both have been neutered. Move the water bowl out of of the toilet.

 

[Preitler]

Don't allow any visits until 8 weeks after both have been neutered. ...

What? Why that? No. Both are female, so it's pretty rare that there might be issues.
Don't seperate if there isn't an actual, good reason, just make sure several times, like every week for the next two months, that they indeed are both female.

When I did have to spay one of my intact does due to an emergency sahe went right back to her pertner doe after one day.

 

[tinamix]

Rabbit should not live on metal grates or wiring. It hurts their feet, You'd think people would know this by now..

 

[Preitler]

Actually, that's not true, proper wire floors can have quite some advantages. Very big breeds and Rex furred rabbits can sometimes have issues, but that's not the majority of rabbits. And wire floors aren't really a thing for indoor pet rabbits anyway. Hard floors or the wrong type of carpet can cause issues with any rabbit.
I reckon wire has a bad reputation, but that mostly stems from keeping other species like chickens on an industrial scale.

And what you actually see on this picture is not a wire floor but a plastic litterbox grate anyway, one way too keep their feet dry, clean and healthy if the rabbits accept it as their litter spot.

 

[tinamix]

Yes, I do see that it's plastic. I agree with you that it keeps them dry away from their urine/poop and that's extremely important but there should be an area that does not have grating of any kind - the rabbits will prefer it when they are chilling out. It should not be hard flooring either. .. Rabbits mainly poop and urinate when they are eating hay so that's where the grate should be, near the hay. The rest should not be grated. This is based on my research, my experiments with my rabbits (what works and what doesn't work) and common sense. I should add that rabbits shouldn't be kept in cages either but that's another subject for another day.

 

[Blue eyes]

Yes, I do see that it's plastic. I agree with you that it keeps them dry away from their urine/poop and that's extremely important but there should be an area that does not have grating of any kind - the rabbits will prefer it when they are chilling out. It should not be hard flooring either. .. Rabbits mainly poop and urinate when they are eating hay so that's where the grate should be, near the hay. The rest should not be grated. This is based on my research, my experiments with my rabbits (what works and what doesn't work) and common sense. I should add that rabbits shouldn't be kept in cages either but that's another subject for another day.

The OP's photo shows the litter box but not the entire enclosure. The rabbits are clearly able to hop out of the box and off of the grate. So there is no cause for concern.

It is appropriate and recommended to have such young rabbits confined in an enclosure especially when not yet litter trained.

 

[tinamix]

Oh yes, I see that now!! My apologies!