Rabbit wont drink

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funnies50

funnies50

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Y won't my rabbit drink water? All he does is step in it and kick it over. :evil: I don't know if Im doing something wrong or he's just not thirsty but he hasn't drank water in about a wk.
 
By now I think he'd be dead if he hasn't drunk in a week, so in there somewhere he must have had some water! Have you tried a bottle? Or a bowl attached to his cage? We do bottles.

:clover:
 
Your rabbit would die within a day, two at the most, if it weren't drinking anything. Rabbits enjoy playing in water though and throwing things around in their cages. That's one reason that most of us use lick bottles for our rabbit's water. Sometimes I will put a small bowl of water in as well, because they enjoy drinking from a bowl and playing in the water.
 
I have some cages with bowls and some with bottles. Sometimes the ones with bowls will knock them over but they will get a good drink before they do. Your rabbit is probably drinking some before it gets knocked over.
 
cmfarm":2zxr22sy said:
I have some cages with bowls and some with bottles. Sometimes the ones with bowls will knock them over but they will get a good drink before they do. Your rabbit is probably drinking some before it gets knocked over.
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I actually feed her all lettuce, lettuce lettuce so I'm not sure if she needs to drink. I was just wondering because the one time I saw her use it was to pee in it :angry:
 
Lettuce is NOT a balanced diet for a rabbit they need protein and fat and lettuce has ZERO of these - it doesn't even have very many calories and she must be eating a huge amount to even be alive.

I highly recommend you feed her pellets and hay as well lettuce
 
funnies50":2i1pfasm said:
I actually feed her all lettuce, lettuce lettuce so I'm not sure if she needs to drink.
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I hope you are not feeding her Ice burg lettuce she can not digest it. only dark leafy lettuces, romaine is a decent one red or green leaf is better. You should vary her diet if only feeding fresh.. there is a good section called natural feeding you should check out. If you are feeding a good pellet ( not the kind with the colorful bits, that is not good for your bun and is junk food) then fresh greens and veg. (no brassica, or night shade) should be used as a treat...\
I see Dood has already beat me here..
 
I've seen people claim lettuce is terrible and others say they feed it and the rabbit doesn't die...

So. If it's eating it for a while now and has solid stool and no diahrea, then you can continue feeding some. but...a rabbit definitely needs more than just lettuce.
 
Syberchick70":3rv5n2c9 said:
Your rabbit would die within a day, two at the most, if it weren't drinking anything.
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Actually, they last a lot longer than that. I had some buns in a growout pen that got really skinny- I butchered the whole lot of them, sanitized the cage, and soon after put new growouts in the same pen. After several days, they had all lost a bunch of condition as well. Turns out that the stem valve on their bucket waterer was clogged. :oops: :oops: :oops:

funnies50":3rv5n2c9 said:
I actually feed her all lettuce, lettuce lettuce so I'm not sure if she needs to drink.
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Rabbits that are fed a lot of fresh foods do not drink as much water as those on a pelleted diet. But as others have mentioned, she needs a wide variety of foods to meet her needs. If she isn't fed pellets, you should also be giving her alfalfa or grass hay as well as some type of grain- oats, barley, black oil sunflower seeds, or a combination thereof. She will also need a mineral salt lick- the red kind, not plain white salt.
 
Zass":1houewpe said:
I've seen people claim lettuce is terrible and others say they feed it and the rabbit doesn't die...
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I'm sorry if I sounded like I was saying that..it is not what I meant. Ice Burg lettuce is not good for any animal or human for the same reasons Dood spoke of.. It is mostly water and very few nutrients....I do not believe however that it should never be fed if that is what you have. I have people in my family with intestinal issues so I never have Ice Burg lettuce, they just can't digest it.
 
katiebear":26kmlt03 said:
Zass":26kmlt03 said:
I've seen people claim lettuce is terrible and others say they feed it and the rabbit doesn't die...
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if I sounded like I was saying that..it is not what I meant. Ice Burg lettuce is not good for any animal or human for the same reasons Dood spoke of.. It is mostly water and very few nutrients....I do not believe however that it should never be fed if that is what you have. I have people in my family with intestinal issues so I never have Ice Burg lettuce, they just can't digest it.
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I was just thinking along the lines that sometimes, when someone has been doing something, and they are told they can't or else there will be dire consequences.

And, they have observed no ill effects themselves...they may become more inclined to disregard other good advice.

I don't keep or feed iceburg lettuce, as I have intestinal issues myself :| , and feeding it to the buns is not worth the risk to me.

But I was thinking... if it's been a main food and water source, the bun might not do well if it's feed is suddenly switched. Feed changes with rabbits are best done gradually.
 
In my youth, when I worked in pet stores, the reason we told people not to feed iceberg lettuce was that it hosted some type of bacteria in the water of its cells. No idea if that is true or not, but people have been leery of feeding it for at least 25 years.
 
