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Drinking lots of water

Hi,


My male rabbit (born in May) seems to be drinking at lot of water, he seems to get through most of the 600ml bottle that he shares with his wifey. He seems alright in himself and has no signs of being poorly.

They rabbits live outside so it is very difficult to tell how often the go to the toilet.

Any advice please
 
you also need to keep in mind that even the best bottles in the world leak, so some of it may not even be being drunken.

generally bottles are very unnatural and are difficult to get water out of. it usually puts rabbits off of drinking enough, or they sit there at an awkward position for ages trying to get enough as they are thirsty. bowls are much more natural for them, so if you could offer one of those, I would. while yes it gets dirty far more quickly which is extra work, as they seem to throw hay in it or poops, its much easier for them to drink from. my indoors make the water dirty, but I'd rather that.

a heavy dog bowl intended for a large dog works, as they can not tip it over. if they do, there are ones that screw onto the side of the cage so they can't move them :)

they are also sharing a bottle, so they will drink more together, something else to keep in mind.

rabbits drink anywhere from 50-100ml of water per KG of body weight a day, so for rabbits anywhere from 100-600ml of water a day is normal. if you have two 3kg rabbits, it would be expected for them to get through it.

diet also plays apart. a dry diet will require more water, a wetter diet (grass, fresh plants) will likely mean they drink less water due to getting water from the things they eat.

then again, I have two 2-3kg rex's, with a 1 litre bowl, usually that is gone in 2-3 days, if they haven't soiled it already. but they are indoor so they mostly eat hay & forage :)
 
As above plus rabbits can vary loads in how much they drink for no known reason. Mouse & Joe drink regularly but Boo guzzles loads - always has. I even asked the vets to do bloods to check kidney function. My three easily clear a large dog bowl between them each day. In the absence of any other concerns I'd not worry. It can't hurt mentioning to your vet when they are next in for vaccs
 
Hi, just a thought, but are they litter trained? Would it possibly be worth getting them to use a litter tray? Then you can see how much they pee and poop more easily, which may help alleviate your concerns.
 
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