# Heated water dish



## Zeroshero (Jun 22, 2013)

Zero just will not drink water unless it is warm which is extremely concerning considering I work so many hours during the day. I was considering getting him a heated water bowl there are two types I have found, hard plastic and stainless. The stainless crook attaches securely to the cage so it might be the safer option. Zero uses ceramic dishes, do any of you use stainless? I am concerned about buying it and him not liking the taste. The only other solution I had was to buy a smaller reptile light and shine it on his water but I worry about it overheating him and his water. We have one from when he was a tiny little guy and it throws off a lot of heat!


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## JBun (Jun 22, 2013)

You could buy a cheap stainless dish and try it out to make sure Zero will drink out of it before buying the heated one. Walmart has one for a couple bucks in the cat section. For the heated dishes, I don't know if you already have, but you may want to double check on the heating temp since it is meant to just keep water from freezing in winter, it may not heat it to a temp that is warm enough for Zero. If the description doesn't state the heating temp, you could try contacting the manufacturer.

Zero is such a funny guy. I wonder why he has to have his water warm :?


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## Zeroshero (Jun 23, 2013)

I think it's his tummy still hurting, he's going through another bloat episode. He had hiccups last night and bloated up pretty bad, today he is still recovering. He's only had timothy hay today and lots of water so his stomach is finally getting soft again. This has been his pattern, he does good a few days after stopping antibiotics then bloats. 

I tried tapering him off Cisapride yesterday, (the vet wanted me to stop it today) I cut his dose by .05ml that's he only thing I can attribute it to because he was doing so well. Thankfully I had enough to give him a dose last night and some Metacam, simethicone wasn't doing anything for the gas.


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## Zeroshero (Jun 23, 2013)

I hope he is better tomorrow, I don't think it's fair to keep nursing him through this


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## JBun (Jun 23, 2013)

I would keep trying to get in to that other vet. Maybe if you tell them it's an emergency situation.


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## Zeroshero (Jun 23, 2013)

I hope I have solved the water issue, I moved him closer to the window. There is less of a draft from the AC. Z was out running and playing for three hours this morning in spite of having a gassy tummy. I laid on the floor and fell asleep, periodically he would stop eating and come put his paws on my face, I would wake up and pet him until he flopped. He's a little flopper today that's all he's done aside from eating.


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## Zeroshero (Jun 24, 2013)

Tonight Z seems to have turned the corner again, I was considering taking him in to be euthanized, he was not eating very much, wasn't drinking, bloated, and wasn't defecating until a little over an hour ago. I resisted giving him Critical Care this time which was really difficult but surprisingly he doesn't seem to need an evening dose of Simethicone. I wish I didn't have to work tomorrow so I can make sure he keeps drinking.


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## JBun (Jun 24, 2013)

Zero just has a hard time of it, doesn't he. I don't know how he keeps making it through these bloat episodes that would kill most other rabbits. If you find you need to have something to be able to syringe feed him with, but don't want to keep having to use the critical care, you could see if your local feed store carries bags of plain timothy hay pellets, then soak and feed him that. Then he would be getting only the timothy hay and no sugars or anything else added to it. You do have to buy a pretty big bag though. With any luck, you won't need it.

I was thinking of a way to keep his water warm. Maybe you could use something like a heating pad on the low setting, but you would need to be able to place it under his water dish in a way that he couldn't get to it or the wire. If he's in a cage with a solid plastic tray as the base, you could maybe place it under the tray on the outside, right under where his dish is. Or another idea is something like a ceramic fondue pot, if it has an adjustable temp, or the temp isn't too high. Again, you'd need to protect the cord somehow.

I hope little Zero is feeling better.


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## Zeroshero (Jun 24, 2013)

It horrifies me to think of him succumbing to bloat, which is the constant struggle I have with deciding when it's time to stop. Thank you for the idea about the fondu pot, I am sure I can find one before I could even get the stainless bowl I was looking at. It seems that he likes his water at 99 degrees (I just checked) today it was too hot, then too cold. Z seems to leave his bowls alone, he's not one for rearranging his cage I do it often enough for him so securing it shouldn't be an issue. Thank you again, hopefully soon I will have more happy healthy Zero stories than sick Zero stories.

Update - it is 4:30 am I gave Zero fresh hay, he ate a huge bowl of last night, he had lots of healthy fecal pellets in his box to clean out. It has been two days since I stopped trying to feed him Critical Care and 14 hours since his last dose of Simethicone! That has never happened 

I am leaving for work having not given him any meds whatsoever, he was eating normally, drinking, and no gas ::crossing fingers::


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## Nancy McClelland (Jun 24, 2013)

ray:


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## Zeroshero (Jun 24, 2013)

Thank you for the good thoughts, surprisingly I am less worried about his welfare today without medicine than everyday that he has had them in the last 10 weeks. I found a heated water bottle online:

http://www.cutlersupply.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12_70&products_id=955

With shipping it is $33.20 ouch! I wish I could get him to drink from a bottle I would buy it.


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## Zeroshero (Jun 24, 2013)

I called my roommate and asked him to freshen up Z's water, he was standing with his belly against the gate. That is usually a good sign he feels good.


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## JBun (Jun 24, 2013)

Yay! I hope you come home to a happy healthy Zero.


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## Zeroshero (Jun 24, 2013)

Me too! I love coming home to my happy boy after a long stressful day at work. He is usually more excited to see me than my dogs are LOL. My vet emailed me back and wants me to continue simethicone for 7 more days once a day so I haven't felt entirely confident with my decision not to medicate him this morning. I hope he has lots of poop in his box, he has eaten quite a lot of hay he required a refill by 10am. I don't understand how he can possibly have motility problems with all the hay he eats!


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