bought my bun a new water bottle...but he's not drinking from it

[heatherv]

I bought my bun a new water bottle. The last one was leaking horribly. This one is great, no leaking, it's designed a little different.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0194L7AFS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
His old water bottle I don't have a pic of but it was a glass water bottle with a flat back.

Maybe he's just not thirsty yet but I'm surprised he hasn't found it yet. It's it the same place as his former water bottle


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0194L7AFS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[flemishwhite]

Just to make sure, place a bowl of water in bunny's cage.

For the last 11 years, I've provided my bunnies with a water bowl. It's important to keep the water fresh. Bunnies that eat mostly green leafy vegetables, can get along just fine with little/no water. Their water bowl, since if they don't drink that much, can get slimy. If your rabbit is getting it's water from vegetables and not drinking that much, stick you finger in the water bowl and feel for slime. If the water bowl has a slime coating, clean the water bowl and refresh the water. Make sure your bunny always has fresh water, even if bunny doesn't seem to be drinking that much.

if your bunny is eating green leafy vegetables and doesn't need that much water, keep in mind that their water appetites vary. If your bunny gets bored with green leafy stuff and starts eating more pellets and hay, your bunny will definitely need water. Bottom Line: They need fresh water to drink..even if there may be a day or two where they don't seem to need to drink....and make sure the water is fresh!!!!

 

[Blue eyes]

I agree that a water bowl is a good idea. That slime of which flemishwhite speaks also gets in water bottles but is much more difficult to clean (and can't be seen).

I have noticed that rabbits tend to drink more from a bowl than from a bottle -- it is more natural. These types of bowls have a clamp that is affixed to the cage. Then the clamp stays there and the bowl twists out of the clamp for ease of cleaning/filling.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Majority of my rabbits drink from bottles (safer on got days as they cannot tip the water over or fill it with stuff).

How long ago did you get it for your bun before you made the post? I'd say give your bunny 24 hours and if it hadn't had anything to drink or shown interest in the bottle during that time, get a new bottle or make the change to a bowl

I agree with the above that greens and diet can influence the amount of water consumed.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

Two of my buns have a water bottle and third has a bowl, Cessily drinks in smaller doses and Ivy drinks in bigger doses but they drink around the same amount and Iris the one with a bowl drinks the smallest amount but she is the youngest, it will ppb take him time to get used to it, just wait a bit I'm sure bun will go for it soon. He'll drink when he's thirsty.
Also for those who have trouble cleaning water bottles I bought myself a bottle brush cleaner, I got it from the petstore it was about 10 or 11 dollars anyway it's highly worth it, no more green slimy stuff ever again.

 

[Azerane]

Do you still have the old water bottle? If so, I would add it back into the cage next to the new one, and leave them both in into you see him start to use the new one.

 

[Aki]

Water bottles are generally not recommended because the position the rabbits has to take to drink and the fact that it only releases a small drop at a time is completely unnatural from a physiological point of view (no animal drinks raising and slightly twisting its head on the side). A lot of people favor them over bowls because dirt can get inside and that rabbits can knock them over. I have a ceramic bowl and rinse it every morning and it works just fine - it's a lot easier to clean than a bottle and my rabbits have not knocked it over once in 7 years.
Aside from that, some bottles are kinda faulty or harder to drink from than others. I suppose you checked yours works properly. I bought one for my first rabbit and kept it for like 3 days before I noticed it was either leaking or not giving any water and replaced it permanently with a bowl... So, maybe it's just the bottle. Or maybe your rabbit just isn't feeling thirsty these days - my rabbits don't drink the same amount of water if the heater is on or not / the weather is humid or not / if you give a lot of leafy greens or not... Or maybe your rabbit actually don't like the new water bottle. When they decide they don't like something, animals can be really hard-headed...

 

[Preitler]

Water bottles are generally not recommended because the position the rabbits has to take to drink and the fact that it only releases a small drop at a time is completely unnatural from a physiological point of view (no animal drinks raising and slightly twisting its head on the side).

Yeah, that's exactly why we are still sucking our water from rivers on all fours.

Anyway, I prefer ceramic crocks too, not only are they much easier to clean, but also much easier to heat in winter. I just put a resistor that can heat with up to 5W underneath, and adjust the voltage to keep the water from freezing.

 

[ts786]

I agree with others - a bowl is better than a water bottle. It seems that quite a few rabbits often drink more from a bowl. Also, a ceramic or metal bowl can be more sanitary because it is easier to clean, easier to disinfect, and can be autoclaved.

In regards to materials, do NOT use plastic bottles or components. If the water bottle uses a plastic tank or plastic components, disinfecting can be a challenge given the high-heat water or steam used to disinfect can cause some plastics to release toxins. That leaves you with having to use some type of disinfectant - alcohol at 90%+ concentration works well given it kills both bacterial and viral pathogens, plus it leaves no toxic residue behind after it evaporates.

But using ceramic, stainless, or (heat-resistant) glass components instead is a much easier solution IMO given they can be boiled or autoclaved with wet steam. Without needing any chemicals at all, this will clean and disinfect the best.