How much water is too much?

[Booplesnoot]

This is one thirsty bunny! I don’t know if it’s a hydration issue or if it’s just a pain in the ass for him to get enough water out of his ball-in-spout bottle. He isn’t drinking constantly, but when he does, he’s at that thing for a really long time. Thoughts?

[tobyluv]

Most rabbits prefer drinking out of a bowl. Those water bottles can be frustrating to drink from. If you do switch to a bowl, get a heavy crockery one that can’t be turned over.

[Sr. Melangell]

My bunny drinks from a bowl, he can g days with not drinking, then he drinks a lot, bowls are better.

[Bam]

When my bunny used a bottle, it took him a long time each time he drank. I know that because I could hear the bottle ring at night. You could perhaps mark the water level with a marker or piece of tape to see how much he actually drinks in 24 hours .

The amount a bunny drinks per day depends on the type of food he eats. Lots of greens means the bunny barely drinks at all but gets all his water from the greens. Lots of hay – water-consumption rises. With all dry food, a bunny should drink approx 100 ml per kg (about 2 lb) body weight per 24 hours, but it can vary between individuals.

[BinkyBunny]

How many ounces of water is he drinking a day? It is true that it takes them longer to get water from a bottle then from a bowl. Sometimes bunnies drink excessively if they have tooth issues, or other healthy issues. So far it doesn’t sound like that, but to get idea if it is just perception of a lot, or if it really is — let us know how much he really drinks? Mark the water level with a piece of tape to help keep track.

FYI: 1/2 cup to a little over a cup of water is normal for a medium sized rabbit.  It depends on their diet and eating habits. My bunny gets lots of greens (in am and pm) because she is on a pelletless diet. and so she gets much of her hydration from that.  I would be surprised if she drank 1/2 cup – I barely see any change in her water level.  But then on days when she eats a ton of hay (usually when I just refill her hay box), She will drink half of her water bowl. 

[Beka27]

I have both a bottle and bowl always available, but my bun definitely prefers drinking from the bowl. Bowls are more natural anyways (you don’t see bottles suspended in the wild, lol!) and they decrease air intake while drinking. Have you tried giving a bowl?

[Vienna Blue in France]

Have you ever imitated a bun’s mouth with a finger to see how much water comes out from the little ball bearing in the bottle….?
Especailly a small bottle.
It’s a mind numbingly looooooong process… (I had some free minutes once upon a time !! LOL)

My friend’s guinea pig never ever drank water, he got enough from his varied veggies apparently…

[Booplesnoot]

Hey all. I’ll keep track of the amount he takes in per day. I hadn’t thought of a water bowl, mainly because he’s so messy. He really loves to push and flip his bowls, which are stoneware now so…a bit harder to turn over, but he tries nonetheless. I’ll try a bowl in there and see how it goes.

[BB Administrator]

By the way — off topic, but I just have to say — I love that name — Booplesnoot!

Helloworld!!

[Stickerbunny]

My buns flip / push around their food bowls/plates, but they leave the water bowl alone (they don’t want to get wet!). When I first got Powder, I gave him a bottle. At night I would just hear “clickclickclickclick” of the water bottle being licked for like 5 minutes at a time. I gave him a bowl and he tends to drink like half a normal cereal bowl of water when he does go get some, then I pushed on the water bottle to see how much comes out each lick and… that seems like a really frustrating way to drink water, with how little comes out vs how much he drinks for real. So, he just has a bowl now.

[Beka27]

After I replied to this yesterday, not 5 minutes later, I heard click click click coming from Meadow’s water bottle! Lol! She still chooses to use it sometimes, but not as often as the bowl. But this is why I give her both as options!

[Booplesnoot]

Thanks, BB admin! 🙂
I am trying water in a bow today. Seems like he digs it! He was using his bottle earlier and thumping. I think he was over it, haha.

[Booplesnoot]

Okay, well… bowl of water works wonderfully but for one little floppy problem… his ears. I didn’t really include the lop factor in all this, but I suppose he’ll figure it out for himself. I think.
I hope.

[Author]

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