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Forum DIET & CARE Why won’t he drink from a bowl?

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    • Caspar'sHome
      Participant
      55 posts Send Private Message

        Hi. My 4 month old mini lop used to drink from a water bottle. Then as of two days ago I switched him to a bowl so he would get more water faster. He hasn’t been using it I don’t think. I have the one with the container on top that refills the bowl as the level gets lower. But the level in the container has not gotten lower. What can I do to get him to drink out of the bowl? He’s drinken a few times while I was with him, but I haven’t seen any difference in Water level. I marked the level after I filled it and kept checking back and found it hadn’t changed


      • Mikey
        Participant
        3186 posts Send Private Message

          Not all rabbits like bowls ive come to learn. My Blue prefers them, Bombur doesnt like them but will use them if theres no water bottle around, and Badger has no clue how to use one and ends up sticking his entire nose in the dish


        • Azerane
          Moderator
          4688 posts Send Private Message

            If you’re concerned about it, make sure you add the water bottle back to his cage. I would also leave the bowl, then you can compare what he’s using and he can choose to use what he prefers. It may take him a bit of time to get used to using a bowl if he’s been drinking from a bottle his whole life.

            Another thing to note is that usually those automatic water bowls that refill the bowl from the jug, the jug is often much wider than a regular rabbit water bottle so you’ll see less of a drop in water level for the same amount of water being drunk.


          • tobyluv
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            3310 posts Send Private Message

              I’ve never used the kind of bowl that refills itself. I wonder if it could be that your rabbit doesn’t like that particular kind of bowl for some reason? Good bowls to use are the heavy, crockery type. You could try one of those and see if he likes to drink from it. Otherwise, it sounds like he just prefers the bottles.


            • Caspar'sHome
              Participant
              55 posts Send Private Message

                What kind of bowl do you guys use? I know you said the heavy crock type, but I don’t know what one to get. He is very strong. I have ceramic one which I thought was pretty heavy for a 4 pound bunny but he moves it and tips it like its a feather. It’s used for his food as I don’t trust him with it for his water. Do you have a brand you recommend?

                And i suppose it could be that the jug at the top is wider than the bowl, and that is why it appears to not be lowering in level. I guess I should take the jug off and see if it is any different?


              • tobyluv
                Participant
                3310 posts Send Private Message

                  The really thick, really heavy crocks don’t seem to be made any more. I have a couple of very old ones that I cherish, and it’s the same at the Sanctuary where I volunteer (which is actually where I got the bowls, that had been bought many years ago). But you can find some that are fairly heavy, and a few that are still made in the USA, so there is no worry about lead, as opposed to most of the bowls out there, which are made in China. I found a good one at a feed store. It was Martinez Pottery, made in Texas – heavy and lead free. It comes in a few sizes.
                  http://www.martinezpotterymarshall.com/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=82&=SID#MOREINFO. I also found a pretty heavy one in a store that has a few locations in the southeast, Mast General Store.
                   http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/products/id-82117/Pet_Bowl_-_Spoiled_Rotten_-_5_Inch
                  .  It is also made in the USA and lead free. They did have 2 sizes, the 5″ and 7″, but the 7″ is no longer on their site.  I got  my bowl in the store, since there is one in my city. And they have one of the larger Martinez Pottery bowls there too.


                • MiNinoJack
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                  226 posts Send Private Message

                    My bun also refused his bowl. He only likes his bottle despite all of the work he has to put in to get a lot of water. As it gets warmer here in the States I’m going to add his bowl back in case weather encourages him to try it out.

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                Forum DIET & CARE Why won’t he drink from a bowl?