water bottle

Question
Hi samantha,
i've had my rabbits for nearly a month now, at first i use water bowl and a week ago i bought a water bottle for them to use. It seems that when i take the water bowl away they won't drink water from the water bottle and i'm afraid they might die so i put the water bowl back. Is there a way to train them to use the water bottle?

thanks once again samantha

Darith

Answer
Hi,
Some rabbits take a while of getting used to the water bottle. i would have to admit, they are so much easier to use especially in the summer time. In the winter however, rabbits need more water, and bottles tend to discourage them a bit of drinking that extra water they need. Hot summer months also bring about this water bottle avoidance. not really sure why, but I have an idea that they would rather use the energy it takes to drink from a bottle to keep themselves warm/cool rather than to drink. sometimes adding a little flavoring to the water in the bottle, such as gatarade or unsweetended kool-aid helps to transition them from bowl to bottle.
Samantha