How do I make my rabbit to drink more water ?

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Scarlette

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2020
Messages
113
Reaction score
53
Location
America
I just came back from a vet appointment with my rabbit, and my vet said that my rabbit is dehydrated. Corrie, my rabbit, is going to a surgery soon in about a week, so I need to get her blood levels back to normal within a week. Any tips for encouraging Corrie to drink more water? Thanks for reading!
 
Maybe you could try flavouring her water? My rabbit is pregnant right now and I have been giving her raspberry leaf tea as it is good for pregnant rabbits and she really loves it. You could give her some rabbit safe tea, just make sure it is organic and real. Not just "something" flavoured tea but made with real leaves or whatever. You can just brew it in a bottle and then put a dash or something in her water everyday to slightly flavour it.
 
Do you offer a water bottle or bowl, and how much water is generally available? How often do you clean, dump, and refresh water? Water bowls are easier for rabbits to drink from and it's much easier to clean and refresh them, which also encourages hydration.

Rabbits will usually want to drink water after eating a lot of hay, so having a water bowl nearby hay sources can be helpful.

You can also feed slightly wet vegetables, though that won't do a ton.
 
Do you offer a water bottle or bowl, and how much water is generally available? How often do you clean, dump, and refresh water? Water bowls are easier for rabbits to drink from and it's much easier to clean and refresh them, which also encourages hydration.

Rabbits will usually want to drink water after eating a lot of hay, so having a water bowl nearby hay sources can be helpful.

You can also feed slightly wet vegetables, though that won't do a ton.
I offer her a bowl for water, but it's the shape of a big mug, and do dump his water and refill it daily or when it's empty.
 
Maybe you could try flavouring her water? My rabbit is pregnant right now and I have been giving her raspberry leaf tea as it is good for pregnant rabbits and she really loves it. You could give her some rabbit safe tea, just make sure it is organic and real. Not just "something" flavoured tea but made with real leaves or whatever. You can just brew it in a bottle and then put a dash or something in her water everyday to slightly flavour it.
Is using fruit juice okay? I have some orange juice I juiced this morning
 
It might have too much sugar. You could try getting a bowl of water and mixing a spoonful of orange juice into it.
 
Fruit juice could have too much sugar in it. Maybe because it has no added sugar, is organic, and if you only add a couple of drops to flavour it then it would be fine. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!
I would probably just use a leaf tea though because you can get some that has zero sugar and obviously the tea bags will last ages so it would probably be cheaper. And it should be a lot healthier too. Someone correct me if I'm wrong there too. I would hate to spread the wrong info.
 
I heard that rabbits like pineapple juice. people usually make their rabbits drink pineapple juice when they are in GI Stasis and rabbits love that stuff !
 
I would use leaf tea like @LizzyMayHarvey is suggesting. As long as you do not add any sugar or honey to the tea and you cool it before giving it to your rabbit, it will be safe. If you do not have any hot teas, putting several drops of fruit juice in the water is okay but keep in mind fruit juices (especially orange juice and pineapple juice) have a lot of sugar in them and can cause your bunny to go into stasis. If I need to get any of my pets to drink water I will put a small slice of fruit in their water (normally strawberries since my dog loves them). It will flavor the water and the animal will try to get the fruit out and end up drinking some water.
@ThumperParadise, recent studies have shown that giving rabbits pineapple juice when they are in Gi Stasis is a myth and will actually make your bunny worse.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top