excessive thirst

Question
our animal shelter recently acquired four intact male rabbits that seem to drink an awful lot of water.  We don't have any local "rabbit" vets so maybe you have an idea of what causes this?

Answer
Some rabbits do drink more water than others, but if they really do seem to be drinking far more than should be normal, it is possible they have a bladder infection or bladder sludge/stones. However, this is usually accompanied with straining to urinate, wetness around the genital area (or matted, yellow fur in the same area), balding around the genital area (sometimes with scabs from urine scalding the skin), bloody urine (actual blood; many rabbits have a deep orange coloured urine from time to time, and that is completely normal), and/or urine that is much thicker than normal. It is also unlikely that all four of the rabbits would have the same problem. You could try cranberry juice to help clear out infection. However, if it is bladder sludge or stones, a rabbit vet would be needed.

Another good thing to do is to try to get a timothy grass pellet, rather than using alfalfa pellets, for those four. If they do have bladder issues, excess calcium in the diet (as alfalfa pellets often have) is thought to complicate the problem.

Do the rabbits seem healthy otherwise? Check the genital region for any signs of irritation or scabbing. Are they eating and moving about well? If there are no other signs of anything wrong, they may just like their water. Again, you can try the things I suggested, but without a vet to check for bladder problems, it is really hard to do much.

Also, of course, consider their diet and method for getting water. If they is using a bottle, it takes longer to get water out of a bottle. If they are used to a crock, they especially might seem like they drinking a lot more. In fact, they may be wasting some of it by letting it dribble past their mouths. If they are not getting any fresh veggies in their diet, they will also need to drink more. If the salt content in their diet is higher than they are used to, they will also want more water, to help flush the excess out.

Finally, some rabbits that are bored may play with their water bottle for a source of entertainment.

Please let me know if I can be of any further help.