Barney’s Excessive Drinking

[AnnaW]

As some of you might remember i rescued a bunny (well actually, I’m starting to feel more like he rescued me!!) called Barney on wednesday night, and of course have completely fallen in love with him. He is a lionhead, VERY fluffy but previous owners had to cut half of his fur off due to matting, and had been fed on that coloured cereal kind of rubbish. He loves his kibble, hay and veg, but drinks A LOT. His water bottle is a 350ml bottle, and he drank just over half of that last night, right after i’d filled it up. He seems perky other than that, grooming himself and playing, he’s even getting a bit more brave with coming out of his cage and spent 2 hours curled up in my duvet last night!

Do you think the excessive drinking is something to worry about, or shall i just monitor him and stop being an overly worried mother? Thanks guys x

[Bam]

You should keep an eye on his water-consumption, of course, since excessive drinking CAN be a sign of a serious condition in rabbits as well as in dogs. It can mean there’s some sort of infection or inflammation, or sth worse. So if he keeps this up you should see a vet about it.

A rabbit should drink 10 ml per 100 g which is 10 ml per 3.5274 ounces. Per 24 hours. So half a bottle doesn’t sound like areally huge amount. What does he weigh?

[RabbitPam]

By Kibble, do you mean pellets? If so, what kind are you giving him? He should be on a good brand of simple pellets, like basic ground timothy hay (Oxbow’s Bunny Basics-T, for example) without any additives like yogurt drops and all that cute stuff that other brands put into them.

I say this because, if they are salty, it may be making him more thirsty. Also, when my bunny consumes a lot of hay at one sitting, she immediately goes to drink a lot of water afterward. Her oat hay makes her thirsty.

Do you see him drinking a lot, or is it just a lower level in a water bottle? They leak often. If it’s a crock dish of water, that’s a better way to know he’s been drinking.

[AnnaW]

Bam: I think he weighs about 2 lbs, but my scales don’t recognize him standing on them for some reason! His bottle is 350ml, so I was worried that 125ml ish a day was quite a lot!
RabbitPam: Yes I mean pellets They are supreme science ones, i’ll be ordering the vet standard ones I fed my old bun when I am next home I dont feed him any treats of any kind at the minute, as i didnt want to implicate his behaviour such as drinking I see him drinking a lot, so know its definitely not leaking … he actually wakes me up in the night drinking so ferociously! You’d have thought he’d eaten hot chilli!

Thanks for the replies x

[Bam]

My bunny drank a lot from his bottle when he first figured out how to use it. The sound of him drinking from it would ring through the apartment at night. Maybe he thought it was a fun activity?

One time I gave him willow-twigs to chew, that made him drink copiously.

[Sarita]

Was he kept outside at his old place? Many times rabbits that are kept outside in the heat usually consume more water than our indoor rabbits so that could be a possibility. I’ve found this to be the case in many rabbits who are initially outdoors and my vet has said the same thing as well.

[AnnaW]

Haha yeah maybe he just thinks its good fun! He was indeed kept outside at his old home, that would make sense Thanks for the replies!! x

[Author]

Messages