Bunny drinking A LOT

[Ghillie]

Bramble drinks a LOT of water but I didn't notice until now, just how much. I took him to a vet in May about it; she did a wellness exam, a blood sample, a BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen level test) stick, and a cytology exam (test to look for abnormal cells in urine). Everything looked perfectly normal but this still bothers me. He is a 2.5 year old, 4-pound rabbit. He lives cage-free indoors, eats 1/8 cup Bunny Basics T pellets a day, and gets unlimited timothy or meadow mix hay. I only have Bramble at this point (getting a second bun in January).

I have a self-dispensing jug waterer (like the kinds sold for cats) and it holds 10 cups of water, roughly. I usually have to refill it every 3-5 days. I didn't realize how much it held until this evening when I measured it out myself. A four-pound rabbit should NOT be drinking that much, I know, but he's been like this for months now. He's active and eats like a horse and has a really sweet and wonderful disposition. He has perfect litter box habits and seems normal aside from the amount he drinks and pees. It just goes right through him.

He's seeing a different vet on Thursday. Until then, any thoughts on what could be the problem? I'm a little concerned because I'm a student (ie. I'm poor.) Also, I live in Canada so it's not like it's insanely hot and humid or anything here!

 

[ResQBunny]

I fill my 8 pound rabbits bowls up twice a day.. one bowl fits about a cup the other a cup and half (have never really measured).. her bowls aren't always completely empty (usually the smaller one is though it varies day to day) I'd say on average she drinks about 3-4 cups per day... Making it about 15-20 cups in five days... She's free range with unlimited hay and 1/2 a cup of pellets a day along with a cup of salad
/greens a day.

 

[Blue eyes]

Let's see... that's 2 to 3 cups of water per day. There's 8 oz in a cup, so 16-24 oz per day (not counting any spillage, splashing or evaporation).
My rabbits have a 20 oz bowl that is filled at least once per day. I'd say the two of them drink 1 1/2 bowls or 30 oz -- so about 15 oz each. That isn't much different than your rabbit. One of mine is just over 5 lbs and one just under 5 lbs.

I do know that the more hay they eat, the more water they drink. Water is good for them and keeps their digestion healthy. It doesn't sound like an outrageous amount of water for him to be drinking.

 

[Ghillie]

Thanks for the replies! That helps set my mind at ease. I think I just notice it a lot because he lives in my bedroom and I've become hermit-like the past week or so studying for exams, so I notice how often he's at his dish. But the amount has been pretty consistent since I got him. It's increased a bit since I got him the cat waterer but I think it's because he always has access to water and can't drink it all on me.

 

[Aki]

Your rabbit probably drinks a lot because (if I read your post correctly) you don't give him fresh vegetables. Pellets are making rabbits thirsty and they don't provide any water. Neither does hay. My rabbits only drink one cup (around 250 ml) a day for the 2 of them, but they eat mainly fresh vegetables (outside of hay, of course).
In the same way, my dog, who only eats kibbles, drinks an insane amount of water (around 1,5 liters a day, which kinda freaked me out at first) whereas the dogs I know who are fed raw meat drink a lot less.
So, yeah, if your rabbit looks healthy and that your vet found nothing wrong with him, it's probably normal ^^.

 

[Ghillie]

You're right, I don't feed him veggies daily; he gets a couple cups a week but not every day (it's more like twice a week). I do notice it's normally after he munches down on hay that he goes to his water dish.