Bunny not drinking – Post for Bcoleman

[DanaNM]

Posted for @Bcoleman :

Hello

I have a 10 year old neutered bunny that we have had since he was a baby.  He recently decided to discontinue drinking.   We have taken him to different vets, have had blood work, fecal flotation and urine analysis.  His poo is smaller darker and harder than it should be however he is still urinating and there was no crystals in his urine. His fecal exams did not detect anything and blood work showed slightly decreased white blood count, lymphocytes and neutrophils on the low side of normal, elevated monocyte, elevated glucose, elevated albumin globular ratio and elevated ALT. AST and ALP and GGT were normal.  He has completed a 7 day round of antibiotics and he is now on anti-inflammatory (meloxicam) as his blood test showed inflamation.  He eats timothy hay and kale and a mixture of veggies.  We have also tried adding a different water bottle and a bowl with water.  The only thing that seems to get him drinking a bit of water is when the vets gave him fluids under his skin.  We have been giving him water using a syringe in his mouth but it is no where near enough and makes him mad.  The vets also looked at his teeth and mouth and noted nothing unusual.  He doesn’t seem to be sleeping like he use to either.  I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if so what was the cause and solution.

Thanks b

. . . 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.  

[Meg]

This post was from a while back, but I wanted to reply just in case still helpful:

I’m not a vet so I can’t interpret the bloodwork, but just wanted to say that for a year or so in his old age our bunny also stopped drinking water on his own (and then he started up again later).  I asked here and the consensus was that sometimes they’re getting enough fluids from their daily greens/veggies.  If his teeth seem OK and urine is not problematic, it could just be that.  You can give fluids at home sometimes if you’re concerned (if the vet recommends it) — it’s not as hard as I thought it’d be.  But generally I wouldn’t worry too much if he seems otherwise normal.

[Author]

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