New Water Bottle – Tips?

[Madrhy]

We’ve only had our bunny (his name is Beefa) for a week and he is 4 months old. When we first brought him home we used a spare water bottle from our guinea pigs for him and also put out a little bowl of water since we weren’t sure what he was used to. He took to the bottle fairly quickly but it is really small and it had a slight leak so I got him a new, larger one. Problem is he doesn’t seem to want to use it. Any tips on getting him used to it? I sat down with him and pushed the little ball in so some water dripped out but he just licked it up and went looking for his other bottle. I have had both bottles in there since we bought the new one, the new one outside the cage and the small one inside but he will actually hop around and get in his cage to use the old one! do you think maybe the new one is too hard for him to get water from? 

 

Thanks,

Lauren

[KytKattin]

Is it at all possible for you to use a bowl for him? It is much more natural for them to drink from a bowl, not to mention you never have to worry about the bottle not working and preventing him from getting to water! A bowl is also easier to clean than a bottle.

Of course sometimes it is just not convenient to have a bowl. Others use both and let their rabbit choose their preference. I personally use a bowl because the bottle is darn noisy in the middle of the night!

As for getting him to use the new one;
Is the spout larger on the new one than the old one? It might simply be too big for him to comfortably use. Does it sit higher or lower than the original one did? Is the material used for the bottle different than the other one? It might cause the water to taste funny if this is the case. When I did used bottles I used glass ones because of this.

Best of luck to you and your new bunny!

[Madrhy]

We had a bowl and the bottle but he seemed to prefer the bottle and the bowl was used more for standing in and tipping over (by him and the kids who are 6 and 4yrs old). Glass is obviously not an option due to the kids and the fact that his little sleeping and eating area has a tiled floor. You’re probably spot on with the idea of it just being too physically large for him, it is bigger but seems to sit at the same height etc. I might just have to get a new one with the same sized spout as his old one but bigger bottle and no leak. Thanks!

[Rei]

I think you should just use a bowl. Its an easier and more natural way for your bunny to drink. Since bottles hold a good bit of water its easy to forget that the water needs changed. A bowl will need dumped out and changed everyday, that way your bunny gets nice fresh water everyday

[bmt87]

I don’t know how often your bun is our of her cage but this may help if she’s in and out…

We keep a bottle in Lola’s cage and a bowl outside her cage near her other potty box.  She really likes to use both of them and more often than note ended up making a mess and splashing around in the bowl – just make sure you put a throw rug underneath of it and it’s not a big deal.  I use the rugs with the bottom coated in plastic so it doesn’t soak through to our actual carpeting.  I also need to buy a heavier bowl (and would actually suggest you use one as well) because recently she’s discovered she can flip it over and pick it up….it’s only a matter of time before your bun discovers this trick too!

This might help…just a suggestion.

[Madrhy]

Thanks everyone, I’ve bought him a new bottle (a little bigger but same sized spout) and put his bowl back out. We can’t put a bowl in the cage because it’s quite small and he’d sit in it for sure lol (I know he needs plenty of room but he only sleeps in the cage at night, in the daytime he’s out and about) it’s also winter here and getting cold overnight so I don’t want to risk him getting himself all wet and then getting too cold, different story in the daytime when we’re with him of course.

[Szurke]

This is tough, its not natural for rabbits to drink from a dropper, plus they can malfunction. Unfortunately it took my friends rabbits death for her to discover it was a malfunction of the water bottle. I will never use a bottle, I cannot bear the thought of my rabbit passing of dehydration, what a terrible death.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Any plans to move to a larger cage/habitat? A cage must be four times their size (and that’s really terribly small) plus high enough for them to stand up in. It sounds like you will have to move up to a bigger cage soon. When you do that, you can move to a bowl as it’s really how rabbits prefer to drink

[Madrhy]

He has a bowl as well as the bottle (actually 2 bottles now!) so I am pretty sure he’ll be able to get water, we’re not torturing the poor little guy. He doesn’t use the bowl though so I guess that’s not how THIS rabbit prefers to drink at all but still I leave it out so he can choose for himself. I also change the water in the bottles and bowl daily and check it all seems to be working fine and is clean and fresh, honestly I am not trying to harm the creature hence I asked the question.

I’m also pretty sure he’s fine for space since he sleeps in his cage and that’s it. During the day the cage door is open and he is free to roam about the whole lower floor of our house when we’re home to keep an eye on him and an entire room when we’re out. We also just got him a big outdoor hutch so he can spend some time out there during the day eating the grass and getting some fresh air, we don’t even close the cage door most nights so he has the entire laundry to stretch his legs and hop about to his heart’s content and he’s got a big box of hay he likes to dig in and a basket he likes to curl up in and chew on. I am not going to put a bowl of water in his cage and have him get wet and cold at night, it’s almost winter here and although it doesn’t get as cold as a lot of the world we also don’t have things like central heating, the temperature in our house drops overnight just as it does outside.

[RabbitPam]

How is the new bottle with the smaller spout working out? I agreed that it was the right thing to try next, and providing him with both gives him the opp. to get his water.
You can rub a tiny bit of banana on the tip to get him to lick it off, and it will activate the water in case he hasn’t tried it yet.

[Sarita]

Some rabbits just don’t drink alot of water especially if they are indoors and they get plenty of greens. I think you are on the right track and letting him chose for himself.

[Madrhy]

Thankyou RabbitPam and Sarita, beginning to feel a little attacked there!
The bottle with the smaller spout is working great for him. He drinks from that and enjoys paddling in the bowl, crazy rabbit. I pushed in the valve to get the water to come out on to my fingers from the larger bottle and he licked it off my hand and the spout but I think it really might just be too big for him, whatever it is he doesn’t like it.

Considering the insane bunny antics in my living room this morning I don’t think he’s deprived of anything, he’s a happy little bunny and I can hear him drinking in his room now.

[bmt87]

I’m so glad it’s working out for you Madrhy! Every bun is so different and figuring out what they prefer seems to be a constant struggle. Seems to be why we all end up to be “bun slaves”.

[Nicolene]

When I had one bun I bought a 16oz self-watering bowl and it was perfect. Now I have 2 buns and I’m refilling it twice a day. Since they don’t try to get in it or tip it over I’m going to get a bigger one so they don’t run out of water before I get home from work/get up in the morning. I really like the self watering bowl. Whenever they have finished it there is usually a piece of hay and some hair in the bottom of the bowl, so I wouldn’t get one that’s too big, since it needs cleaning at least every other day.

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