What is the cause of calcium sludge?

My bun has had issues with calcium in his pee. I brought him into the vet and she gave him antibiotics and we just finished the bottle (vet instructed us to do so). He is still having the problem. I originally thought it was from the kale and I stopped feeding it but it hasn't cleared up a bit. He has a vet appointment in a few weeks to see if it has cleared up on the x ray. What is the cause of calcium sludge? What will happen if we don't find the cause and it's a problem he has his whole life? Does it hurt him?

What else does he have in his diet? Types of pellets? Types of hay? Types of greens?

Here's an interesting read on it:
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/LiquidMg/Liquid_magnesium.htm

But that article, though interesting, may be premature for your rabbit. It may be possible that diet adjustments could help your rabbit in an easier way.

Possibly a genetic predisposition to the excess dietary calcium settling in the bladder. Other things can contribute too like low fluid intake, being more sedentary, etc. Tell me what his diet is exactly, including type of food and amount you feed. And does he drink from a dish or from a sipper bottle? Is he very active, does he like to hop up on things very much?

Why does the vet think he has bladder sludge? Were xrays done initially that showed calcium sediment in his bladder, or did he have thick urine? And why do you think it hasn't cleared up now? Is his urine still thick and creamy or pasty, or is it thin and cloudy or it dries with some chalky residue?

I had a rabbit that had calcium sludge issues and I was able to manage it through his diet. So we just need to figure out if your bun does actually have bladder sludge, and if he does what is contributing to it now and what you need to change.

He gets 1/8 cup Oxbow Adult Pellets, about 2 cups veggies a day (red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, romaine, collard greens), he gets timothy hay twice a day. The vet did an xray at his last visit and she saw calcium in his bladder. His pee is very thick and it had kind of a red tint to it when I examined the puppy pad I keep in the bottom of the litter box. He drinks from a bowl, and is extremely active. He jumps up onto my bed multiple times a day.

Like kale, collard greens are in the cabbage family and can be high in calcium. I've also read somewhere that romaine can be a little high in calcium as well

What vegetables do you feed your bunnies?

Mine mostly get basil during the late Spring, summer, early Fall -- when it's growing in my garden.
Also...
red-leaf lettuce
green-leaf lettuce
romaine (mine haven't had any issues with it)
mint (also grown in garden pot)
cilantro
celery leaves
occasional spinach (he isn't crazy about it)
occasional carrot peels
occasional banana slice or dried banana or strawberry tops

I think I would try stopping the collard greens and also reduce the pellet amount by at least half or possibly even eliminating them. Some calcium prone buns can't tolerate any pellets in the diet because of the added calcium in it seems to lead to problems. I would probably just stop pellets for now until the calcium issues are cleared up, and maybe give just a pinch as a treat if you feel you need to. Then once his bladder is ok, maybe reintroduce pellets but very limited, like 1-2 tsp a day.

Leafy lettuces usually help more than anything else because they have minimal calcium and lots of fluids. Not sure about the romaine though. Look it up and if it seems high in calcium then I would just feed the green and red leaf.

Is the timothy hay a mix of leaf and thicker stems or is it a really soft darker green leafy growth?

Read up on the link I've posted. This stuff helps with gassy bunnies. This is suppose to help with sludge too. https://store.sherwoodpethealth.com/adult-rabbit-food-PROFESSIONAL/

I forgot to post this link as well, http://sherwoodpethealth.com/the-science/#alfalfa

I feed romaine lettuce and cilantro to my bunny and the pellets that I linked above. Romaine lettuce and cilantro is best for bunnies that have sensitive stomachs. I do feed my bunny once or twice a week gassy veg like kale or buk choy but I'm only feeding one or 2 small leave of buk choy and half a leaf of kale. For an 8 pound bunny he get 3 large leave of romaine lettuce a day which works out to 3 cups of veggie. Or I'll give him 2 large leafs of lettuce with a handful of cilantro.

Hm, I don't know what causes slugde in bladders. All my rabbits get the same food, forage mostly, but in about 5% I find enlarged bladders with sludge, there isn't much other explanation than an unfortunate draw in the genetic lottery.

Alyssa and Bugs♡ said:

My bun has had issues with calcium in his pee. I brought him into the vet and she gave him antibiotics and we just finished the bottle (vet instructed us to do so). He is still having the problem. I originally thought it was from the kale and I stopped feeding it but it hasn't cleared up a bit. He has a vet appointment in a few weeks to see if it has cleared up on the x ray. What is the cause of calcium sludge? What will happen if we don't find the cause and it's a problem he has his whole life? Does it hurt him?

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Hiya!
If you wash his veggies and then don't shake dry, leave them dripping, it can help with water intake which can help with everything. Cheers.