Bunny not drinking and peeing

Question
Hi Dana,

My 4 yr old bunny used to drink a lot of water and pee a lot in her litter pan.  She could drink around half cup to 3/4 of a cup of water over one night.  Her litter pan was always very wet every night I changed her litter.  

Last month I left her with a bunnysitter while I was way for three weeks.  I have brought her back home for around 3 days now and noticed that she is drinking very little water relative to the past and may be none at all.  Her litter pan is very dry.

She ripped the carpet at the bunnysitter's home.  The bunnysitter then put some phone books to cover the area.  I looked at her place and thought my bunny must have eaten some carpet and phone book paper during her stay there. Would this cause problems in her internal? I am wondering if this would be the cause of her not drinking and peeing?  I gave the bunnysitter the same food my bunny used to eat so there is no change in her diet.  

Appreciate your advice.  

Thanks
Lenna

Answer
Dear Lenna,

I'm usually more worried when a bunny drinks *too much* and pees a lot, which can signal kidney problems.  But if your bunny is not drinking to the point of dehydration, you need to get her to a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

for a full wellness check.  It may be that she's getting enough liquid from her food.  But if she's not urinating, something weird is going on, and the vet may want to jump start her with some subQ fluids, and do some diagnostic tests to see what might be going on.  First choice I'd ask about is bloodwork to be sure she's not dehydrated.

Hope this helps.

Dana