A Frenchie Covered in Pee

[dskelly328]

Hello all, I am not sure if this is where I should post this, but here we go. I a have a wonderful french lop doe who is coming on 6 months old. I have had her about a month. She is eating and drinking normally. We feed an 18% pellet and hay daily. She has lost all her conditioning along her top line, shoulders and rump, but has a big fat belly. Not hard, but fat. More concerning than her loss of conditioning is that she is completely covered in pee. her tail and all around her genitals is covered with pee. No matter how much I clean her it is always caked with pee. I moved her up to a top cage, I am trying to put her hay on the top of the cage to get her to work for it a bit. Also I shoud mention, her genital don't look like my other does. Not red or inflamed, just not hidden. They are out as if I was sexing her all the time.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Danielle

 

[Maureen Las]

I don't know what the genitals protruding would be but the sitting in urine or leaking urine is a medical issue that should be addressed by a vet.is it possible that she hasa genital defect?
I am thinking that maybe something else is wrong with asher as you describe her condition to be flabby. They could be connected buti don't know how.


If you are feeding your other rabbits the same feed and hay and they are in good shape then i would exclude the feed as the issue.
I think that she needs to see a vet.

any other symptoms that you notice about her that don't seem normal..energy level etc

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/Differentials/Incontinence.htm

the protein level in your pellet is high..possible that her kidneys are having touible with this....:?

 

[DyemondRabbitry]

Has she got any hutch burn? Do her genitals look even a little bit more red, protruded or irritated? Is the skin where she is constantly wet becoming irritated? Also, is this rabbit kept in a wire bottomed cage? She may have an infection that is making it hard for her to control her urinating. This could also lead to the loss of condition. The protein in her feed could also be too high for her.

 

[ra7751]

Umm...I think a vet visit is in order. This could be a urinary tract infection. Could be bladder sludge but that is doubtful with such a young rabbit. I would most likely want to get at least a cytology on a urine sample....and a blood panel to check kidney function....and make sure there is an EC titer in the lab. One of the first signs of an active EC infection is incontenance that appears to be possibly a UTI...and is often misdiagnosed as such since most vets have never sen a real case of EC. The protein level in thepelletis high...but this is still a young rabbit....but a look at the kidney values would be prudent. In the meantime....make sure she is properly hydrated. And it would be a good time to start convering her to an adult rabbit diet....unlimited hay and limited pellets and greens.

Randy

 

[dquesnel]

Hi, how are things today? I agree that this should require a vet visit. Is she able to sit in her own pee where she is kept? Most rabbits will not willingly do this but if you can rule out that as a culprit to her wet underside then it is more than likely a UTI or EC symptom. Whenever I encounter a rabbit with a wet underside or a loss of normal litterbox habits I have them looked at for potential UTI or EC diagnosis. It could be too that she is hormonal right now- if you plan on spaying her then now is a good time, but either way a vet visit is in order. Keep us posted!

 

[dskelly328]

She is doing better, not great, but better. We have been treating it as a UTI. She is a doe I was hoping to breed when she was old enough, so spaying is out of the question right now. She is in a wire bottomed cage with tray under it. She is not sitting in her own urine. I believe that the infection is causing her to leak urine. I gave her a sits bath, with warn water and betadine, and I flushed out quite bit of pus from her. To day she is more active, we have been giving her chamomile tea and craisins.She is improving, andI will keep everyone updated.

 

[Maureen Las]

She needs a urine culture to determine what bacteria ia present and antibiotics...she needs to be seen by a vet.

Are you giving her antibiotics yourself?

 

[dskelly328]

I have given her one does of penn G2 days ago and this morningshe is doing much better. I think it might have been an abcess and its location might have been putting pressure on her bladder, because since what seemed to be an abcess burst her urine problem is getting better.

Thank everyone for thier concern and advice, I will keep upi updated and we took some pics of her so everyone can see out beautiful Ivy. I will try to download them in a little while.