Zass":3i5wfkbo said:
I was just thinking along the lines that sometimes, when someone has been doing something, and they are told they can't or else there will be dire consequences.

And, they have observed no ill effects themselves...they may become more inclined to disregard other good advice.

I don't keep or feed iceburg lettuce, as I have intestinal issues myself :| , and feeding it to the buns is not worth the risk to me.

But I was thinking... if it's been a main food and water source, the bun might not do well if it's feed is suddenly switched. Feed changes with rabbits are best done gradually.
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Very good points! :D I don't know how many times I have heard people say that someone else is wrong just because they have not experienced the same outcome.. :lol:
And you are absolutely correct about a slow feed change..no matter what the rabbit is eating a slow change is best, I even do that when I have to feed a different version of the same brand of pellets. So I am behind you on that.. :)

MamaSheepdog":3i5wfkbo said:
it hosted some type of bacteria in the water of its cells. No idea if that is true or not, but people have been leery of feeding it for at least 25 years.
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In the lettuce fields here the issue was E-Coli..the field workers had no place to relieve themselves or wash up..so.....The feilds all tested positive for the bacteria. :sick:
 
katiebear":3vh6d3i3 said:
In the lettuce fields here the issue was E-Coli..the field workers had no place to relieve themselves or wash up..so.....The feilds all tested positive for the bacteria. :sick:
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Yum! Bring on that cheap Mexican produce! :p You know that there they are even less strict about providing porta-potties in the fields. Not to mention the totally unregulated use of pesticides. :x
 
There is already a large percentage of foreign produce being irradiated to kill pathogens and bypass customs quarantine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_irradiation

Food is required to be marked as irradiated the US, but... the definition of "irradiated" has been made quite broad:
The US defines irradiated foods as foods in which the irradiation causes a material change in the food, or a material change in the consequences that may result from the use of the food.
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Therefore food that is processed as an ingredient by a restaurant or food processor is exempt from the labeling requirement in the US.
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United States clearances
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In the United States, each new food is approved separately with a guideline specifying a maximum dosage; in case of quarantine applications the minimum dose is regulated. Packaging materials containing the food processed by irradiation must also undergo approval. Food irradiation in the United States is primarily regulated by the FDA[52] since it is considered a food additive. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) amends these rules for use with meat, poultry, and fresh fruit.[53]
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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the use of low-level irradiation as an alternative treatment to pesticides for fruits and vegetables that are considered hosts to a number of insect pests, including fruit flies and seed weevils. Under bilateral agreements that allows less-developed countries to earn income through food exports agreements are made to allow them to irradiate fruits and vegetables at low doses to kill insects, so that the food can avoid quarantine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the USDA have approved irradiation of the following foods and purposes:

Packaged refrigerated or frozen red meat[54] — to control pathogens (E. Coli O157:H7 and Salmonella), and to extend shelf life.[55]
Packaged poultry — control pathogens (Salmonella and Camplylobacter).[55]
Fresh fruits, vegetables and grains — to control insects and inhibit growth, ripening and sprouting.[55]
Pork — to control trichinosis.[55]
Herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings[56] — to control insects and microorganisms.[55]
Dry or dehydrated enzyme preparations — to control insects and microorganisms.[55]
White potatoes — to inhibit sprout development.[55]
Wheat and wheat flour — to control insects.[55]
Loose or bagged fresh iceberg lettuce and spinach[57]
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I think I'll stick with the gardens and local orchards for produce, and keep raising my own meat animals.
 
Dood":2vt01lew said:
Lettuce is NOT a balanced diet for a rabbit they need protein and fat and lettuce has ZERO of these - it doesn't even have very many calories and she must be eating a huge amount to even be alive.

I highly recommend you feed her pellets and hay as well lettuce
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I tried feeding her pellets. She didn't eat them. (I actually give her grass, kale, carrots etc.)
 
What she "likes" is irrelevant - I'm sure you'd like to eat chezzies and ice cream for dinner as a kid but your parents wouldn't allow it because it is not a healthy well balanced meal and you'd develop nutritional deficiencies like rickets and be more prone to illness

Stop letting your rabbit fill up on lettuce, kale, grass and carrots and she will eat her pellets and hay which will keep her healthy for the next 10 years. The fresh veggies you mentioned should ONLY be a treat for rabbits especially rabbits younger than 6 months who are still growing
 
Dood":pbscjrzo said:
What she "likes" is irrelevant - I'm sure you'd like to eat chezzies and ice cream for dinner as a kid but your parents wouldn't allow it because it is not a healthy well balanced meal and you'd develop nutritional deficiencies like rickets and be more prone to illness

Stop letting your rabbit fill up on lettuce, kale, grass and carrots and she will eat her pellets and hay which will keep her healthy for the next 10 years. The fresh veggies you mentioned should ONLY be a treat for rabbits especially rabbits younger than 6 months who are still growing
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Thanks! ;) Got it. Lemme see what I can do :)
 

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