How often do you refill your bun’s water?

[The Rabbit]

If I don’t refill every few days, it takes my bun a couple of weeks to finish one small water bottle. Maybe a week and a half at the earliest. He’s always been like this. How much does your bun drink, and how often do you refill?

[Wasabi]

For my three bonded ones, I refill it everyday cuz they empty it. Its a 32oz.
The other ones last a few days, they all have a 32oz.
Pikanya get’s her’s refilled every other day though because it’s only a 16oz.

They go through it really fast when the heater in their room is on. It dries up the air so they get dehydrated fast.
If it’s not on their waterbottles last a day or so longer, but regardless I’m always filling up someone’s lol.

[MimzMum]

I guess I’m too OCD. The minute a bottle becomes somewhat low, I not only refill it, but have to wash it out thoroughly each time. I know they can’t really backwash into it, but when I take the tops off, they often feel a little slimy, so I scrub them down.
Trying to ease up on that, after my lop went through a bout of stasis and I fear it was that I had gotten distracted and hadn’t cleaned one of his bottles out properly.
I also keep a supply of them cleaned and filled in a mini fridge next to my bun room, so I can just pull one out when it’s needed and hook it up to the pen. Mimzy seems to prefer chilled water.

Wasabi, I just noticed your signature pictures change every time I pull up the thread. How do you get them to do that? (BTW, your bunnies are adorable! ^_^ Such cute names too! And they are all bonded? Can I ask what genders are they?)

[Wasabi]

Posted By MimzMum on 01/25/2010 09:38 PM

Wasabi, I just noticed your signature pictures change every time I pull up the thread. How do you get them to do that? (BTW, your bunnies are adorable! ^_^ Such cute names too! And they are all bonded? Can I ask what genders are they?)

lol ;D It’s a little hard to explain, it’s basically PHP coding and tricking the basic html coding into thinking it’s an image ;D I use my personal domain to do it as I don’t think photobucket is capable, but I used to use this website http://signavatar.com/ before I learned how to do it on my own and that did the job ^_^

The ones in my signature aren’t bonded to each other. Well, Sashimi and Miso used to be, but Miso start hair plucking on a concerning level so I split them up. Sashimi still lives with my dutch sisters, Poptart and Pepper; though I am trying to rebond Miso back in after being a week by her own to see if alone time cured anything. Onigiri has a small case of the snuffles currently so I haven’t had the chance to bond her to anyone; but she used to be with Tamago, a dutch boy that posed as girl till I noticed otherwise >.>;;

[Monkeybun]

I refill the water bowls at least twice a day as they get messier faster. Their bottles are refilled as soon as they go down more than an inch lol. I clean em out good too as they don’t use them as often as the bowls, but I like having them as back up in case they spill their bowls when I’m not home. So I keep the bottles clean too, about 3 times a week.

[Elrohwen]

Once a day usually. I use a dish and my bun is pretty good about keeping it clean, so hubby typically refills it every morning when he feeds. If he doesn’t, then I’ll refill it when I feed at night. If I see some hay or a poop in there, I’ll change it mid-day, but 90% of the time Otto keeps it clean.

I prefer bowls over bottles because I feel that bottles are so hard to clean and there’s less incentive to re-fill them to freshen the water. However, if you have a bun who’s constantly tipping over a water dish or getting stuff in it, a bottle is obviously the cleaner choice.

[Sarita]

I do bowls as well and at least once a day I change the water sometimes twice (just depends on if it needs it). To me bowls are just so much easier – dump the water out and refill it and you are done.

[Blackavar3]

I tend to clean and refill their water bowl at least once a day, they usually manage to get pellets/grass/poop in it at some point and they tend to drink a lot.

[bunnytowne]

Wasabi your buns are beautiful.    I use a dish and they get cleaned every morning.  If they are a little low I fill them up at nite or if they get hay and whatnot in it I get them a clean fresh bowl of water.

I have seen a person who had rabbits  outdoors.   Their water bottles had green in it.  That is soooo not healthy.  But they dont’ have rabbits anymore.  Fortunately.

So I do know water bottles can grow green mold or algea if not cleaned for quite some time. 

[mocha200]

i use bowls, i used to use a water bottle but it didn’t work right. i refile my buns water every day they tend to drink it all.

