Bunny allof, not drinking much

[whitepumpkin]

Hello,

Couple of questions. Got a new rescued bun male Rex, 2 yrs old, 

1.  I let him out into living area & he just sits under couch alot.

     sleeping i think.  What concerns me is that he doesn’t eat or drink much

     for a good part of the day.  If I keep him confined to the kitchen where his bowls are,

     He eats a bit more, but has slowed down on his water.  I try to encourage, but he tips the        bowl over.

     we tried putting apple slices in, didn’t help.  We have apple juice we added. is this o.k.?

2.   He eats alot of paper.  I know they need to chew, and he’s got a cardboard box, chew             sticks, chew toys,

      but I go to wipe something up & he grabs a piece of papertowel & eats part of it.  He also             will find misc papers in

      the living area, and munch on those, but there’s no shreddings, he eats the edges off.  Ive          read to give them

      phone books, is this safe if they are injesting?  I’m concerned he’s going to get impacted,        and really concerned

      since he’s drinking less.

3.   He is also chewing on the upholstery of the couch.

      I didn’t realize it, but he’s chewed and apparently eaten about a 1/4″ peice of the fabric.

      Is it possible he will pass?

 He’s still eating hay.. celery..greens.  Thanks for your help.  I know if he stops eating we need to go to vet asap.

[tobyluv]

Some rabbits aren’t big water drinkers, especially if they eat a lot of greens, but water is important. Heavy crockery bowls are the best to use, since they won’t tip over, or at least not easily. You can try adding a little apple juice if that entices your rabbit to drink more, but you don’t want too much sugar in his diet. Rabbits have somewhat of a down time during the middle of the day, and are most active in the early morning or evening. They sleep a good bit in the afternoons and might not eat as much. They can chew on paper and cardboard, but you don’t want them to eat excess amounts of it, especially if they are eating it in lieu of their regular food. They really shouldn’t be eating fabric, but a little piece like he ate should pass through him. Keep a close watch on him and try to keep him away from fabrics. If you can find some apple or willow branches, those are safe for bunnies to chew on and might keep him from other things. You have to make sure that the branches haven’t been sprayed with any chemicals.

If you feed him celery, be sure to cut it up into very small pieces. The strings of celery can be dangerous. If you get him a heavy bowl that he can’t tip over and he still isn’t drinking much, make sure that you moisten the greens before you feed him so that he will get more fluids. It’s good that he is eating hay. Make sure that continues. You may want to keep a variety of hay on hand to ensure that he’s eating plenty of it.

You are correct. If he stops eating (and pooping) for more than 12 hours, that can be very dangerous. Sometimes when that happens, you can do things at home to get him eating again. Rabbits can get gas, and a gentle tummy massage and/or baby simethicone can alleviate the gas and get them to start eating again. But if it turns out that they have some kind of blockage or their GI tract just isn’t moving, you will need to go to the vet, who will probably prescribe motility drugs and give fluids.

[whitepumpkin]

Thank you. He responded wonderfully to juice in water. Munching hay. A bit paranoid i guess., having had stasis issues with a previous bun. Nothing to mess with. I was wondering if he gets lots of fiber with hay and such, is there something else that causes the paper eating issue? So thankful for this site!

[vanessa]

How long have you had him? It sounds as if he is new, and that can be scary if you don’t know what his eating.drinking habits are, and difficult for others to help. One of my bunnies has eaten a LARGE amount of cardboard in his small life. But he also devours his pellets and hay, and veggies. He doesn’t drink much water at all. My 4 bunnies all get the same amount of pellets, unlimited hay, and 4-6 cups of vegies a day. So they get plenty of fluid through the veggies. The male who eats cardboard and doesnt’ drink much – pees a lot. He must be processing the veggies… My other make who also pees a lot, drinks volumes… as in 2 to 3 cups of water a day. They both eat all their veggies. The second male doesn’t eat nearly as much hay as the first. So each bunny is different and once you have spent more time with yoru bunny, you will get an idea of what is normal for your bunny, and for how the amount of pellets/hay and veggies he gets, affects his fluid intake.
Like you said – make sure he is eating. Also check his bedding to make sure he is peeing. Can you confine him to an area that doesn’t have cardboard, telephone books, furniture etc? That way you coulda eliminate those concerns for a few days, while you observe the fluid intake. When I first brought my bunnies indoors from their outdoor living, I kept them in the laundry room since the floor is tiled, so I could watch them and see what I needed to do to help them adjust.
I would find something else for bunny to chew/do. I give my bunnies maple branches from the maple trees in my yard.

[whitepumpkin]

Yes, He is new, had him for a few days. His water consumption deceased since bringing him home, but yesterday, after adding juice, he thankfully started drinking & was peeing quite a bit. He had started some habits a previous bun I had, who sat under the couch all day, and didn’t drink much, and it stressed her digestion, and she ended up with stasis. So when he started doing this same behavior, I panicked. But, now today& last night he was hopping all over, drinking & eating more. He’s mostly confined to the kitchen where I can keep an eye on him, Thanks for your help.

[BB & Tiny]

I swear I dump the same amount of water out daily as I fill the morning before. I use Brita water, not tap water. I’ve tried apple juice to flavor it, no success. I soak all of their greens when I wash them to store in the fridge and they receive sizable bowls of greens twice per day. I used to stress that they aren’t drinking water, but I guess they are managing with the wet greens.

I’ve had the one bunny for 1.5 years and he is in perfect health despite no water consumption or very little ? Litter box is never dry

[HopsiclesMommy]

I once panicked for the same reason, that my bunny’s water bottle level never changed. I took him to the vet to get checked and the vet told me that he probably is getting all he needs from the fresh veggies he was eating.

There is a way to tell if your rabbit is severely dehydrated though (which my vet taught me). If you gently pinch the loose skin at the back of the rabbit’s neck and it stays in a “tent,” instead of springing back in a second, it can be a sign of dehydration.

[whitepumpkin]

Hi. Still concerned, he drinks so erratically, I’m not sure what to do . the other night, box full of urine. Today, a tiny tiny dribble. If I increase greens, gets more moisture in, but that won’t encourage him to drink more. Any other suggestions. I feel like I’m burdened by this and not sure what to do.
If I confine him, he just kind of mopes.

[Author]

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