Bunny drinking lots

Question
My three year old rabbit Flossie is a dwarf lop.  She has recently been drinking a lot and peeing outside of her box and in her bed too - which is unusual for her as she has been "clean" from an early age. This has now got to the stage where I am changing the mat in her bed two or three times a day.  Last night her I filled her water bowl when I got home from work (about 15 fl oz) and four hours later it was empty.  She is bonded with a male (neutered) Netherland Dwarf who is drinking (for him) a normal amount.  They are both going through a big moult at the moment and usually they do drink more when this is happening but this is excessive even for them!  She was experiencing this last year and I had to syringe feed her medication - the first of which didn't help.  The second prescription was stronger and did seem to help and she wasn't drinking so much.  I have heard that sometimes rabbits drink out of boredom but she does have plenty of toys to occupy her and also has the run of our kitchen during the day when we are at work and the run of downstairs when we are home.  She is also eating lots of hay - much more than usual.  Grateful for any advice you can offer please Dana.

Answer
Dear Christine,

Excessive drinking and urination can be a sign of renal disease, and you should have bloodwork (CBC and chemistry) done to make sure her kidneys are functioning properly.  You can read more about other types of urinary tract problems here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

If the kidneys are fine, then I would ask the vet to check her molars, since some rabbits with dental pain will start to have unusual eating and drinking behaviors in their efforts to alleviate the pain of molar spurs.  You can read more here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

and find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Dana