[Deleted User]

Onigiri is my favorite out of yours wasabi, and the signature is very sharp.

I fill my quartet’s water supply daily, their 16 oz bowl is drunk empty and their 26-oz bottle is half done. That’s almost 30 oz of water daily for my 4 buns of varying sizes. They drink more in the winter b/c they get no fresh grass, and the heating is making everyone in my house extra thirsty. My two dogs drink 1 gallon each daily so when it is time to fill everything I am like Mimz, and it is a 20-min job to wash and rinse multiple containers for everyone.

I thought the smaller the rabbit the less wate it would need. Wrong. My mini rex Neigey is very mini at 3.4 lbs and he drinks almost as much as 8 lbs Deirdra. Lint is in between and Mops hardly drinks which worries me. Somewhere I read rabbits need more water than other animals in proportion to their size.

[Elrohwen]

Petzy, have you paid attention to how many veggies and which types they prefer? I find the more lettuce Otto eats, the less he drinks. When he was a baby and not getting veggies, he drank all the time, but now that we feed him tons of lettuce (probably twice his volume per day) I rarely see him drinking. Maybe Mops just eats the high water veggies and eats more of them than the others?

[BinkyBunny]

I think rabbts will also drink more if they are big hay eaters. I have two bowls, and even though they don’t drink all of the water out of the second bowl, I still will clean and refill daily because a bunch of dust and fur just lightly coats the top at times. Also I notice that the bottom can feel a little slimey – could just be fur and particles that sink to the bottom within a 24 hour period so I just wash and refill daily. As far as water bottles go – A couple of years ago, I asked Dr. Harvey about water bottle usage and got some good info:

---

MY QUESTION: 

How quickly does harmful bacteria grow on/in a water bottle. I have found varying info on this. But should we change the water every day? Most people assume that because it’s a water bottle that they just refill. If we can refill, when should we clean out the water bottle? What health hazards happen to a bunny who doesn’t have a clean water bottle?

 

 ANSWER: It depends a lot on the temperature, and how the bunny uses the bottle. I recommend rinsing and changing daily and doing a thorough cleaning not less than once a week. I prefer crocks over bottles because bottles are hard to thoroughly clean.  Dirty water bottles can be a source of bacteria that could cause a variety of infections (gastrointestinal, eye, nose, urinary . . . possibly could also have fungal toxins in there)

---

The part where she says it depends a lot on temperature and how the bunny uses it I never clarified with her but warmer temperatures are going to be more of a bacteria haven, and also I would imagine that if a bunny is not a big water drinker, water may sit in there for longer than a bunny that actually empties out the bottle faster.  I am just assuming this though since I never followed-up at the time.

Obviously, for some people crocks may really not be ideal depending on your cage set up so that means you really need to make sure they are clean as clean as possible.  I think they even sell water bottle brushes now????

[MimzMum]

Posted By Wasabi on 01/25/2010 10:05 PM

The ones in my signature aren’t bonded to each other. Well, Sashimi and Miso used to be, but Miso start hair plucking on a concerning level so I split them up. Sashimi still lives with my dutch sisters, Poptart and Pepper; though I am trying to rebond Miso back in after being a week by her own to see if alone time cured anything. Onigiri has a small case of the snuffles currently so I haven’t had the chance to bond her to anyone; but she used to be with Tamago, a dutch boy that posed as girl till I noticed otherwise >.>;;

 

                           I love all the Japanese food names. I guess a bunny would look a lot like an onigiri (rice ball) or tamago (egg), but I have to admit, I like Sashimi the best, not for her name necessarily, but because she’s a little brown lop eared bunny. How precious! ^_^

Do you have pix up somehwere of the dutch bunnies you mentioned?

Thank you for the link to the avatar site. I’ll give that a look-see.

Back to the topic though, I’ve found that Mimzy, since his recent stasis, has now refused to drink from the larger 16 0z water bottle and will only drink from the smaller one instead. And he seesm to be uninterested again in the bowl. I am thinking his teeth must be giving him problems, or there really was something he didn’t like in the large bottle and now he doesn’t trust them anymore.

