New rabbit drinks a lot of water

[LittleLionMan]

Hi everyone (or everbun)!

I just got a medium sized bunny to bond my with my lionhead (if anyone knows what breed/mix she is let me know!) and I have a question about water intake. This girl drinks a TON of water. Like so much that I had to get a water dispenser to keep her bowl full. My lionhead has never been a huge water drinker so I have to sneak water in him by putting it on his greens to make sure he stays hydrated.

Anyway, I noticed staining on her rug examined her litter and it was full of soft poops. Naturally I thought digestive issues, which would be understandable given the stress of coming to our home a week ago. However I went to change the litter (wanted to be able to evaluate the issue in a fresh box) and the litter was so oversaturated with urine to the point where it pooled as I poured it out. I’ve never experienced this before and did have a moment of slight panic.  I contacted her previous foster mama and it seems she drank and ate a lot before. She’s was evaluated by a vet before she came to me and everything was negative. she did have babies (has since been spayed) and is a rescue bunny, so it could be she’s just in resource hoarding mode? Obviously the amount of pee is tied to the amount of water she’s drinking. Her behavior, eating, activity level are normal as far as I can tell so there’s no indication of health issues. Does anyone else have a water guzzler?Do we think this is just user error or my part and I have to change her litter more frequently than my lionhead?As long as it’s not worrisome I’m fine changing the litter more often. I’m just not used to her habits yet and was following the same  schedule I use for my little man. FullSizeRender

[Bam]

Excessive drinking and peeing can have many causes, but it’s always an observandum and should be investigated by a vet.

Rabbits that eat mainly dry food will drink more than rabbits that eat fresh greens.

A good start is to try and measure her water consumption per 24 hours.

[DanaNM]

How is her hay consumption? Excessive drinking and peeing can be due to dental issues…  I had a rabbit with molar issues who drank tons of water, presumably to soothe his painful mouth.

I do think another vet exam is a good idea to check kidneys and teeth especially. Since she’s a recent adoption definitely talk to the rescue about it.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LittleLionMan]

Thank you both! I’ve been in contact with folks at the rescue to see what they think. It is hard to know what’s normal or abnormal given that I’ve had her only a week. Her hay and food consumption is great…I mean she guzzles down her food and water. She’s not overweight but she’s structurally a medium sized bunny. She has no issue chewing on toys and boxes so I don’t think her teeth are painful? As background, she was thrown on the side of a highway and left to fend for herself and her babies for days before she was found. Previous FM also had her living with her babies, so I imagine there was some food/water competition. I’m not sure if that’s connected to her consumption now or not. Unfortunately we’re in a holiday weekend so I’ll be keeping a close eye on her. But it sounds like a vet trip is in our future. Thanks again!

[DanaNM]

Eating a lot of hay will make a bun thirsty, so that’s good. But the amount of urine you described does sound pretty high. I would measure the amount of water she’s drinking, that will give you a better idea as to whether it’s within the normal range.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LittleLionMan]

thank you for responding! I heard back from the rescue and they said it didn’t look like that much urine. They instructed me to clean her litter multiple times a day and wait 2 weeks to see if it calms down.  she’s a  foster-to-adopt as a potential bondmate for my current bunny. It seems irresponsible and unreasonable to wait 2 weeks given the situation. I will definitely get her evaluated this week, if nothing more than for my own peace of mind. I’m not going to subject either to the stress of bonding if she has a health issue.

Anyway! I’m attempting to attach a picture of a garbage bag that contains the bags full of her soiled litter. I realized there was urine seeping through the bags and pooling in the floor, so I placed it inside a garbage bag. This is the additional urine pooling in the corner after I cleaned up the mess in the floor. It seems like a lot to me given the absorbency of the litter and the fact that it was only 1.5 days. Let me know if I’m overreacting, it’s been a stressful week!

[Wick & Fable]

What litter do you use?

I will mention that my Wick, who is a Netherland Dwarf, is pretty small… I imagine like your lionhead?
I adopted Fable, who is an American Sable, later on and I remember being very surprised by how much she drank and how much she peed… we changed litters because of her. We used Carefresh previously, but the entire box would get soaked. A vet assessment will be the best guide to whether there is an issue, but I will just highlight that perhaps if this rabbit is much bigger than your first, it may be a proportionate increase in urination/water consumption based on size and hay consumption.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LittleLionMan]

Yes that was my original thought. I use so phresh absorbent pellets. Might I ask what litter you switched to? I’m always willing to try something new!

I think the water dispenser I got is 0.5 gallons, and she drinks around half of it every day. If that’s the case then she would be drinking around 1liter per day. I’m going to measure today just to be sure.

thanks again and I apologize for the constant posts!

 

[Wick & Fable]

I use the tractor supply pine pellet stall bedding, which is the litter many rabbit owners use since you can buy a 40lb for $6! I have found it to be much more absorbent (and affordable) than any paper litter I’ve used in the past.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[DanaNM]

From a few sources, I’ve read the average normal water intake for rabbits is 50-150 mL/kg body weight daily. So unless your bun weighs over 6 kg, that’s a lot of water!

Despite the rescue thinking it’s not a big deal, I would definitely have her seen by a rabbit savvy vet.

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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