Bunny making water puddles on the floor?

[CurroTheBunny]

Hello,

my name is Paula and my bunny is a dwarf bunny called Curro, and he is 3 months old. For the last 4 days I have found random puddles of water around my bedroom where his bunny zone is, but his watter bowl is not something you can tip over, I have searched everywhere on the internet but I can’t find anything related. I was wondering if my bunny could be filling his cheeks with water and then spitting it around, but I haven’t seen him do this and I didn’t see anything similar on the internet.

He pees on his litter box and his pee is yellow and somehow smelly, while this liquid is completely clear and oddorless, just like water.

Does anyone have any idea of what this might be?

Thank you all in advance!

[Wick & Fable]

Hi Curro! Sorry for the delayed response — right now, our forums are undergoing a big update, so you will not be getting replies from anyone outside moderators as we get the website ready for a re-opening.

Most likely, those water puddles are actually urine. Just like if a human consumes more water than needed, a rabbit’s urine will be clear and odorless if it’s drinking more water than its body needs. It could be that your rabbit is drinking more water than usual due to dental discomfort (common in dwarves, though he is young. Water acts as a lubricant and makes sores/irritated spots caused by sharp teeth edges feel a little better). Some rabbits drink water out of boredom as well. Lastly, there could be a bladder issue, where your rabbit cannot hold his bladder (such as a UTI).

Can you describe his typical diet, activity level/exercise time, and what he typically eats most throughout the day? Specifically, it’d be helpful to know whether he eats a lot of hay.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[CurroTheBunny]

Hello, thank you for the reply!

In his diet he always has hay available although I do think he doesn’t eat a lot! He eats some, when I put is straight from the bag he actually runs to it and eats a lot, but then he stops eating it, maybe he likes some bits and not some others? I give him 40 grams of pellets in the morning and another 40 in the evening and then he gets a bunch of cornsalad at midday, he doesn’t like carrots so I don’t give him any and only once a week I give him a slice of cucumber as a treat. He loves his pellets and his cornsalad but I have actually thought about trying out some different hay because he doesn’t eat a lot of this one.

He actually drinks a lot of water, he drink from a bowl and I have to fill it up 3 times a day!

He is very active, he is never locked since we use a cage but we never close it so that he can run around the room as much as he likes.

Thank you for your time I appreciate all help!

 

[Wick & Fable]

Sorry for the delay in the response.

I’m not super sure what corn salad is, but if it is a mixture of corn and other related food items, I would recommend against feeding it. Corn and seeds are very much tempting fillers in rabbit diets that do not provide good nutrition , although they find it very delicious. It may actually contribute to why he doesn’t eat a lot of hay. Ideally, his diet should only be unlimited hay, limited pellets, and fresh veggies (like leafy greens and herbs). The corn salad I’m seeing online may equate junk food.

 

The amount of water consumption sounds very high — when is the last time he has seen a vet? I am concerned there may be an underlying condition causing him to drink so much.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[jerseygirl]

I think the corn salad is a type of green. I learnt that from one of our Dutch BB members!

I just had a quick look and it can have diuretic effect. So maybe that’s why your bun is drinking/peeing a lot??  You could try cut back on the amount of it you feed and introduce some other salad green?

[LBJ10]

Is this it? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerianella_locusta

 

[Wick & Fable]

If it is as @jerseygirl and @LBJ10 describe, it could absolutely be a diuretic effect. I know I cannot feed one of my rabbits parsley because it makes him pee so much. It may be worthwhile to eliminate or reduce it from his diet to see if there is a difference.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[CurroTheBunny]

Yes, the corn salad is that type of leaves, sorry for the confusion it created!

What other vegetable do you recommend me to change it for?

Thank you all for your replies 😊

 

[jerseygirl]

Romaine lettuce is a good starter green, although it seems that all greens have some diuretic properties, some more then others! At his age, I think the key is in how much you give him. It’s okay for him to have less then “recommended amounts”  You’ll want to introduce new greens one by one. But ideally, you’ll want him to consume more hay. What type of hay had he had so far?

@Wick had some success getting her rabbit to eat more hay by placing in lots of places in his habitat. Offering a variety and in lots of places might help in Curro developing better hay eating habits.

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