Licking his pee?

My male rabbit keeps licking his pee? I read that its because he needs salt, but I cant get him to lick on the salt thing i got for their cage or on the salt rock i got. Any other ideas? Or is what i read wrong?

Salt licks are not recommended for rabbits. They should get enough minerals in their pellets and some people actually consider salt licks harmful to rabbits.

I read that some suggest that it could be iron that he's lacking. Does he get dark leafy greens?
I've also read that it could just be a quirky thing that some rabbits do. I know one of our dogs has suddenly decided he wants to lap up our other dog's urine.

Blue eyes said:

Salt licks are not recommended for rabbits. They should get enough minerals in their pellets and some people actually consider salt licks harmful to rabbits.

I read that some suggest that it could be iron that he's lacking. Does he get dark leafy greens?
I've also read that it could just be a quirky thing that some rabbits do. I know one of our dogs has suddenly decided he wants to lap up our other dog's urine.

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Yeah they get lettuce sometimes. Maybe I should give them more pellets? I give them some in the morning and then before bed because they wont go in their cage if i don't.

Thanks for telling me about the salt licks! I had no idea, guess I shouldn't do everything the internet tells me to do.

What other greens could I get?

Blue eyes said:

Salt licks are not recommended for rabbits. They should get enough minerals in their pellets and some people actually consider salt licks harmful to rabbits.

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And some insist that they are absolutly necessary. No smarter that way, the Internet is a fickle thing.

But in my experience, they absolutly ignore the stone salt blocks when they do not need them, they know what they are missing. Giving them a daily dose, regardless if they are short of salt or not isn't my idea if ideal, but right, when I feed some pellets they rarly lick the salt block, if ever. Since I only feed forage in summer they sometimes discover that salt isn't a bad idea.
Also, on rare occasions, they eat the plaster off the wall, for reasons unknown...

Lettuce is a pretty empty green, there aren't much nutrients in there, It's mostly water.
Their digestion evolved for grass, weeds, leafs, twigs..., so other greens is - depending on your local flora - as much different stuff that grows where it's not treated. And where no wild rabbits roam.
Grass, almost all kinds (good for teeth and digestion), yarrow, plantain, dandelion, and so on, there are good lists on the internet. The more diverse the mix is the better.

Carrot tops and such stuff are fine too, but I'm not much into buying greens for my rabbits, others sure know more.

Anyway, if you introduce something new to a rabbits diet do it slowly, over a week or so, no big amounts of new stuff.

Rabbits are only supposed to get 1/4 cup of pellets, for every 4-5 pound of rabbit. So Pippi, who is a 4 pound Holland Lop, only gets 1/4 cup of pellets a day.

Butterscotch and Ellie, on the other hand, live together and are 8 pounds each. So they do get 1/2 cup in the morning, and 1/2 cup in the evening (since they share food and such).

rabbit.org has a fantastic list of veggies that are good for buns. Definitely check it out, and buy whatever is reasonable for your region. I have the list printed out and hanging on my fridge, so that when I write my grocery list, I make sure to include food for the buns too. ^_^

Akzholedent said:

Rabbits are only supposed to get 1/4 cup of pellets, for every 4-5 pound of rabbit. So Pippi, who is a 4 pound Holland Lop, only gets 1/4 cup of pellets a day.

Butterscotch and Ellie, on the other hand, live together and are 8 pounds each. So they do get 1/2 cup in the morning, and 1/2 cup in the evening (since they share food and such).

rabbit.org has a fantastic list of veggies that are good for buns. Definitely check it out, and buy whatever is reasonable for your region. I have the list printed out and hanging on my fridge, so that when I write my grocery list, I make sure to include food for the buns too. ^_^

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Yeah, I know! They dont get that much. Thanks!

mickeyandluna said:

Yeah they get lettuce sometimes. Maybe I should give them more pellets? I give them some in the morning and then before bed because they wont go in their cage if i don't.

Thanks for telling me about the salt licks! I had no idea, guess I shouldn't do everything the internet tells me to do.

What other greens could I get?

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We buy leafy romaine and our rabbits love it! They get a handful in the morning, and a handful at night.

Where is your rabbit licking the urine at? In the litter box? Is it in a puddle on the floor? Is it on his paws? That could give us some more ideas on how to help. We have a litter box lined with a lot of newspaper and lots of timothy hay, so the urine is not in a place where they can really lick it, unless they lick the hay on top.

Does the bunny have adequate access to water at all times of the day? Are they free roaming during the day and in a cage at night?