What does sleeping next to the water bowl mean

[Haru the Lionhead]

A few months ago I posted a thread about something and someone told me to "look out for odd behaviors like sleeping next to the water bowl"
Why is that odd? what does it mean?
Because haru has been sleeping next to it and sometimes when she flops she gets wet, so I changed the place of the water bowl but she keeps following it!
Yesterday she was sleeping next to it, I took it and placed it on another spot, she got up and looked for it, I thought that she wanted to drink but she just went to sleep next to it!

 

[ArtistChibi]

Could it be cooler to her by being next to it? Sometimes Shen sleeps next to his water bowl and Xiao Wu on our air vent when it's hotter in the room. What's the temperature like in her area?

 

[NYAngela]

I agree she probably likes the coolness of the water bowl! My first bun loved hard cool surfaces. If you have an extra tile lay it in a corner of the pen I bet she’ll love it! Sometimes you can get a sample tile for free or cheap from store.

 

[SirLawrence]

Both my buns love sleeping next to the water bowl. I think with Lawrence it's mostly laziness, so he doesn't have to get up if he gets thirsty... he'll go lay on the tile if he gets hot!

 

[Yaya8a]

My rabbit also loves sleeping next to her water bowl lol I’m guessing it’s because she likes the coldness of it. Her bowl is ceramic so it stays cooler. I think it’s normal.

 

[JBun]

A few months ago I posted a thread about something and someone told me to "look out for odd behaviors like sleeping next to the water bowl"
Why is that odd? what does it mean?
Because haru has been sleeping next to it and sometimes when she flops she gets wet, so I changed the place of the water bowl but she keeps following it!
Yesterday she was sleeping next to it, I took it and placed it on another spot, she got up and looked for it, I thought that she wanted to drink but she just went to sleep next to it!

It's not just sleeping next to the water bowl by itself, that is necessarily an indicator of an odd behavior and something being wrong. it's when a rabbit is showing signs of not eating, sitting hunched up, not wanting to move, maybe also grinding teeth, then also sticking their paws into the water bowl or something similar to this, that can indicate a serious health problem. So it's not just paws in the water bowl by itself that means there's something wrong, but in combination with those other signs.

I agree with the others that what your rabbit is doing is probably because it may be a little cooler sitting next to the bowl. So if it's hot, you'll want to make sure to provide cool places for her to lay down.