Not Drinking Water?!

[Ashley B]

Please Help! SO recently my Rex stopped drinking out of his water bottle... i switched him to a bowl and it worked... for a while. I don't think he's drinking anything at all!!!! :shock: I have a water bottle and bowl for him to drink from. He doesn't drink from the water bottle, and neither from the bowl i don't think. He always spills the water from the bowl or it freezes (he's in the garage for a little while.) I haven't seen him drink from it in 2 days!!!:shock: How do i know if he can/is actually drinking something!!!! Please help me!

-Also any ideas on how to keep water from freezing in the winter?

Thank You!!!
Ashley

 

[oryctolaguslady]

Where was your Rex before he was in the garage and how recently was he moved? Is he eating normally or has the amount he eats changed as well? Sometimes rabbits get stressed by being moved and stop eating and drinking normally. If it is colder in the garage than where he was before he might drink less than in a warmer location, but he should be drinking some.

You can try to coax a rabbit to drink more by adding a little fruit juice to his water. Some rabbits particularly like cranberry juice or apple juice added to the water.

 

[Ashley B]

Thanks!! He was moved around the beginning of January. He was drinking fine then one day just kinda stopped. It might be the weather because now it's pretty cold. Thank you!!

-Ashley

 

[LakeCondo]

He should have insulation in his area of the garage so the water doesn't freeze. You should cover his hutch or whatever with blankets etc, & the floor needs to be insulated, too. Can you use a heater nearby so it's at least up to 50`?

 

[qtipthebun]

Organic cranberry juice. You don't want the type that has all sorts of added preservaties and stuff. You want to try to get the most natural one possible. Mix a little in with his water. They love the taste. Tippy did that for a few days...switched from a bottle to a bowl. She switched back on her own eventually. But the cranberry juice helped. When Tips wasn't drinking, the vet said that some bunnies have temperature preferences. She likes her water really cold, like, with ice chips in it, but some bunnies really don't like cold water.