Hey all! Goodness, I haven't been around here in forever!
I've got a question about my senior Mini Rex buck, Buster. I thought maybe some of you other rabbit-y people might be able to help me out.
Buster is about 5 years old now. Last winter/spring, he lost a lot of weight very quickly. A local friend that breeds angoras told me to try giving him a few pellets of calf-manna every day. This worked really well! By the time summer came, he was back to a healthy weight, he was chipper, and his coat wasn't scraggly and nasty anymore. He looked so good that I eventually took him off the supplement- he's still doing fine without it.
In late summer, he started acting a little strange at feeding time in the morning. When I would refill his water bottle with fresh water, he would get a little....frantic. He'd start pacing, lick the bottle a few times, and then more pacing. The morning after that, I decided to give him a bowl of water as well as the bottle. He sucked the water out of that bowl like crazy- he was really thirsty! Some of the water in his bottle was gone. It was like he couldn't get enough water out of the bottle to satisfy himself.
Since then, I've watered him out of a bowl. He's remained healthy, but I've noticed that he's drinking a ton of water now. Buster's littermate, Bee, drinks a full bottle of water during the day. I have to refill it at night, and by morning, it's gone. I have to refill Buster's bowl three times a day.
The two of them appear to be healthy (oh, and Bee has no trouble drinking out of the water bottle). I checked Buster's teeth when I first realized he didn't like the bottles, and they looked fine to me. Why are these senior rabbits drinking so much water? Is it something I should be concerned about? Are they lacking something? Do they have too much of something? Are they just trying to flush their systems?
It's had me slightly confuzzled, and now it's getting me a little concerned. This all started in the dead heat of summer, so I thought before that they were just thirsty. It's winter now, and it's still happening. If anyone has any ideas....I'd love to hear them. Thanks!
I've got a question about my senior Mini Rex buck, Buster. I thought maybe some of you other rabbit-y people might be able to help me out.
Buster is about 5 years old now. Last winter/spring, he lost a lot of weight very quickly. A local friend that breeds angoras told me to try giving him a few pellets of calf-manna every day. This worked really well! By the time summer came, he was back to a healthy weight, he was chipper, and his coat wasn't scraggly and nasty anymore. He looked so good that I eventually took him off the supplement- he's still doing fine without it.
In late summer, he started acting a little strange at feeding time in the morning. When I would refill his water bottle with fresh water, he would get a little....frantic. He'd start pacing, lick the bottle a few times, and then more pacing. The morning after that, I decided to give him a bowl of water as well as the bottle. He sucked the water out of that bowl like crazy- he was really thirsty! Some of the water in his bottle was gone. It was like he couldn't get enough water out of the bottle to satisfy himself.
Since then, I've watered him out of a bowl. He's remained healthy, but I've noticed that he's drinking a ton of water now. Buster's littermate, Bee, drinks a full bottle of water during the day. I have to refill it at night, and by morning, it's gone. I have to refill Buster's bowl three times a day.
The two of them appear to be healthy (oh, and Bee has no trouble drinking out of the water bottle). I checked Buster's teeth when I first realized he didn't like the bottles, and they looked fine to me. Why are these senior rabbits drinking so much water? Is it something I should be concerned about? Are they lacking something? Do they have too much of something? Are they just trying to flush their systems?
It's had me slightly confuzzled, and now it's getting me a little concerned. This all started in the dead heat of summer, so I thought before that they were just thirsty. It's winter now, and it's still happening. If anyone has any ideas....I'd love to hear them. Thanks!
