Tips For Waterbottle Training?

[SunnyCait]

Hi all!

For Christmas I'm going to be away for 2 nights, 2 days, and there won't be anyone to watch the rabbits so I'm facing leaving them on their own (not worried about that, they've been left alone weekends before) but the difference being Hugh had a rather large water crock (and he's never used anything else as far as I'm aware) so I was never worried about him running out of water. Now, a few weeks ago he sent his smaller crock crashing from the top level of his condo onto the bottom floor, naturally landing right in and breaking his large crock. Since then he's been using one of my largemixing bowls for water, but I'm too afraid to trust him with that with no one checking on thembecause he seriously loves to toss things into his water dish, dirtying the water. Toys, hay, himself, whatever, it is always yucky by the day's end. This is a relatively new passtime of his, one I hadn't had to worry about the other times I've left them.

I'm sure the logical thing would be to just buy him another crock, but I'd really rather get him using a water bottle anyway, so his supply will stay clean the whole weekend.

For now I've put the water bottle in the cage, above his water dish. I haven't seen him use it yet, but who knows if that's just because he has his dish still and doesn't see the point or what. I did try and get him to drink from it by acting like I had a treat and putting my hand near the spout, but he wasn't buying that and I had to go to the pantry to get him a treat in the end anyway just because I felt bad for trying to trick him. They're smarter than they look.

I know it's not the end of the world if he uses a crock for forever, but does anyone have any tips or tricks to maybe get him to see the bottle as an option at least, in case he dirties his crock water? Using a tiny bit of flavored water (with thawed berry juice or something, nothing crazy or artificial)... Or would that just make him think only that sort of thing comes from a water bottle and not water?

I make myself seem crazy over the things I worry about, I swear...

 

[MarisaAndToby]

You can try holding the bottle for him, or adding a bit of apple juice to the water and make sure there's some on the outer bearing so he can smell it.

You can also try tapping your finger on the bearing when he's close to it and then showing him your finger is wet. Continue doing this to show him that's where the water came from...

Only ideas I have! Good luck!

 

[LakeCondo]

I've been trying to think of some way to cover part of a new crock so that he could still drink from it but can't throw much into it. No luck, however, Sorry.

But if it;s only toys & hay I wouldn't worry. They might make the water messy but not really contaminating like "pebbles" would be.

 

[qtipthebun]

For Q, I stuck a piece of lettuce over the ball. She caught on real fast. She ate the lettuce, went for more, realized "whoa, that thing gives water", and the rest is history.

 

[candykittten]

I kind of recall reading somewhere that animals instinctively know to lick the stopper because they can smell the water.If your really worried you could maybe have a neighbor drop by once a day

 

[SunnyCait]

LakeCondo, yeah, you're probably right about it not being too "dirty"... It certainly doesn't stop him from drinking it. But he has a habit of rolling this dish around (not sure HOW).

I tried the finger thing and he was rather disdainful about the entire affair. I'll try the lettuce thing though and see how that goes...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far!

"What's this? Hmm. No thanks. And you owe me a treat."

 

[OneTwoThree]

Get this
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10933739&lmdn=Bowls+&+Feeders

 

[SunnyCait]

Ooo that's fancy and could possibly work... The water doesn't get too stale? I'm wondering about the plastic too, we have really hard water here so all the critters use glass/ceramic dishes to prevent them from getting stains. Though I don't think that even hurts them, so.



Edit: Water bottles are plastic, doy. *shakes head at self*

 

[MarisaAndToby]

You can get glass water bottles if that's a concern

I'm out of ideas though, sorry! Hopefully the lettuce idea works.

I tell you what though, rabbits are a terrible distraction from studying for finals

 

[SunnyCait]

Haha Marisa! They're a great distraction from paperwork also, haha.

I have a feeling he'll get it, but as if to prove a point I just glanced at him and he's drinking from his bowl.

 

[OneTwoThree]

LOL. I buy plastic knowing it wont last forever, but that one has a filter in it to filter the water which I think is nice, and its anti-macrobal, I haven't felt any of the normal slime when I refill it every 2-3 days. I like it, I don't like water bottles because I can never get them clean enough, and crocks/dishes would seem to empty faster than I could refill and I'd always worry about forgetting or not checking often enough. Might be a good option for peace of mind, since you don't think she'll take to a bottle

 

[MarisaAndToby]

I used to have a crock and a bottle in there to see which he preferred. One day he'd be slurping from his bowl, the next he'd be emptying his water bottle.

I decided to go with the water bottle when he took a liking to tipping his bowl over from the second story all over my carpet... No more bowl for him.

 

[SunnyCait]

I really do like the automatic waterer, I should look into those for both bunnies perhaps.

LOL yes Marisa that's basically what happened... I was fine with his water crocks until he started throwing things into it/rolling it around. Goofy creatures.

I checked his water bottle today and the water level went down (not as much as Holly's, but still) so I think he may be grasping it but also drinking from his dish as well. We'll see!

 

[shawnwk1]

the automatic one would be best. bottles make them krink their necks in an unnatural position not only causing them pain, but also causing them not to be able to drink as much as they should be drinking which is why you have to fill the crock more because they are actually drinking the correct amount they need to.

on the other hand if you insist lol leave the bottle up there, but empty it and take the sippy part off and place it in the bowl so he gets used to it being there and he will start to figure out that the sippy thing is part of the water after a day or two put the bottle back on the sippy thing and set it in the bowl give that a day or two and then hang the bottle over the bowl. by then he will hopefully realize that the bottle = water.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

How much water does he drink on a regular basis?
The size of the water bottle in that picture just seems way too small to be leaving for 2 days and 2 nights, even if it's filled up completely right before you leave. My rabbits can drain that size in 24 hours.

Also, put it up much higher so that he doesn't have to reach down and struggle to get it. This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine in my barn - seeing the water bottles nearly at floor level. I put them up as high as they will go. (Not saying yours is nearly at floor level, cause it's not...)

Can you get out to buy a super large (like dog-sized) ceramic crock before you leave? Then you could leave the full crock & full water bottle. He should adjust easily if the water bottle is left above his water dish.

The automatic waterer would be a good idea too - just know that he may not use it. I know some animals who are afraid to drink out of them because the water gurgles when it refills the bowl and it scares them! Lol.

Emily

 

[SunnyCait]

The bottle is 32 ounces, it probably looks small because of the angle I took the photo at. It's the largest one they sell that I've seen. Holly's is the same size and she's been fine for that long before, but I'll be keeping track and comparing their water intake, he may drink more than she, who knows. It's hard for me to tell as I've never measured his water out before, and Holly goes through less than a 1/4 of the bottle in a 24 hour period. I shall investigate though.

I did end up moving it up higher, and low and behold, he's drinking out of it! I still left his dish in there but it will be returning to its original function of mixing bowl soon.