Britleigh89
Member
We just got a mini lop or Holland lop from petland. She's a baby but keeps sleeping with her paws in her water bowl, and she ends up all wet. What can I do to stop this or is it ok for her to do it.
Strange behavior
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What is petland and do you have pictures of her sleeping in her water?
Britleigh89
Member
It's a petstore, no I don't. I moved her like 20 minutes ago.
Is her sleeping in her water bowl a constant thing since getting her?
My Lawrence has fallen asleep with his foot in a water bowl. He did it because he laid down next to it, and then when he stretched, his foot went in the bowl. And I guess he was too lazy to move.
Maybe she's doing it because she's hot? Does she stay in the house? What's the temperature like?
She could also be getting wet, and since she's inside, the temperature doesn't bother her at all, and she sees no reason to NOT do it!
Maybe she's doing it because she's hot? Does she stay in the house? What's the temperature like?
She could also be getting wet, and since she's inside, the temperature doesn't bother her at all, and she sees no reason to NOT do it!
Britleigh89
Member
Yes, if we take her out she will find the bowl and lay in it
Britleigh89
Member
She's inside we keep the apartment at like 71 with the ac on.
Britleigh89
Member
I read a bowl is better, is it harmful that she's sleeping in it?You can use a bottle for water I can guarantee she won't be sleeping in there
Well, if you read that a bowl is better it is probably so, sure you should trust everything you read
I would make the bowl higher, putting something under it, or a barrier to the resting place Rabbit skin isn't made for being wet too much, not an immediate problem, but I would prevent it.
They do drink more easily from a bowl, and that's a good thing.
They do drink more easily from a bowl, and that's a good thing.
Britleigh89
Member
I'll try elevating it, I got another bowl for her to lay in so maybe she will leave the water bowl alone
I mean, well, you're right.You can use a bottle for water I can guarantee she won't be sleeping in there
When it comes to certain persistent behaviors, using a large enough water bottle will be safe for the rabbit to use, as it turns out.
My Smokey is super comfortable drinking from 500 ml bottle, she drinks fast and tells me when her bottle is empty, sometimes I have to refill twice a day so she normally drinks about 500-600 ml in 24 hours, and that's without any spilling/splashing etc. She's a large girl in my avatar, she'snow 2,5 years old and she is and always was hyper active and sometimes she just hopping and running up and down, moving anything that is on her way, she digs all corners and moves hay all around, she is also skittish when I bring her her portion of pellets for dinner, she would meet me at the door and will jump on me boxing and trying to get her nose, no the whole head into the bowl, and boxing and trying to get the bowl out of my hand splashing all her pellets on the floor. Seriously, you think water bowl would work for her? Spoiler:
No.No. No.
By the way, when I came to pick her up from her mother she was 9 week old there was a water bowl yes, all filled with hay and droppings, now she uses her bottle and she loves it, I know her water is always clean and it is an old bottle about two years but it is still clean (because I clean it regularly and there's no droppings inside, no hay or other nasty stuff).
I should take a video of her standing on her hind feet and drinking from her fav bottle, my other buns also have no problems with drinking from bottles, some of them needed some training but learned fast, also it is important that your bottle is fixed well maybe in two points and fixed strictly vertically so the ball doesn't get stuck.
I think it's just your preference if you like bowls it's no problem with me, just I see it everywhere that bowls are better, of course, wet chin and lots of mess, then you need to change water often because it gets dirty and evaporates as well, or gets splashed or your bun likes sleeping in it.
It's your decision, but I would say if you have a problem with water bowl there's nothing wrong with trying a bottle, you can also use both and let your rabbit choose what they like.
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I know that this may not be the best way to ask about it, but how did you teach your bun to use a bottle not a bowl? Our vet had suspected that Lümi's skin flaking might be because of his sloppy drinking so we had to get him a glass bottle but he won't touch it even when there's some banana on the nozzle. He will beg when i refill Storm's bowl though, and would much rather just go without water than learn how to drink from the nozzle. (Had to teach Musti to drink from a bottle to a bowl to a bottle way back, he learned it fast...)
I know.
