Problem getting a small rabbit the water she needs

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intercede007

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For the [long'ish] backstory on how the rabbit came to be in our possession, and more on the condition she is in, read me.

Suffice it to say, water uptake is now my primary concern. She eats hay, vegetables and her pellet feed just fine. I'd categorize her appetite as veracious.

I've now gone through two of the standard water bottles with the spring loaded ball bearing in a tube. I'm sure you are familiar. The first was rather small and so too was the stopper for the water. When I would use it it didn't seem to be putting out much water at all. Last night I got a larger one specifically for rabbits. It seemed to put out a bit more water.

She used the new bottle a bit and I tape-marked the water level. It hasn't changed in many hours. When I put a small saucer of water (about the size of the soy sauce dish you get when served sushi) in front of her while she is out playing she will sit there and lap it dry as long as I care to refill it. That does not inspire confidence that she is getting the she needs.

I read the thread on urine, and the color comments fit the odd fluid we had found when we first brought her in. We initially thought she may have been bleeding because of the color of the splotches on our bathroom rug were so darkly colored.
The pinch test on her neck is fine, and though she isn't peeing as often as I would imagine she is alert and very active.

Anyone else have trouble getting their rabbits the water they need from a bottle? Is it common to give a rabbit a water bowl or cup in their cage?

Thanks!





 
Where did you get this rabbit? It may be a case where she just doesn't know how to use a bottle.

I have several rabbits on crocks and several on bottles. The ones on bottles will drink about as much as the crock-ers on any given day.

If your rabbit prefers a crock, just find a heavy ceramic one she can't tip and use that instead of a bottle. :)
 
She seems very well versed in using the bottle. We went and got a cage that night, and the first thing she did when we put her in it was to use the spout. She works it just fine, it just doesn't seem like she lets the stopper stay back long enough to get any measurable amount of water out.

If that all sounds fine, when we build her new cage we'll put a dish in instead of the bottle. Thanks!
 
I agree, my rabbit drinks more from his crock than he ever did from his water bottle.

What I have noticed is that my rabbit has peak-drinking periods. He doesn't usually drink much during the day. But he drinks tons at night.
 
i had the same probleme ... i got butsy from a pet store, and she would not drink .. so one day i thought to use a small bowl, and does she ever DRINK . its safe to say my bunn wont go dry . she drinks more than my cat and dog put together !!!!!1
 
Yes both of my buns use crocks to I get the dog size ones because they drink so much.

storm never drank out of a bottle well at the shelter and Jessi came on a bottle and went to a crock in a day and never looked back.
 
She may know how to use the water bottle...but if she was dehydrated enough she may need to access water in quantities that the water bottle can't supply right now!

Danielle:)
 
What quantity of veggies is she getting? My smaller bun eats a lot of lettuce (the only kind of veggie he will bother eating) and gets a lot of water this way. I rarely see him drink, and the level in his crock is pretty much the same all day, but his pee is very light colored and he seems well hydrated.

My female was previously on a bottle and I only heard her drink maybe twice a day. Now she's on a crock and I see he dinking more frequently, which is good. Her pee went from dark orange to yellow in a few days. She still doesn't drink often and the crock (that they now share) doesn't seem to lose much water even over a day and a half or two days.
 

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