Refrigerated vs. Non-refrigerated Water...

[Jenk]

Do most people serve their rabbits very cold (i.e., refrigerated-temp.) water?

Could such cold water cause any discomfort (or even health issues)?

All this time, my hubby and I have been giving our rabbits bottled water but have not refrigerated it. We typically finish a bottle within three days' time, which I thought might be fast enough for growing bacteria to not be an issue. But now I wonder if we really should be refrigerating it upon opening?

Jenk

 

[mardigraskisses]

Bayou won't even drink water if it's not room temperature. :?

 

[Flashy]

Mine get cold water from the tap in the summer and warm water in the winter.

I don't give them refrigerated water though, just try to make sure the water is always cool.

 

[SweetSassy]

I give my bunnies bottled water ( from a gallon-drinking water) at room temperature.

 

[anneq]

My bunnies get tap water. I usually let it get cold before filling their bottles up.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

cool tap water for seven years now.

 

[Jenk]

SweetSassy wrote:

I give my bunnies bottled water (from a gallon-drinking water) at room temperature.

That's exactly what we do. I just was feeling unsure if bottled water could build up more bacteria by sitting at room temp. (for several days').

 

[SweetSassy]

I haven't had any problems. I use it for my coffee and ice watertoo. So I drink from it too. As long as the lid is on it, I would think it's ok.

Edit: I use a gallon every 2 days.

 

[BethM]

I generally give cool tap water. I avoid bottled water, but have a Pur filter on my tap for drinking water.

 

[SweetSassy]

My tap water is nasty. I hate the taste. It's really hard water. And it's always brown color. Even when they don't clean the fire hydrants, it's still brown. I think the pipes around here are just old and nasty.

 

[Jenk]

SweetSassy wrote:

My tap water is nasty. I hate the taste. It's really hard water. And it's always brown color. Even when they don't clean the fire hydrants, it's still brown. I think the pipes around here are just old and nasty.

We have hard water, too. Even with a water softener, I don't trust our tap water. I should also note that one of the tanks that provides our water had a contamination issue several years' ago; since then,the barium (I believe it's barium)count has been higher than the EPA recommends for drinking water. High amounts of it can cause cancer, though we've been told that our amounts aren't that high. But still...

I rinse my crew's greens under cold tap water, shake them off, then dip them in a bowl of bottled water. Crazy, but true. That's the only contact that they have with our tap water.

 

[JimD]

I buy bottled water in the 2 1/2 gallon bottles.
It usually lasts 4 or 5 days.
And it gets served at room temp.

 

[Maureen Las]

I give cold tap water and have never had issues; we hve good water here...

 

[Jenk]

angieluv wrote:

I give cold tap water and have never had issues; we hve good water here...

We're in a weird "pocket" of the 'burbs that doesn't have Chicago water. Go figure.

Believe me, wherever we may live next, one of my questions (for the selling home owner/s and the town's village) will be: "What's the status of your water's source/condition, and can I view the most recent report on it?"

 

[BethM]

I feel really lucky that the water here is good. I don't understand why people here buy bottled water, when the tap water tastes really good. I don't even use the Pur filter every time
Also, our water company sends out quarterly water quality reports, but will provide it any time if asked. I wouldn't want to live anywhere they wouldn't let you see the reports whenever you wanted.

 

[Shainabee]

I give Miley refrigerated bottle water and it doesn't seem to bother her. By the time she gets around to drinking it, most the time it is room temp.

 

[Saudade]

The build up of bacteria in the water isn't that fast. Consider it the same as you drinking a glass of water that's been sitting for three days (In this case it's even less likely to have bacteria because it isn't open to the air).

I just let Lucy's water bottle sit for sometime up to a week, it really depends on how often she goes outside or not. If she's outside in her run she has a water bottle which has taken her about a month to drink it to empty.

Honestly I don't think that you could have any problems with the refrigerated water, though I do know that medically it's much much safer to drink room temperature water.

 

[Jenk]

BethM wrote:

Also, our water company sends out quarterly water quality reports, but will provide it any time if asked. I wouldn't want to live anywhere they wouldn't let you see the reports whenever you wanted.

Our city provides regular water reports. Unfortunately, that's how I learned about the contamination (rather than having had the smarts to ask about the water quality before we bought our current home).

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Mine get cold water in the summer from the hose. So I'm guessing that whatever temperature the water in the hose gets when it's actually cold, might be around refigerator temp. We fill up a silver plastic tub with water from the hose, and the tub actually keeps the water around the same temperature, maybe a little more colder than room temp.

Our bunnies drink a lot of water, so we fill up the tub about once a week, sometimes every few days. If it gets dirty (though we do have a lid, sometimes hay slips in!) we change it; and in the summer if it does get warm, we get fresh cold water in it. We also rinse/scrub it out once a week to prevent build up of algae or any other bacteria.

In the winter, we do give them warm water, too.

Emily

 

[Flash]

Where I moved the tap water is nasty so I started with the Pur filter then I got a new refrig with filtered water and that's what my pets get, nice and cold.