Bunny wont drink

[jordangraceandidgy]

Okay, first things first.. 2 weeks ago my sweet buns got a bout of gi stasis, luckily i caught it very early and she got cared for right away at the vet. Two days later she was out, it was due to alfalfa pellets.. Also, she had lateral points on her molars and they were poking holes in her tongue. They gave me metacam, lactulose, and baytril. Also changed the diet. She is now on selective pellets and timothy hay / fresh greens (parsely, spinach, kale, watercress). Shes been eating like crazy since then, but she just wont drink. I asked the vet what to do and she gave me oxbow critical care to syringe feed her. That was working up until about yesterday. 2 days ago she got the procedure done to file down those molars, but now that i think she must be feeling 100%, she FREAKS when im about the give her the oxbow, and what i mean by freaks is she runs away at first, wont sit still now, almost comes to a point of panting when i put the syringe to her mouth, and her heart beats like crazy. I feel as if im stressing her out more than helping her get hydrated now, and my heart just cant take it anymore watching her get worked up like this. I just got no sugar added organic apple juice today and put a shot of it in her water bowl to see if shell try it, she doesnt seem too interested.

Shes urinating, I dont know what to do. I feel like i should stop with the oxbow for a day or 2 and see if shes going to drink on her own, on top of this she had never really been given fresh greens regularly, only for a treat. So i feel as if it might be the greens that are hydrating her and shes just not hungry? I spray them down with some water to keep them wet for extra water intake. Please help!

[jordangraceandidgy]

Oh yeah, also shes still on the baytril, not the lactulose or metacam, i stopped them both 3 days ago

[Sarita]

I deleted your post in the Q&A section.

If she’s eating her greens and hay then I wouldn’t do the Critical Care. I recommend that you wet her greens to help her get extra hydration that way. Most likely that is how she is already getting hydrated.

My rabbit rarely drinks water either. You should be feeding her greens regularly anyway not just as a treat.

[Sarita]

Also do you use a bowl or water bottle? I give crocks or bowls for water and that may help, but then again some rabbits just aren’t big water drinkers.

[jordangraceandidgy]

She has a bottle as well as a bowl right now… What exactly is a crock though?

[Sarita]

Crock is the same as a bowl.

[jordangraceandidgy]

So no more critical care then. I didnt think it was necessary since shes eating and that is more for rabbits who refuse to eat, good thing. Shes over it and im scared of stressing her out too much, dont need another gi stasis mishap..

[drwil]

One of my rabbits never drinks water and apparently gets all the water he needs from his greens. He has been with us for two years and is as healthy as a bunny can be. Guess your rabbit might be getting enough water from her food.

[drwil]

One of my rabbits never drinks water and apparently gets all the water he needs from his greens. He has been with us for two years and is as healthy as a bunny can be. Guess your rabbit might be getting enough water from her food.

[Author]

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