The Water Dish Is NOT A Toy!!!!!!

[Ashley B]

I'm going away for the weekend and I'm having a friend of mine care for my bun! He is a rather curious Rex rabbit! I have wood chews, 2 wooden balls, and a couple things that roll around make noise and that he can chew on... You'd think that would be all he needs! But no! He throws around his water dish alllll the time! All of the water is everywhere and it leaves him with nothing to drink! My friend can't stay here and so my bunny might not have water for the day?? (He Doesn't Drink From Water Bottles) :confused2:
Please help! I don't want him to get dehydrated or anything else!!!


-How do I get him to stop? Is there anything i can put on the dish?
or
-Is there someway I can connect the dish to the cage?

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Are you 100% sure he won't use a water bottle? Try flavoring the water in it for starters with Apple juice to prick his interest. I've also heard of sticking the end of the water bottle in something they like to get their interest. (Maybe some sort of like banana to get him to lick it?) I think he could easily get the hang of it.

What kind of dish does he have? I would look into buying a HEAVY crock of some sort for him to drink out of.

OR I use a dish like this for Ripley's food but it might work for water:
http://www.petco.com/product/104836...=MM_SmallAnimalSupplies_DishesFeedersWaterers


I personally would just keep working at getting him to use a water bottle. I think he will get the hang of it~

 

[Ellie]

Go to Petsmart or your local pet store and get one the clamps onto the cage (like the one Bunnylova4eva posted). I found it in the dog section, they didn't have any in the small animal section. Just look around and you'll find one

When I first got Buster he'd always flip his water into his pellets, and obviously ruin his pellets. So I got that and haven't had any problems since It's nice because it sits a little off the ground, so it never really gets dirty.

 

[slavetoabunny]

I use the twist and lock crocks for both food and water in all of my pens. They work great!

 

[furrybutts]

yes, i too had the same problem, but i didnt want to get a watter bottle because ive been told too many times that rabbits dont get enough water from them, and that having to turn their neck to get a good drink bothers them after a while, so i turned to the ones that hook onto their cage... works wonders!

 

[Blue eyes]

furrybutts wrote:

yes, i too had the same problem, but i didnt want to get a watter bottle because ive been told too many times that rabbits dont get enough water from them, and that having to turn their neck to get a good drink bothers them after a while, so i turned to the ones that hook onto their cage... works wonders!

Yes, all true.

I also use the clamp and twist water bowls. They are available at both petsmart and petco and can be found in different sizes and colors. They also have them in more than one area of the store -- in small pets, in birds, and maybe in cats section. I wanted a larger one and found it in the color I wanted in the birds section.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

furrybutts wrote:

yes, i too had the same problem, but i didnt want to get a watter bottle because ive been told too many times that rabbits dont get enough water from them, and that having to turn their neck to get a good drink bothers them after a while, so i turned to the ones that hook onto their cage... works wonders!

Hmmm interesting, I've wondered about this myself before-as to if they get enough water. My main dilema is that my buns are outdoors, so, in the winter if they got their face wet in a dish, they would freeze. I just give them a water bottle year round as otherwise I worry it'd be too confusing constantly transitioning back and forth.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We have a dish that locks to the side of the hutch making it virtually dump proof.

 

[slavetoabunny]

I do have one rabbit that can unlock the lock-on crocks. Fortunately, she only does it with her empty food dish. I guess I should take the hint.

 

[ldoerr]

I LOVE the ones in the link. I also LOVE the EZ crocks. https://www.bunnyrabbit.com/brcom.html. The are GREAT!!!!! (This website sells [practically] EVERYTHING you could ever want for rabbits.)

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

^^Thanks for posting-I don't think I've been on the sight. This is great! My bunnies are about to get even more spoiled...

 

[Nelsons_Mom]

My water thing is like an upside down jug that automatically fills the bowl. I got it for like 8 bucks and has a built in filter so it doesn't get "stale". It holds about three days of water for my two and, when it isn't empty, is too heavy for them to move.

I love it because my bunnies drink a lot! Like when I had a crock I had to fill it twice a day and it'd be mostly empty when I did and I hated the idea that they were thirsty when I wasn't home. This solves that problem.

 

[CharmmyBunny]

so i know this is a little late but i had a similar issue but with the litter box she insisted that she dig out everything from the litter box and then throw the whole thing around like a frisbee. we also had the problem with the water bowl which we were using some plastic bowl that she would throw around and then get drenched and then she would freak out. we switched to a heavy food dish they sold for puppies made out of ceramic its heavier than she is so she cant toss it. (we got her on a bottle and we still use the dish for while she is out of the cage and we leave it full of a mix of what the rats eat and some dried fruit to spoil her and she gets full access to it when shes out which is most of the time.)
but for the litter box we drilled 2 holes onto each side where it met the cage walls and then got 2 bolts to lock it into place we put the bolt through the indie of the litterbox and then use large washers to hold it in place and a wingnut to keep it tight. she tried to pull it off and toss it in the beginnign but now she just leaves it alone and it really helped with her potty training. so if you dont want to buy another thing some creative thinking and a trip to home depot.

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, mine used to drag their big litter box away from the hay manger. I don't own a drill and was too cheap to buy one, so I got this tool at home depot designed to punch holes in wood and stuff for large nails/screws that was only a few bucks - it worked perfectly to punch two little round holes in the side of the litter box so I could zip-tie it to the cage.

the twist-n-lock bowls are great, too - no more throwing the pellet bowl around!