Well I mostly train them from when they just start drinking at 2-3 weeks, it's not me it's just they see that their mother drinks and try to copy that. Some kits are really struggling they can't get how it works, they try to pull the nozzle out or break it, or drinking really loudly. I don't worry about it and just give them more time, since they are still getting mother's milk until they are 8 weeks, so basically over 6 weeks they'd learn without any assistance from my side and at 8 weeks when they are fully weaned they use bottles comfortably. But sometimes I have to help. I use large plastic bottles for the kits, Giant size 1100 ml and refill 2-3 times a day depending on how many kits and there's mama as well. Giant bottle has much wider nozzle so they get that they have to lick the ball, no point in biting it. When you lick the ball you just push it up the nozzle and water comes freely into your mouth, no problem. When I see one kit is struggling I just can hear it and I come to them and holding the bottle on top (it is upside down so it is actually bottom of the bottle) and gently squeeze it with my fingers, so water comes out like a little fontaine and kit drinks as much as needed. I never use apple juice or banana, I've seen other people do for training but I never did. But maybe it will work, especially you say your bottle is glass bottle so you can't really squeeze much. Here's a video there's they filled it with water with added apple juice I believe, but as I said rabbits are very smart and they really figure out quickly how to do that. And they also use glass bottle. I would fix it a bit higher though but it's just you need to try and find most comfortable position. Smokey is one who drinks well standing on her hind feet and holding her head up drinking, I don't know she is very comfortable with it but with others they have bottle little lower.
I have one girl, she is 1 year and 3 months now but she was my Arnie's daughter so I have her from her birth, she had this problem with bottle all the time, other kits learned so quickly but not she, she was drinking so loudly it was really, especially in the night, really loudly. They had a smaller bottle then, they had 600 ml and it was enough, I refilled twice a day, so I've changed 600 ml to 1100 ml with wider nozzle and it helped a bit, I also kept helping her when I can hear her drinking loudly I was just coming to her to squeeze the bottle. She was the last one staying with her mother until she was about 8 months, it was interesting to watch, her mother comes to the bottle and drinks quickly, you can see the bubbles as she drinks fast and with no noise, and then Silky comes to drink, and she just keeps trying pulling that nozzle out, really interesting. She is definitely not the sharpest tool in shed, but she is an incredibly nice and caring girl so I've decided to keep her. Her mother wasn't fair to her when she grew up and I separated her, I thought they will stay bonded (Arnie is very bossy and hard to bond with others so my plan was that I will leave one of her kits with her to keep company and it worked first, but then she was too bossy and poor Silky had no life with her).
Okay, that's was a bit long story, but when I separated her I've bonded her to her father Peter, he was neutered and ready for bonding by the time and so Silky just fell in love with him she was chasing him and grooming him endlessly, poor Peter had to hide from her firstly, but later her excitement calmed down a bit and now she keeps grooming him a lot but they both enjoy that, very happy together.
Sorry for long read what I wanted to say, when she came to live with Peter, she just stopped making noises while drinking, now she drinks perfectly I have no idea. He trained her! Or maybe she just wanted to look nice because of him, I have no idea but she drinks perfectly from their bottle now, they have 1100 ml bottle and it is usually empty in about 36-48 hours so I guess about 250-300 ml each daily. Depending what they eat, sometimes we get very tasty hay and they eat more hay and drink more water, so I have to refill sooner, but it is totally enough for 24 hours.
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Is your rabbit eating, drinking, and pooping normally? Is she showing any other signs of odd behavior like tooth grinding or staying hunched up, lethargic and not wanting to move around?
Britleigh89
Member
She lays around a lot, she's drinking fine, I think shes eating her pellets but didn't want a carrot. She has been grinding her teeth today.
If she's grinding her teeth and hanging her paws in her water bowl, this can be a sign of a very serious health issue, if she is also not eating and is lethargic not wanting to move around.
You'll need to verify if she is eating or not, and if she's acting normally otherwise(will run around, explore, etc). If she isn't eating and is lethargic, then you need to get her to the vet immediately. The last rabbit I had that had these symptoms of loud tooth grinding, not eating, and was lethargic, sitting by her bowl hanging her paws in it and not wanting to move, had a severe case of stomach bloat, which is something that can be fatal to rabbits.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
You'll need to verify if she is eating or not, and if she's acting normally otherwise(will run around, explore, etc). If she isn't eating and is lethargic, then you need to get her to the vet immediately. The last rabbit I had that had these symptoms of loud tooth grinding, not eating, and was lethargic, sitting by her bowl hanging her paws in it and not wanting to move, had a severe case of stomach bloat, which is something that can be fatal to rabbits.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