I’ve gone to just vinegar/water solution or really hot water washes for the bottles (the little ones need to be refreshed up to twice daily since he goes through them so fast). When we go into town, I’m going to see if I can’t scout up a securable crock to fix to the pen bars, but he’ll always need a bottle becasue otherwise he just won’t drink the water. >_<

[NickiM]

I was just wondering how everyone cleans the water bottles because I have heard a lot of different things dishwasher, vinegar, boiling water etc.

[Monkeybun]

I use vinegar and hot water to clean mine. I have a nice bottle brush I use to clean the insides

[RabbitPam]

I’m not much help because I am a crock user, and I just rinse it out first thing every morning also. Twice a day if I come home and find a dissolved pellet floating in it. (Someone eats with her mouth open sometimes, and stands with her paws on or in her dishes.)

MM, maybe Mimzy smelled the vinegar. You may have missed a spot on the spout. Or the water in the bigger bottle rushes him too fast and he drips.

BB, I once read that you should use room temp. cold tap water, not refrigerated water. I asked my vet and she said that was good. Too cold water can bother some of their digestion. So I have been only doing that for years now. Maybe with AC I don’t need to cool her down much anyway.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I use two antimicrobial auto waterers-like this

 

I think it’s a bit cleaner then a regular bowl. I have two in for Rupert and Kahlua and I take one and fully clean it every two days. (So I’m cleaning one a day). The reason I have two is 1) I like wasting money at the petstore. 2) Rupert sometimes drags things and puts them in the bowl and depending on what they are (ie. blanket) they drain the water. So having two means they always have water (No other solutions really, they won’t use a water bottle, and crocks-I have the heaviest ones-are fun for Rupert to tip over lol).

 

For my other pair who are in a small area right now due to an illness they just use a standard crock-fortunately neither are buggers and they don’t tip it. When I move them back to their normal area they will have two of the watererers pictured above-well because I have four in total  

 

I have read on numerous sites that you should do a BIG clean once a week-so for those types I use dishsoap on the lower part (which snaps into two peices for really easy cleaning) and then I put a bit of dish soap in the blue part and leave water running into it for quite a bit. It’s important to clean but also to not leave any residue on the surface either  

[Deleted User]

I was skeptical about the anti-microbial automatic waterers. I had one for a while but I gave it away. I don’t like plastic in the first place after my friend convinced me. She put distilled water into a food-grade plastic container and into the fridge for a couple of days. Then she had another container, a mason jar (glass) with the same water in the fridge simultaneously. She served me both water samples to taste in 2 identical teacups. I could taste the water that had been contained in the plastic container. It is a fact that glass is the single most hygienic material, even more so than stainless steel, and it can be sanitized successfully and easily. I am even now getting rid of the last plastic item that I have for my rabbits, their bottle. I am switching to a glass one for them.

Microban is often misunderstood in its effect. It is a chemical agent applied to plastic to extend the life of the product, but it does not kill germs in the water contained in the plastic container.  I had a job in a preschool where speakers were invited periodically for the staff to learn about new findings in health and safety for small children. Microban-enhanced plastic products are no longer recommended for use with babies, for example. I quote from http://www.cleanshopper.com/static.php:

“Microban® technology is not designed to protect users from disease causing microorganisms.” (accessed June 8, 2005).

The company had to change their wording after being fined in a lawsuit about misleading the public about their products. I quote from

http://www.epa.gov/oalj/orders/microoct.htm

However, it is the third criterion, the gravity of the violation, which, when considered with the Respondent’s size and ability to continue in business, leads the Court to impose the $5,000.00 penalty for each of the five violations. In the Court’s view, the highest statutory penalty is warranted in this instance because of Microban’s clear and stark departure from the terms of the registration approval. As noted in the Court’s September 16, 1998 Order, the registration of Microban’s Plastic Additive, dated August 15, 1983, accepted the product “…as a preservative and bacteriostatic agent effective only against non-health related organisms which may contribute to deterioration of the treated articles or to control odors by such organisms.” Order at 14. Complainant’s Exhibit 1(emphasis added). Yet, despite the clear terms of the registration⁽⁸⁾, Microban’s Promotional Brochure, its “Facts about Microban Antimicrobial Protection, the May 31, 1995 “Presentation to Hasbro, Inc.”, the language it editorially urged for a Hasbro toy label, and its Public Relations Questions and Answers sent to Hasbro January 13, 1997, each blatantly departed from the scope of approval. See the Court’s September 16, 1998 Order at 15-18.

