Bunny's not drinking

[delusional]

For the past few days, every time I've gone tor efresh Bunny's water the bottle it's still been full to the top. I can only conclude from this that he's not drinking anything..

Is this a sign of something serious?

 

[ahri22]

I would say yes. I'm no expert, but I know bunnies should drink regularly! Has he been pooping and eating??

If not, or if his poops are looking different to normal, I'd say you should take him to the vet ASAP.

You can also syringe bunnies water if they don't drink, but you have to be very, very careful it doesn't get into their lungs...

 

[Maureen Las]

its serious if he's not drinking..try placing a bowl of water in his cage. I don't know if he's a new bunny but some bunny's don't know what a water bottle is for.

Also try giving him some very wet greens as that will give him some fluids

 

[delusional]

He's not a new bunny, he's used a water bottle since he was little.
We also noticed that he seems to have diahrroea when we let him out for his run this morning.

We did introduce a new veg to his diet last week, do you think this could be the cause? Is it possible he's getting lots of moisture from this veg and doesn't feel the need to drink?

 

[naturestee]

I'd stop feeding the new veggie.

Some rabbits don't drink much when they're getting lots of veggies. But if he normally drinks water and suddenly stopped, that could be bad. Try giving him a water bowl-maybe he decided that he doesn't like the bottle. Or give him a second bowl or bottle with a little something mixed in to make it yummy, like vanilla, flavored Pedialyte, or juice.

 

[delusional]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I'll start trying them tonight. I've also booked him in at the vets tomorrow afternoon, just in case.

 

[Pipp]

Is he eating a lot of hay? He should be, and if he is, he should be drinking a lot of water. Hay will also help the diarrhea. (Can you tell if it's shiny cecotropes or is it liquidy regular poop?)Hope he's okay!



sas

 

[Haley]

Everyone has given you some great advice. The only thing I would add is that you may want to try putting a bowl of water in there too. My boy Basil refused to drink from his water bottle out of the blue one day. He will now only drink from a bowl.

Just a thought.

 

[Pipp]

Oh, and although it doesn't fit with the diarrhea, make sure you have him carefully checked for dental issues. Bunnies with molar spurs, etc, will stop drinking. With Pipp, that's usually the first sign that her spurs are back. Next, she stops eating veggies, and then finally pellets, although other bunnies will react differently.

sas :clover:

 

[pamnock]

Are the poops plump and well formed?If so, your bunn is getting enough moisture in his diet. If the poops are very small, dry and hard - then bunn is getting dehydrated.

As already mentioned, rabbits receiving a moist diet (greens, veggies, fruits), drink far less than those on a pelleted diet.

Pam

 

[Pet_Bunny]

I always check Pebblesby giving some of my tea with honey. She would gobble that down right now. If she turned her nose to it, then I knowsomething is wrong.

Same thing with foods. I would give her some Alfalfa Hay, just to check if she would eat. If she attacks it,then everything is fine.

Rainbows!

 

[HoneyPot]

And - something that no one has mentioned yet -check the water bottle and make sure it's working and not broken. Check that the spout is easy for him to work and somehow it hasn't become stuck or lodged so he can't get any water from it.

___________
Nadia

 

[delusional]

Thanks again guys. He seems to be eating a normal amount of hay for him, and the poo was definitely liquidy regular poo. But it seems to be back to normal now..
Also already checked the water bottle - was the first thing I did. The vet also suggested a bowl, and gave us some probiotics to give him. But then, those normally go in the water, so she also suggested mixing some apple juice or something with the water, putting it in a bowl, and putting the probiotics in that.

She also said he was very healthy apart from it, and that there were no problems with his teeth. Then she stuck a thermometer up his bum, which he was not happy about. =P