Filtered water for Rabbits

[EBM]

I've been having a read of older posts on here relating to rabbits having bottled water to reduce calcium consumption. Lots of people mentioned giving filtered water, which I'd prefer to do as I don't like the waste of plastic bottles. However my filters come with the message 'Filtered water should only be drunk by humans.'
I can't find anything online to back up this statement? Does anyone know why this would be?
It's for the Tesco own brand water filter cartridges
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-...VJ5pQBh0XHhN5EAQYAyABEgJjs_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Shimmer]

I wouldn't bother, personally. Water filters tend to work by swapping one molecule for another, which is why there is the warning not to use it for animals. Boiled and cooled tap water will help to remove some calcium in hard water areas as it precipitates it out (hence the white scum / crust in the kettle).

If you are trying to reduce calcium intake for specific health reasons, it makes much more sense to adjust the diet as that is where the calcium is concentrated - even a leaf of cabbage swapped for lettuce will make more difference. They also need to have a higher fluid intake to keep the bladder etc flushed out, so swap dry stuff for wet, for example, or add a bit of apple juice / peppermint tea to one water bowl.

Calcium and rabbit food — Frances Harcourt-Brown

www.harcourt-brown.co.uk

Comparison of calcium in food and tap water:
Rabbit optimum dietary level of calcium required = 0.6-1% (referenced from FHB)
Average adult 2.5kg rabbit needs 500mg calcium per day
Equivalent dietary intake: 113g hay or 152g dandelions or 157g spring greens or 463g grass.... or around 5 litres very hard London tap water by my calcuations.
Water around here is soft, so the intake would be at least 3x that to meet the same level of calcium.
So the calcium intake supplied by the amount of water that a rabbit drinks is negligible (usually quoted at 50-150ml per kg, so a 2.5kg rabbit would drink 125-375ml a day, depending on how dry the diet is).
Hence why it is more effectiveto look at the food rather than the water intake.

 

[EBM]

I wouldn't bother, personally. Water filters tend to work by swapping one molecule for another, which is why there is the warning not to use it for animals. Boiled and cooled tap water will help to remove some calcium in hard water areas as it precipitates it out (hence the white scum / crust in the kettle).

If you are trying to reduce calcium intake for specific health reasons, it makes much more sense to adjust the diet as that is where the calcium is concentrated - even a leaf of cabbage swapped for lettuce will make more difference. They also need to have a higher fluid intake to keep the bladder etc flushed out, so swap dry stuff for wet, for example, or add a bit of apple juice / peppermint tea to one water bowl.

Calcium and rabbit food — Frances Harcourt-Brown

www.harcourt-brown.co.uk

Comparison of calcium in food and tap water:
Rabbit optimum dietary level of calcium required = 0.6-1% (referenced from FHB)
Average adult 2.5kg rabbit needs 500mg calcium per day
Equivalent dietary intake: 113g hay or 152g dandelions or 157g spring greens or 463g grass.... or around 5 litres very hard London tap water by my calcuations.
Water around here is soft, so the intake would be at least 3x that to meet the same level of calcium.
So the calcium intake supplied by the amount of water that a rabbit drinks is negligible (usually quoted at 50-150ml per kg, so a 2.5kg rabbit would drink 125-375ml a day, depending on how dry the diet is).
Hence why it is more effectiveto look at the food rather than the water intake.

Thanks Shimmer, I didn't know that about water filters.
we live in a very hard water area and the rabbits drink a lot of water daily. If i didn't top it up they'd finish a large dog bowl between them. Their vet mentioned the possibility of bottled water to reduce calcium in their diet. Their diet is mainly hay and forage (dried and fresh when available) and a little amount of fresh herbs. They get a very small amount of pellets in the evening. I've started giving more grass recently now it's more available as I know this is lower in calcium when you also consider the water content vs hay. Vegetables are off the menu as they cause stomach upset for one of my rabbits.
One of my previous rabbits loved peppermint tea so i might try that again too !