To expound, as one example among the five offending documents, the May 31, 1995 Presentation to Hasbro is rife with health related associations or claims. From (among others in the document) the sample response that 73% of those surveyed felt Microban protected their children’s health, to its references to antibiotics, killer microbes, growing germ awareness, staph and e coli, to the claim that it provided the “ultimate in germ fighting protection,” Microban’s departures were, in each of the five instances, egregious⁽⁹⁾.

Further, the Court cannot ignore, in terms of evaluating the gravity of the departures, the fact that Microban’s version of the 1983 EPA registration approval conveniently omitted the critical limiting language that it was accepted only against non-health related organisms. EPA exhibits 1 and 46, Tr. 33-36, 152-153. The redacted approval may have been sent out to potential customers. Tr. 165-166. Nor can the Court overlook that the redacted form fit too well with Microban’s subsequent unapproved claims and that the actual approval created obvious conflicts with those claims. In any event, even if it were assumed that somehow the redaction was innocent or that it occurred before the current owners acquired the company from Mr. Morrison, the Court still independently concludes, on the other gravity related grounds set forth in this decision, that the maximum penalty is warranted.

Microban has since changed their wording. I quote from http://www.microban.com/float/i/products/h…t-products

The products you use with your pets are often ideal breeding ground for microbes, such as bacteria and mold. And if left unchecked, the number of microbes on an untreated surface can double in number every 20 minutes. Microban product protection makes your pet products easier to clean and helps to keep them cleaner between cleanings by continuously fighting the growth of bacteria, mold and mildew that can cause stains and odors. Microban protection is built-in during the manufacturing process and won’t wash off or wear away, keeping your pet products cleaner and fresher.

As for cleaning bottles and bowls I use a bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 5 parts of warm water, shake up vigorously, then let stand, and rinse well. I have boiled my rabbits’ sippy bottle spout in water in a pot on the stove but over time this ‘cooking’  breaks the gasket in it. Then it is time for a new replacement spout. I do believe that the rubber gasket is where bacteria would hide.

[Wasabi]

She put distilled water into a food-grade plastic container and into the fridge for a couple of days. Then she had another container, a mason jar (glass) with the same water in the fridge simultaneously. She served me both water samples to taste in 2 identical teacups. I could taste the water that had been contained in the plastic container. It is a fact that glass is the single most hygienic material, even more so than stainless steel, and it can be sanitized successfully and easily. I am even now getting rid of the last plastic item that I have for my rabbits, their bottle. I am switching to a glass one for them.

^this makes sense

My father will only drink water from a glass. He hates it when it’s in a plastic cup ._. I didn’t know there was a difference till he whined about it LOL

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

The products you use with your pets are often ideal breeding ground for microbes, such as bacteria and mold. And if left unchecked, the number of microbes on an untreated surface can double in number every 20 minutes. Microban product protection makes your pet products easier to clean and helps to keep them cleaner between cleanings by continuously fighting the growth of bacteria, mold and mildew that can cause stains and odors. Microban protection is built-in during the manufacturing process and won’t wash off or wear away, keeping your pet products cleaner and fresher.

Exactly-I actually thought it was the shape of the plastic not a chemical? Well and it’s definitely not something that never has germs-so cleaning regularly is best-I just think it’s safer then another autowaterer. Does that makes sense? Not that regular isn’t safe, and not that microban is perfect and you could leave it -but that it’s just an added safety device.

I actually had a wonderful series of safety presentations when I worked at Shell Canada (ft. sask, upgrader) -it was explained like this.

Each safety device (seatbelt, nomex, safety glasses etc) is like a credit card with a hole in it-and the more you add the less likely the light could get throught that hole. But no matter what-there are situations where the holes in all those cards could line up (ie. you could never wear your seatbelt and be fine, or you could always wear one and not be fine) -the best way to ensure safety is to have as many ‘credit cards with holes’ as possible so those holes have less of a chance of lining up.

So in this case, regular cleanings-and microban I toddle on about so much lol sorry!

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By RabbitPam on 01/27/2010 05:11 AM

BB, I once read that you should use room temp. cold tap water, not refrigerated water. I asked my vet and she said that was good. Too cold water can bother some of their digestion. So I have been only doing that for years now. Maybe with AC I don’t need to cool her down much anyway.

