Has trouble drinking

[bonnie_bunny]

Gizmo, my smart, loveable, intelligent, dumb Gizmo has a gravity dispensing water dish with a 750 milliliter bottle attached. He has been having an issue recently where he starts drinking, and then drinking faster, and then faster, and then he chokes. On water. So far it hasn’t done any significant damage. Usually with a few coughs and about 15-20 seconds he’s fine. I talked to a vet about it and she said while it’s not common, it’s not uncommon either and as long as it doesn’t get worse, it’s not a huge problem. I, being an anxious worry wart which is the literal reason I have Gizmo, am worried he’s going to aspirate and get pneumonia. Someone suggested using the stones they put in the bottom of fish tanks to limit the amount of water in the dish so he can’t guzzle, but I’m also afraid he’ll ingest one by accident. The reason he has this dish in the first place is he drinks almost the whole thing in one day. Any suggestions on how to get him to slow down a little when he’s drinking?

[Sr. Melangell]

Would a bunny drinking bottle be better? I would be concerned if a stone in a bowl broke a tooth, Olly drinks quite fast and I tell him. “Calm it down boy.” and he does, I think if your bunny was having trouble breathing he would stop, he won’t get pneumonia from drinking to fast, lungs do fill up with water with Pneumonia, but it is air sacs that fill with fluid or pus, not water we or animals drink, because it goes straight down the esophagus into the tummy, just like food, yes there are choking hazards, but we or animals cannot get pneumonia from drinking water, pneumonia is a disease of the lungs which is inflammation of the lungs , which starts off as a bad cold or flu, then pleurisy (Which I get) then if not treated it can turn into pneumonia, the fluid is a bit like if you have Eczema and it gets sore then blisters then blisters burst and there is water, its not like water from taps or bottles.

[Bam]

Maybe you could place glass marbles in the dispenser bowl? They’d be too big for him to swallow. They’d be round and smooth so not likely to harm his little lips or tongue.

[bonnie_bunny]

Sr. Melangell: Gizmo (fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) will not drink from a bunny bottle. I prefer bowls because their necks twist in odd ways to successfully drink from the bottles and Gizmo just won’t do it. There probably isn’t one out there big enough for him anyway. He drinks the whole bottle pretty much everyday, around 750ml. And while I know bacterial pneumonia causes a gross pus to fill your lungs, I’m more worried about aspiration pneumonia. It’s a form of pneumonia caused by inhaling food, saliva, stomach acid, or other such things. If he’s choking and trying to breathe, I’m worried he’ll inhale the water and saliva.

Bam: I think marbles are a much better idea than aquarium stones. Thanks!

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