Simple Rabbit Hydration Test that takes seconds.

Rabbit Hydration (Skin Turgor) Test

This simple check can help you monitor your rabbit’s hydration level. It’s best to practice this when your rabbit is healthy so you know what is normal for them.

• Gently lift a small pinch of skin and fur at the back of the neck (about 1 inch).

• Release the skin.

• The skin should snap back into place immediately.

If the skin returns slowly or stays raised, this may be a sign of dehydration and should be taken seriously.

You should do this simple hydration test once a month to establish a baseline. You can also ask your Exotic Rabbit vet to demonstrate this on your rabbit.  It is important to do this test during the summer months on very hot days. You might see that your rabbit is dehydrated. If your bunny is dehydrated you see and Exotic Rabbit Vet for some Sub-Q Fluids. 

The hydration test in addition to taking your Rabbit’s Temperature are quick and important things that you do if your feel that your rabbit is sick.

There are several things that you can do to help maintain the hydration of your rabbit.

1.      Fill their solid heavy water bowls with clean water every day.

2.      You have several water bowls for your rabbit.

3.      Rabbit do put things into their water bowls so having more then one is helpful.

4.      You can put water on their greens to help with their hydration.

We have a simple video of our healthy rabbit during the hydration test.

We have a video of a bunny who we felt was sick. We were at a local Rabbit Rescue Group helping out with the care of the rabbits. The rabbit was dehydrated. We later gave sub-q fluids and the bunny was better. Our Exotic Rabbit Vet gave us the ml/Kg of fluids that we should give. The bunny’s temperate was normal. However if the temperature was below 100 F we would have then the bunny in the Vet. We continued to monitor the bunny for the next few days to monitor temperature and hydration.