 

That is interesting because I told my vet that Jack will only drink his juice mix water when I serve it  luke cool/warm.   Rucy would also not drink very cold water and would wait until it warmed a bit. I figured it was due to her tooth issues, but I hadn’t heard about cold water bothering the digestive system, but if that’s the case, my bunnies definitely knew it before me!  I’ll  also ask my vet.  Very interesting!  Not only that, if that is the case, I may want to avoid recommending very cold water during heat waves — so definitely will be something I will want to double-check.

[Lunar~Atticus]

i clean heifer and moose’s bowl at least once a day, being babies they tend to be a bit messy in that area but litter training is going quite well…but yeah they drink alot

[RabbitPam]

BB,
I had noticed in the summer that many people had recommended really cold water during heat waves, saying that their bunnies loved it, so I didn’t say much. But for me, in heat waves up north with no AC in my apartment, I still gave Spockie the room temp/cool tap water and only used frozen water bottles for him to snuggle against. If he wanted to lick the condensation that was possible. But he didn’t. He liked being next to it, and cold clothes on his ears etc. but he drank from his bowl as usual. Let me know what your vet says. I had more than one advise me to not head for the fridge, but you know how fast info. changes.

[Deleted User]

Microban is a pesticidal chemical compound, its main ingredient being triclosan. It is infused into materials of many products we use such as cell phones, keyboards, socks, and water jugs. Being integrated into the plastic it is supposedly inert, but it is a fact that even though plastic itself does not dissolve into water, the plasticizers used to make it flexible do.

[BinkyBunny]

Rabbitpam – Thanks so much for bringing this up. I definitely want to have some sort of definite answer about this before summer arrives here.

Petzy & KK – This is also very interesting. I’ve never known much about Microban until you both discussed it. Stuff like this is important to keep on top of. It is hard for the average consumer to research everything or even know what to be aware of exactly. So just even this amount of info is a great jump start to check this all out further.

I do remember when I was using plastic water bottles, there was a discussion (or I read somewhere) how glass water bottles are better (though the seals and such you still have to really wash very well), and I use ceramic and glass water bowls now.

[MimzMum]

I have to say, Mimzy will really enjoy his water cold. He licks at a freeze bottle until his tongue sticks to it. Maybe he really is just an oddball bun. 0_o
Most of my rabbits’ water is room temp though when they get around to drinking it. But I’m rethinking the larger bottles, since they don’t get cleaned/refilled as often.
Mimzy’s kind of given up the bowl again too. That makes me sad.
I am wondering also about how the contaminants in the plastic bottles for babies are now causing a hue and cry about how toxic they are…do you suppose those are in plastic pet bottles too? 0_o I would not like that at all.

I think I’ll be investing in some glass bottles myself. At least if I had to, I could use really hot water in them like I used to for my kids formula bottles and washers. No germ is going to survive that. Does anyone recommend a brand or an outlet in particular?

[FluffyBunny]

My rabbit has an 8oz bottle and 3-cup bowl. At 6.5 lbs, he drinks maybe 6-9 oz a day. I refill my his water without rinsing the bowl/bottle any time the
water gets too low, then do a rinse with hot water every 2-4 days. Every week or two, I rinse the bowl & bottle with hot water and dish soap. When the dishes get especially dirty, I let them soak in soapy water overnight.

[Deleted User]

Posted By MimzMum on 01/31/2010 03:24 PM

I am wondering also about how the contaminants in the plastic bottles for babies are now causing a hue and cry about how toxic they are…do you suppose those are in plastic pet bottles too? 0_o I would not like that at all.

That’s just it, Mimz, don’t be fooled into thinking the manufacturers really care about the pets. They make products for profit. Most pet merchandise is plastic and it is unhealthy. They just figure that pets aren’t long-lived enough to show the effects of exposure to plastic. Remember the recall on melamine-contaminated pet foods? Melamine is a plastic and they even put it into the food!  –The truth only hits the public when there are deaths to report.

 

[Sage Cat]

I refill my buns bowl at least once a day.

Do y’ll ever put a little juice (or some other supprise   – just kidding) in thier water to encourage drinking?

 

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