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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE Not drinking much water

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    • K F
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        HI there.  Boy have things changed, since I posted here about our bunny Snowflake and her babies.  Her babies turned out great, healthy, and friendly, and were placed in great homes.  We recently relocated to NY from WA tho, and had to find homes for all of our bunnies.    Of course, we’ve acquired a few new since arriving.  I can’t be without a bunny or two.    But, our Chocolate… She is a young female, about 5 months or so old now.  She has cut her water consumption way down, and I am concerned for her. She is eating fine, and is full of energy–continuing to enjoy time outside the cage, and asking for pets.  But the water consumption, I am worried about.  I recently lost 2 young buns, and am a little paranoid now.  Any suggestions??? Thank you so very much.


      • dmh426
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          Hi Babygurl, I am out in Syracuse in looking for a second bun for a companion for Sophie. Have you tried flavoring the water? It encourages drinknig, believe me. Dilute water with some apple juice or pedialyte, which will keep the bunny hydrated. They go to the water bottle expecting plain old tap water and get the flavored water and they start gulping it down. Give it a try.


        • K F
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            Hello! Thanks for the advice.  I will give that a try. She’s drinking, but so very little.  And because of losing the other two little ones, I’m very afraid.  But because of that loss, I too am looking for a bun for me.  The 3 we have, belong to kids and hubby.  I have so little for myself, being the mom and all.  lol  And I had to leave my bun behind in WA when we moved.  Again, thanks.


          • Gravehearted
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              is she still eating normally? have you switched her from a bowl to bottle or anything recently?

              you might try bottled water, all three of my bunnies drink way more water when it’s bottled. it tastes better i guess.
              also make sure to really soak her veggies when rinsing them, as it will help her intake some water as well.


            • BinkyBunny
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                Aw what a bummer.  How come you had to leave your bunnies behind?  It sounds like you can have bunnies at your new place.   If it was an actual traveling concern, then maybe we could help you here with advice so you won’t ever have to say goodbye to your new bunny.   That must be so hard!

                If your bunny is eating normally, then he is drinking water.   Bunnies cannot eat if they are not drinking. 

                Have there been any diet changes lately?   More greens?


              • K F
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                  I was unable to travel with any of my bunnies, because to be very honest, I had no more room in my car.    I had the two I was going to bring, all packed and everything.  Movers came, and I was loading the car for the kids/cats/guinea pigs and I to travel, and no more room!  Our neighbor, who we were very close with and my daughter was their daughter’s friend, took them.  I know they are well taken care of.    It was so hard to part with them, but my friends stepped in and adopted them.

                  Chocolate was the first one we got, after arriving here.  She is drinking, just not alot.  Perhaps she doesn’t need a lot?  I just added some greens to her diet.  Once a week, fresh things.  I am finding that she’s very picky, and that could be part of the situation with her.  We were wandering thru a pet store, just to get acquainted with where we could buy supplies when needed, and there she was.  She is a little older, and knowing most go for the little babies, I just couldn’t leave her behind.  At the pet store, I reached in the cage, and she came right to me.  So I figured I would pick her up, and she cuddled into me. The pet store owner was surprised, saying she hadn’t let anyone touch her, and that was why she was only $10.  Guess it was meant to be, that she should be in our family.    We also have 3 others:  2 dwarfs, and a mini lop, who are quite a bit younger.


                • Gravehearted
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                    many bunnies are picky when it comes to trying veggies for the first time. it always a good idea to introduce any new veggies one at a time, in case it causes an tummy upset. At five months, it’s good to limit her quantity to a small portion veggies, but i feed them daily.

                    Have you looked into any vets in your new area since Chocolate should be spayed in the next few months? You may want to check out this link with some bunny vets in WA.

                    http://www.rabbitrodentferret.org/rabbitrodentferret.org/vets.asp


                  • K F
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                      OH, I do plan to get her spayed.  We are in New York now, so will look for a vet here.  She’s drinking her water better now.  Just finding she’s very picky about things.    Giving her veggies once a week right now.  Wasn’t sure if she should get them daily or not at this age.  Also, with my younger bunnies, what is a good age to start giving them the greens, and how often?


                    • Gravehearted
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                        I’m so glad to hear you’re planning to have her spayed.  oops – I’m sorry I thought you’d moved from NY to WA!  here’s the lists of NY vets that see bunnies 🙂

                        Upstate NY http://www.therabbitresource.org/recommendedvets.html
                        NYC Area http://www.rabbitcare.org/vets.htm

                        As far as veggies go – after about 12 weeks is the time to start introducing veggies one at a time (this helps determine if any veggies is causing tummy upset or diarrhea). I  would recommend offering veggies every day in small amounts. Although if your young bunny is a pet store bunny (they’re often weaned at too early an age) I’ve heard some people recommend to give pellets & hay the first month only to help the flora in the bunny tummy stabilize. After giving the tummy flora time to stabilize, add in veggies.

                        At around 8 months is the time to slowly increase the amount of daily veggies.  At  a year bunnies should be getting about 2 cups a day of fresh veggies.

                        here’s a list of bunny veggies too:  http://www.adoptarabbit.org/articles/packet/abcvegi.html
                        the most popular veggies at my house are: dandelion greens, parsley, dill & basil


                      • K F
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                          Glad to hear I’m doing the veggie thing properly.  lol  They are enjoying broccoli, spinach, and a carrot here and there.  Lots of timothy hay too.  We are actually in Central NY.  Not quite north, but not near NYC.  Any special listings for central part of the state?  We are in Oneida county, if that helps. 


                        • K F
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                            Oh, and here’s a pic of Chocolate. She’s the black one. And Bugsy, our little Lop. 

                             

                             

                            13515370471.jpg
                            13515378254.jpg


                          • Gravehearted
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                              what cuties!  🙂 the lists are the only two I know of that are NY based, so you might take a look to see if there are any vets on the lists near you.

                              The hay is great!  At a young age it’s ok to feed alfalfa hay as well.  broccoli is ok, but it’s best to give mostly leaves and stems since broc can cause gas.  spinach is high in oxalates, so should be given sparingly as well.  carrots are considered a treat, so really need to be very limited.   you might check out the binky bunny section on bunny diet too 🙂  https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/tabid/60/Default.aspx


                            • BinkyBunny
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                                Posted By babygurl on 03/02/2007 2:19 AM

                                I was unable to travel with any of my bunnies, because to be very honest, I had no more room in my car.    I had the two I was going to bring, all packed and everything.  Movers came, and I was loading the car for the kids/cats/guinea pigs and I to travel, and no more room!  Our neighbor, who we were very close with and my daughter was their daughter’s friend, took them.  I know they are well taken care of.    It was so hard to part with them, but my friends stepped in and adopted them.

                                I am so sorry to hear that.   That must have been really hard.  It’s good to hear they are in a loving home.  If you ever are put in this situation again, here are some resources for companies who will transport your pets for you.  This was some great information that another member, bunnies4ever, posted a while back.

                                https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/view/topic/forumid/2/postid/919/Default.aspx

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                            Forum DIET & CARE Not drinking much water