Nessie won’t use her new water bottle

[LopNessMonster]

She’s had a water bottle since before she was my bunny so she definitely knows how to drink from one.  One night this weekend I filled her bottle up and the next night I noticed it was completely empty (it’s a large bottle, it lasts for several days) so I immediately filled a food dish with water for her and she drank quite a bit (poor bun, must have been thirsty!) and I just used the water bowl until I could go to the pet store on Monday (it’s closed Sundays).  Monday I buy a nice large bottle that is quite similar to her last one except it’s glass instead of plastic and has a more robust-looking drinky-tube.  I washed it out before filling it and left the bowl in her cage in case she didn’t like it and she hasn’t drank from it at all.

I keep refilling her bowl because I don’t want her to go thirsty but it’s a real pain in the butt.  Every morning and night I have to dump it out and refill it and she keeps getting all kinds of hay in it.  Last night there was a poop floating around too.  I can’t imagine using the bowl is a better solution for her (or for me), do you have any ideas on how to get her to drink from the bottle?  If I take away the bowl, will she drink it?  I don’t want to dehydrate her or anything.  Maybe I’ll try switching her and Ollie since the other cage has a bottle I know she can use.

[LongEaredLions]

Really, I would stick with the bowl. Usually bunnies are rather clean with bowls, could you move the bowl so it is far away from the litterbox and hay? You could also put it on a short platform to keep it clean.

[LopNessMonster]

There is literally nowhere in her cage that hay doesn’t get. Also if I put it on a higher level of her cage she will knock it down. It’s pretty sturdy and ceramic but I just worry that if it falls too far it might break when I’m not around and she could get hurt.

[BunnyLady1989]

Yeah…lulu is the same way. I got her a new bottle and she refused to drink out of it. So we changed to a bowl and she’s much happier. Luckily I just worry about her spilling it everywhere, which usually happens lol.

[balakai]

Lola was supposedly using a bottle as a baby before we got her. Well, either she wasn’t or we had the wrong kind. I felt HORRIBLE when I realized she wasn’t using the bottle and saw how much she drank when I gave her a crock of water.

I was having trouble with her getting the water dirty, then with knocking it over. Once I moved it to the shelf (about 12″ off the ground, same place I put her food dish and her veggie bowl), no more problems. She jumps on and off that shelf many times each day and has never moved it at all.

I second the suggestion to put it on a shelf. But it needs to be a flat bottom crock with straight sides.

[LolaBuns]

My Lola came with a water bottle in her tiny cage but she never drank much from it. I read in a couple books that most bunnies prefer bowls and so we switched. Since then her water intake has almost doubled. I was always worried before that she wasn’t getting enough and might get dehydrated but I don’t now.

[Beka27]

Bowls are really best for (the majority of) bunnies. It’s a more natural way for them to drink. If she clearly prefers the bowl, I would keep with that. She needs a steady intake of water, obviously for hydration, but it also helps in keeping the gut moving.

Can you get a larger crock (like ones for dogs) that is heavier with slightly bigger sides? Another option is getting a bowl that clips to the side of the cage that she can still reach easily.

I think most of us rinse and refill the water bowls twice a day, so that’s not unusual. It only takes a few moments. Throughout the rest of the day, if hay gets in there, it’s not the end of the world. 😉

[MK]

And I wouldn’t worry about a stray poop in there for a while. It won’t hurt her.

[LongEaredLions]

Rabbits eat poop and hay anyway, it won’t hurt her if there is occasionally stuff in the water. Do your best to keep it clean, but don’t worry too much.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I would go with a bowl too. It’s much more natural for a bunny to drink from the ground.

[Bunnies <3]

My buns have water both in a bowl and bottle, as they seem to like the bowl best. I also give them a bottle because 1. they tend to finish the bowl quite quickly and if I’m not available to refill they need to have another source of water 2. one of my bunnies tends to get hay and other junk in his bowl so I want him to have a bottle as back up in case the water in the bowl gets dirty. There’s really no right or wrong choice, it’s more about what your bunny prefers and what’s practical for you.

I would say if she was drinking happily from her previous bottle maybe you should continue to give her that as well as a ceramic bowl. Then you’ve got your bases covered.

[Kbana]

I think I have probably said this on several posts a million times…but….I LOVE my replendish. Here is the link. I wash and refill it every two/three days.

http://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Replenish-Waterer-Microban-2-Gallon/dp/B0057LAHZK/ref=sr_1_6?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1396573805&sr=1-6&keywords=replendish

If you have a Petsmart, they are a few dollars cheaper there vs. Amazon.

[Delissa]

I had the same problem and my vet wants our bunnies using a bottle so that there dewlap (for the girls) stay dry. The girls are to playful for a bowl water goes everywhere, they like to jump and skid across the floors. The vet told me to put a bit of honey or jam on the end of the nipple to get them to try it. They love the sweets and Sophie and Chloe learned quickly, Fuzzy B my only male refused the new bottle so we just kept returning them till we found one he liked. He’s a tiny bit spoiled.

[LopNessMonster]

Thanks for all the advice! I swapped their cages and she had no problem with the other bottle. Ollie didn’t much like the new bottle either, so I kind of “showed him” how to use it by putting it in front of him and clicking the end with my fingers. He got it and drank right away. Weird. Anyway, I put a tad bit of applesauce on the end and when I got home from work he had drank quite a bit. When I swapped them back, Nessie had no problem with the bottle. I will keep a dish of water out for when they are running around in the house since they can’t get it full of crap as easily, but there is no way it is going to stay clean enough in the cage. Even just overnight or while I’m at work it goes from pristine to filthy. I know it’s ok for them to eat poop but there is a difference between fresh poop out of their butts and water that has had poop floating in it for a few hours. It’s ok for people to eat eggs but it isn’t ok to eat eggs that have been sitting out in the sun.

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