Rabbit drinking but not eating

[Baybeemon]

Hi all, my bunny hasn't been drinking water for a week. I'm not sure what is wrong with the sudden change.

I'm using a water reservoir. Everyday she drink roughly 300 ml a day. However, last Sunday she suddenly stop drinking and she pees really little.
I did not increase her intake of veggies so she isn't getting water from other sources. She is eating well, eating her pellets and hay. Behavior wise, she is still very active.
Brought her to vet but her vet can't seems to identify any problem.
Of course during this one week I syringe feed her a bit of water as I'm really worried she will be too dehydrated.

Anyone ever have this issue of their rabbit suddenly stop drinking water but still eating?

 

[Hermelin]

Maybe try to make the water taste a little, putting little pineapple juice, berries bits, apple juices and so on in the water . It can encourage her to drink the water at least. I often does this during hot summer weather to make sure my bunnies will drink a lot.

 

[Baybeemon]

Maybe try to make the water taste a little, putting little pineapple juice, berries bits, apple juices and so on in the water . It can encourage her to drink the water at least. I often does this during hot summer weather to make sure my bunnies will drink a lot.

Hmm...I did tried, but she only drink if I added a lot of juice inside. At least to me I feel that is a lot x)

Do you have a rough idea how much juice can I add into the water?

 

[Hermelin]

I only use this temporary, for my bunnies so I never thought about it. Often I add one third of the bowl with juice and the rest water.

I often change bowl size depending on the bunnies size. Because it becomes really sweet.

So the size of my holland lop get a bowl of 300 ml, netherland dwarf have a 250 bowl while my giant get a 500 ml bowl. They will still have a bigger bowl of plain water in.

They often drink everything up in just a few hours, but the netherland dwarf will shift between plain water and water with taste. It have never stopped my bunnies from eating their hay or rubbing what they eat. But this is only as treat/ temporary solutions to make the bunnies get more liquid in their system.

You can also wet the veggies down to make your bunny get more water.

 

[Baybeemon]

I only use this temporary, for my bunnies so I never thought about it. Often I add one third of the bowl with juice and the rest water.

I often change bowl size depending on the bunnies size. Because it becomes really sweet.

So the size of my holland lop get a bowl of 300 ml, netherland dwarf have a 250 bowl while my giant get a 500 ml bowl. They will still have a bigger bowl of plain water in.

They often drink everything up in just a few hours, but the netherland dwarf will shift between plain water and water with taste. It have never stopped my bunnies from eating their hay or rubbing what they eat. But this is only as treat/ temporary solutions to make the bunnies get more liquid in their system.

You can also wet the veggies down to make your bunny get more water.

Thanks for your reply. I think now what I can do is maybe favour the water first then slowly weaned her off from the water.

 

[Zee-Man]

My rabbit got her head stuck the other day and went a long time without water or food. She is an American Chinchilla. After I got her freed, I took her into the house to cool down. Her stress seems to be fully relieved. Her activity is about normal. She is eating fresh food but not dry hay. During the summer she gets lots of fresh forage instead of pellets. Prior to the stressing she was drinking about 250 ml per day from her water bottle. Since returning to her hutch she is not drinking from the bottle at all. She has a healthy appetite and seems to be evacuating well. I've tried to force water via syringe. She will swallow some but mostly is wont drink. I can't be sure if she is disinterested because of her normal distaste for handling or just not wanting to drink.

Recently I changed to filling her bottle from the hose. She had been drinking that for about a week prior to getting stuck. I've just cleaned her bottle well and filled it from the inside tap. I intend to spike some water with juice to force later today. With a heat wave happening I am worried that she will dehydrate. Are there any other ideas?

 

[nadinelavi0702]

Tey a crock (a heavy ceramic bowl) of water for her, so she can see it's a pool of water and drink.

 

[Zee-Man]

It turns out she was just being willful. I used a syringe to force a 50/50 concoction of juice and water. As soon as she tasted it she was eager to have more. Last night she drank her normal 300 to 400 ml of water from her bottle. So no more hose water? Not a big deal. I'll try a 10/90 mix today and see if she continues to drink. I don't want other problems to crop up from lots of sugar.