Rabbit not drinking much

Hello :wave:

Well I know that drinking excessively can be a symptom of various things, but what about NOT drinking?

Little Chloe hardly seems to drink anything, even in the very hot weather we've had this week :? She has a bowl, a traditional bottle and the sippy clicky bottle thingy that she arrived with. The water level in the bowl has gone down a bit but nowhere near as much as I'd expect for a bunny in a hutch, the other two bottles haven't been touched. She has some greens but nowhere near enough that I wouldn't expect her to drink. Of course not drinking means that she isn't weeing much either, which in one way is great, it just seems a bit odd :?

I've had a feel as best I can and she doesn't seem uncomfortable or full bladdered and is tearing around the dining room (and up and down the stairs!) like a lunatic so she obviously feels well.

It just seems a bit odd, especially in this heat :? Any suggestions? Thanks

Mine seem to drink less in the hot weather. I think it's because they are asleep more of the time and so not running about as much. :lol:

My two largest buns drink FAR less then the other two pairs. They both seem absolutely fine and healthy. :?

I think the complex way a rabbits guts absorb water means their hydration status can vary greatly without obvious fluid loss :?
Also rabbits dont lose fluid from sweating. Their Kidneys work in a way very different to other mammals too. So although a plentiful water supply should always be available they dont rely on it as much as other mammals in very hot weather.
Also some rabbits actually drink the small amount of wee they do pass in hot weather!! :shock: :mrgreen:
Chloe sounds as though she is fine and has made herself at home
You could try adding a bit of Pineapple Juice or Apple Juice(Unsweetened) to her water. But in my experience it doesnt seem to make a Bun drink any more and some dont like the way the flavoured water smells :roll:

Janex

Thanks everyone - that puts my mind at rest!

Jane I find the sure fire way to make mine drink more is to put a few drops of echinacea in the water! When it's echinacea week they all drink about twice as much as usual so they obviously all think that it is yummy :lol: :lol:

I'm inclined to worry about this too, Alison! :roll: Robbie is not drinking much in spite of having blackcurrant in his water...it does encourage them. Polly's bottle was blocked a while ago and I hadn't realised, just wondered why she wasn't drinking much as she was usually a reasonable drinker. What a plonker not to have checked. Now she has a huge dog bowl and drinks regularly but not excessively: at the time when this happened I "confessed" to Jason and he said when you feed rabbits things like carrots, celery, apple they get a lot of moisture from them and it is highly unlikely that they would become dehydrated. So that does, to some extent, put my mind at rest.