Which dish is best?
There are stacks of dishes you can choose from. It really depends on what you think suits your rabbit and lifestyle. Here, we will go through the different rabbit-safe dishes for both water and food. We will give you reasons why these dishes are classed as bunny-safe, and what to look out for if you are choosing something similar.
What should you look out for?
Rabbits are water sippers, which means they find it easiest to drink from a shallow puddle of water, rather than a deep bowl or a bottle. It’s a good idea to get a wide, shallow bowl and keep it topped up with fresh water, that way your bunny won’t have to struggle to have a drink.
Water Bowls
Porcelain and Ceramic Bowls
Porcelain bowls are heavy and difficult for rabbits to grip with their teeth and throw around their pen.
You need to look for:
- a wide, flat, heavy base
- sides are no more than 10cm high for adult rabbits
- sides are no more than 5-7cm high for baby rabbits or young dwarfs
- walls are about 3-5mm thick
- the bowl is about 10cm in diameter
Ramekin – for small babies
Knowing that, a ramekin is a good starting point for baby bunnies. It holds a good amount of water so that you can check the water level several times a day.
It’s important to observe how much water the bunnies are drinking each day. One bunny alone should drink between a quarter to a half of this ramekin in any 24 hour period.
This particular ramekin is the Olympia Whiteware ramekin that is 70mm in diameter.
Ramekin – for thirstier babies
This ramekin is Maxwell & Williams Epicurious White. It is 12x5cm which can contain 355ml of liquid.
This ramekin is ok, but the little inset step on the base can cause an issue with bunnies, they may use it to tip it over with their noses.
Ceramic Dog Bowl
A bowl like this is good, but remove the silicone cover on the base, bunnies may chew on it.
This bowl is the Gummi Ceramic Dog Bowl Pink that comes in two sizes, medium and large.
- Medium: 13x13x5.5cm, 700ml capacity – 3 cups of food
- Large: 16x16x6.6cm, 1300ml capacity – 5 cups of food
Ceramic Bowl
A bowl like this is good, it seems to be very sturdy.
This bowl is the Pupstyle Palm Vibes Ceramic Bowl that is 16x7cm.
Tin or Aluminium Bowls
They may look pretty and work for dogs and cats, but they are not bunny-safe. They are too light and are very easy to flip over. Also, the lip around the outside could hurt a bunny’s neck when they drink.
Glass and Melamine Bowls
Glass, no matter how it has been made, should not be near your rabbit. They have sharp pointy teeth and all glass will eventually break.
Melamine is usually made from triple layer of opaque glass, it is light and strong, and they are two reasons why they should never be near your rabbit. Although melamine is known to be shatter proof, it is too light to be used for a rabbit bowl.
Double Bowls
As strange as it may seem, awkward shaped bowl stop bunnies tipping it over. Let’s have a look at some double bowls. Just keep in mind the height of the bowl from the floor and ask yourself whether your bunny can comfortably drink out of it.
Twin Plastic Bowl
This bowl is the cheapest and most efficient bowl we have come across. It is not pretty to look at, but bunnies struggle tipping it over, especially if both sections are filled.
You can find this bowl here.
This bowl is good because it has been moulded in one piece.
Twin Stainless Steel Bowl
This bowl might be good for cats, but it’s not that good for rabbits. The bowls are not connected to the base, which means a rabbit can toss them around. The base also looks quite light.
Be aware of the place you position steel bowls, they may get hot in the sun.
Ceramic Double Feeder with Bamboo Base
Even though these bowls are about the same size as a ramekin, the bamboo base lifts them up to the height for an adult rabbit.
This is an interesting set up for cats or dogs, but for bunnies, they may push their head under the bowl and push the bowl up.
Plates
Porcelain and Ceramic Plates
Just like with porcelain or ceramic bowls, plates also need to be heavy s the bunny can’t pick it up and flick the food everywhere.
Ceramic Dinner Plate
Any heavy ceramic or porcelain plate is good to put food on. That way rabbits can select the bits they want to eat easily, and it keeps their food off the floor and away from poops.