Rabbits: my rabbit is not drinking as much water as she ususally does , is this normal?
by 
foxxy
ANSWERS: 4
-
Hmmmm First off you need to check your rabbits stomach, feel around it a little, see if it feels slightly bloated or not. Rabbits are notorious groomers, therefores they are very susceptible to hairballs that clog them up and make them feel incredibly full which could be a reason why. There is nothing you can do at home for her though if that is the case. If i were you and were worried i would just take her in to the vet to be safe. Hope i was of some help. Good luck!
-
My ferrit was doing the very same thing last night, as well as breathing heavily, when I arrived home. I took her to the vet this morning and after listening to her breathe heavily, saying that she was slightly dehydrated (I could not tell), and taking an x-ray (they said her lungs had shrunk), they put her on oxygen and told me that they were not sure if she had pneumonia or cancer. They said it did not look good. I am awaiting the results. Point is: DON'T WAIT UNTIL IT'S TO LATE TO GET HELP!!!
-
It could be normal. My rabbit doesn't drink the same amount of water every day. Rabbits get a portion of their water requirements from fresh veggies, so if the veggies you fed him most recently had a high water content, that could be one reason why he might drink less. I'm sure there's other factors I don't know of, too. Keep an eye on him. Is he eating as much as normal, and peeing and pooping as much as normal, and is just as active as usual? If other unusual signs occur, I think you should bring him to the vet. If you're ever worried your rabbit isn't drinking enough and you want to encourage him to drink water, you can mix 1 part juice to 5 parts water. My vet recommended this to me -- it doesn't have to be an emergency situation, in fact we feed our rabbit this every day. Just be careful about the juice you use: it has to be clear (meaning completely free of pulp) and it shouldn't be too sugary (so, no grape juice). 100% apple is the most obvious choice. We also sometimes use a kiwi-cranberry-apple mix.
-
It might be from change of diet, if you are feeding more water filled vegetables or fruits or less pellets and more hay instead. Or it could be weather related. During cooler weather rabbits drink less. I've even seen a change in water consumption from changing rabbit pellets to one that had more or less salt added to it. If you suspect your rabbit of being ill, though, first thing I would do is get some 100% pure pineapple juice and give it 5-7 ml through a syringe twice a day for a few days, and if there is a GI problem, hairball or constipated, that often will help moves things along.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC