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rabbits and h2o

22 10:42:20

Question
I have been told by two local vets and someone who has raised rabbits for 20years that they do not get water. Is this true??? I was toldthat when rabbits are given water they bloat at the hind legs and evetually it will kill them well....I have stopped giving them water and the bloating has decreased in both my rabbits. I have lost four rabbits to this bloasting which I was told by both vets was from over watering. do you have an aswer for this

Answer
Dear Michelle,

I'm not sure exactly what condition you mean when you say "bloat."  Do you mean a bloat due to a fatal intestinal blockage?  Or do you mean that the body tissues bloat from too much fluid?

In any case, unless you are actually forcing the rabbits to drink, or administering overdoses of subcutaneous fluids, there is no way that giving a rabbit water is going to cause him to suffer from "bloat."  Any veterinarian who would tell you that giving a rabbit water will cause bloat should not be practicing on rabbits!  And any breeder who would say that is just...welllll...dumb.

Water is one of the most important things in the rabbit diet.  Well-hydrated intestinal contents are the key to good intestinal health.  When a rabbit does not have sufficient water (normal intake for any mammal is about 90-100ml/kg per day), she can become dehydrated and suffer many different health problems.

A rabbit who is drinking excessively may have renal disease, or (much more rarely) diabetes.  Both of these conditions are dangerous and even life-threatening.  But they are not caused by a rabbit drinking too much.  That's really pretty much impossible.  The only time excessive fluid intake could be dangerous to a rabbit is if the bunny has congestive heart failure, in which case fluid can build up in the body cavity and tissues with disastrous results.

But rabbits must always have access to clean, pure water and they will control their own intake to stay healthy.

I think you need to find a better rabbit vet, and I hope you can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope that helps!

Dana