Is this regular pee or bladder sludge?

MandyMarieB · Nov 5, 2014

Hi guys!

As I mentioned in my first posthttp://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/134423/Default.aspx, I am a new bunny mom after rescuing Skippy from a bad home situation. He is only 7 weeks old, and he was NOT getting a proper diet where he was. (Two full carrots a day, Timothy hay instead of Alfalfa, etc.) I know that bunny pee changes colors due to what they eat, but it's more the consistency of the pee that concerns me. It looks fairly thick... though I admit I don't know what regular bunny pee looks like, either. So I was wondering if the more experienced eyes could tell me if this is normal... or if this is something I need to be alarmed about and go find a bunny vet.
Thank you for your time!

PIC: http://i62.tinypic.com/34ffkp3.jpg

JBun · Nov 5, 2014

It looks like the pee is thick and gel like, is that right? What is his exact diet now(type of hay, pellets, veg, etc)? Does he drink from a dish or bottle, and if a bottle is it functioning correctly with good water flow?

MandyMarieB · Nov 5, 2014

Yes, it's fairly thick. I've removed veggies from his diet for now, as I had read they shouldn't have them until 12 weeks or so. The feed, which was given to me by the original owner, is "Small World Complete Feed For Rabbits". He's eating timothy hay, which is what she started him on without realizing he needed alfalfa first. But another person suggested that suddenly switching the hay might be more trouble on him.

As far as water goes, he has a bowl, and he drinks regularly from what I've seen.

JBun · Nov 5, 2014

Usually when it's bladder sludge, the urine will be thick and white, and may be gritty. Any references I've been able to find, to a jelly like substance, has to do with a rabbits digestive tract and not urinary tract. But from your picture, it does appear that this is definitely the urine. It's possible that it is either due to the high protein or calcium from the alfalfa based pellets if you haven't started feeding the alfalfa hay yet . With regards to feeding alfalfa hay, it's really unnecessary when an alfalfa based pellet is being fed, and is really too rich of a diet for most rabbits, even young ones. In most cases it's much better to feed a grass hay like timothy, despite the age of the rabbit. You are really mostly feeding hay for the extra roughage, as most of the necessary nutrients for growth are going to come from the pellets, and grass hay is also more balanced where the calcium content is concerned.

With your rabbit showing signs of urinary problems, it would be good to continue with the timothy hay and not feed alfalfa hay. It may also be necessary to switch your bun to an adult timothy based pellet, to further reduce the amount of calcium in the diet that may be causing this to occur, if this ends up being related to bladder sludge.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/generalities/Sludge.htm

Another possibility is that there is another urinary problem causing this, such as a UTI (though gel like urine isn't a typical symptom that I'm aware of), in which case it would be a good idea to have your bun checked by avet and have the urine tested and possibly xrays done as well.

This may just be diet related and you may be able to correct it with dietary changes by cutting out alfalfa products, but because this isn't a common symptom of either bladder sludge or UTI, and I haven't been able to find any definitive info on it, I think that your safest bet is to have it checked out by your vet. If you don't already have a good rabbit vet, you want to make sure you are seeing one very experienced with rabbits so that your bun gets the correct diagnosis and treatment.

http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/forumdisplay.php?f=21

MandyMarieB · Nov 6, 2014

Thank you for the info! Doesn't look like I have a rabbit-friendly vet nearby, but I can go to Tampa or Orlando as I'm right in between. Thanks!

MandyMarieB · Nov 7, 2014

So it looks like the icky consistency is gone, as the pee is liquid now. But the color has gone from orange to red. (And I'm really hoping this isn't blood. I tell myself that rabbit pee changes colors, even to red, but he hasn't eaten anything other than pellets and hay....) He isn't showing any signs of pain... He poops just fine, lol. He HAS started peeing in his food dish (I posted another thread on that) and I took the dish out, so he peed where it used to be. I also found a picked apart cecotrope while cleaning today, but I figure he just got what he wanted and lost interest.

So with the change in consistency, are we doing better? Or is that color something to worry about?

Maureen Las · Nov 7, 2014

That is unusual looking urine ; I would have a vet check him! Not necessarily blood bunt looks like something going on. May think about changing brands of pellets. Small World has seeds and other misc things in it? Am I right ?