{"id":24,"date":"2020-03-21T07:35:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T07:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bunnyparents.com\/?p=24"},"modified":"2024-01-07T15:34:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-07T15:34:55","slug":"what-do-bunnies-drink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bunnyparents.com\/what-do-bunnies-drink\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do Bunnies Drink?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Just like humans, bunnies need to stay hydrated. But we often ask ourselves as Bunny Parents, what do bunnies drink? Can our bunny drink other tasty beverages as we do? Or must we stick to plain old water? We did some research and found some answers to help other Bunny Parents out there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water is vital for a healthy bunny. Make sure your cute little furball has a constant supply of fresh water. Unlike humans, bunnies won\u2019t get bored with fresh water!<\/strong> Whether this is tap water or filtered water is dependent on what you drink and where you live. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A bunny will drink less water when it is unclean and old compared to clean, freshwater. For our bunny Grooty, we use filtered water because the tap water isn\u2019t so nice! Some other liquids such as select, safe tea\u2019s and fruit juices can potentially be given as a treat in small, diluted doses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Water makes up approximately two-thirds of a bunny’s body. It helps the bunny move everything in the gut, digest good, absorb nutrients, and regulates body temperature within a normal range. But water isn\u2019t only consumed from the water bowl or bottle (more on this later). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Water is also consumed through bunny food! However, this only accounts for a very small amount of a bunny’s required water intake so always make sure they have fresh water available. Not having drinking water for just one day could be fatal to your beloved bunny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The importance of having a constant supply of freshwater available for your bunny cannot be stated enough. If access to freshwater for a bunny is deprived for a few hours, the bunny will reduce food and water intake even when water is reintroduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bunnies drink approximately\n100-600ml of water per day. This is equivalent to 50-100ml per 1kg of\nbodyweight. Baby bunnies drink water on the lower end (100-300ml) while adult\nrabbits consume water on the higher end. These are very general guidelines and\nwill vary greatly between bunnies depending on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your bunny starts drinking a\nlot more water than normal consistently, this could signal kidney disease or\nanother serious health problem. Best checked by a vet, not the internet! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Related: What Ca<\/a>n<\/a> Bunnies Eat and Not Eat?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In our experience, a water bowl is far better than a water bottle. The water bottle didn\u2019t allow our bunny to get much water. It would stay over half full for more than a day or two which really worried us considering it was only around 250ml! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Switching to a bowl showed us how much better it was for our bunny. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n She now drinks half the bowl in a day which would be equivalent to our old water bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An argument can be made for the use of a water bottle as it keeps the water clean, reduces any mess, and requires less changing. Furthermore, it can\u2019t be contaminated with urine and poops. However, in our experience, our bunny just couldn\u2019t drink enough out of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The flow of water is slow and our bunny had to get into awkward positions to drink out of it. The ball inside the metal tube of the water bottle means the water bottle has to be positioned with the spout facing down. If this tube touches any part of the floor, it tends to leak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the water bowl requires more frequent changing and can often be a place where toys are placed, it is a more natural way for the bunny to drink as bunnies usually drink water from the ground in the wild. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, your bun can get more than one drop at a time! Bunnies generally favour open dishes compared to sipper bottles and can consume water three to four times faster from a bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When selecting your water bowl,\nit\u2019s ideal to use heavier ceramic bowls such as Groot\u2019s bowl shown in the picture.\nThis is just a small cereal bowl. A plastic bowl is easy to be thrown around\nlike a toy which will leave your house a mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re unsure which option\nyour bunny likes, you can always have a water bowl and a water bottle hanging\nup. We did this in the beginning and found the water bottle stayed un-used\nmaking it an easy decision with what to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Much Do Bunnies Drink a Day?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Should Your Bunny Drink Out of a Bowl or Bottle?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Else Can My Bunny Drink?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n