Calcium buildup

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dainerra

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, Arkansas, USA
Honey has finished his full check-up finally. It took them hours of pushing fluids to get a usable sample. His urine is almost complete calcium :(

They are keeping him over night, possibly until Friday and pushing IV fluids to flush out his kidneys. His diet is to consist only of hay/greens/veggies. Only 1oz of pellets every other day.

Anyone have any other advice? The vet has advised that we pull pellets from all the bunnies.
They do expect Honey to make a full and complete recovery.
 
It is not the amount of calcium in the diet that matters. I would not totally eliminate pellets, you give a good amount. Make sure the pellets have a good amount of vitamin D in them. This is usually a disease where the rabbit metabolizes calcium from their own bones, not just from their diet, and deposits it in the urine, so removing all dietary calcium will not help. Look into ways of getting more sunlight (vit D), water, and electrolyte balance. Lasix is commonly used in bunnies with this issue (mention it to vet). Also, potassium can help.
 
well, the bunnies are outdoors, so not sure I'd get them more sunlight. He is the only 1 of the 3 with the problem though. The vet said 1oz for the others, but thinks that Honey might not be able to tolerate them at all?

I will check the bag to see what the stats are and post back.
 
wow, Vit D isn't even listed on the label.

crude Protein: Min 17%
crude fat: Min 2.5
crude fiber: min 16% Max 18%
Calcium: min .75% Max 1.25%
Phosphorus: Min .6%
salt Min .5% Max 1%
sodium Min .2% Max .4%
Vit A Min 9,000IU/LB

know any good types of pellets to feed? What we had were Nutrena NatureWise
 
My rabbit has had calcium issues. I feed 1 oz of Oxbow Organic Rabbit every other day. I agree with Claire that I don't think the amount of calcium in the diet matters unless it is a ton of calcium.

I don't know if this is just in my rabbits case because she had stones, may be someone else can clarify. But I brought up the concern of calcium in Chase's litter box and the vet said as long as there isn't any sludge or stones not to worry about it. That her body was now expelling the calcium and that was a good thing. Did the vet tell you what the calcium levels in the urine were?

Did the vet take x-rays to see what the bladder and kidney's looked like? To see if there was sludge build up or just a high level of calcium in the urine?

When Honey gets home you will want to make sure she has lots of water. You can try lots of things to try and get her to drink more. My calcium bun has 4 water bowls, 2 water bottles, and a cat water fountain in her cage. You can also flavor the water. You can soak the veggies in water but that will remove some of the vitamins and if you stop feeding pellets your rabbit will already be losing some vitamins. I don't think I would soak the veggies if you are not feeding pellets. However, if it was me, I would continue to feed the pellets and just feed 1 oz every other day.

I don't with hold anything from my rabbit due to the calcium content. Well except treats, I now check the percentage of calcium in treats and try to pick ones with the lower percentage. I just give things in moderation. I research hay and veggies and will feed the high calcium ones but in moderation. She gets 3-4 different types of veggies twice a day and I wouldn't give her all high calcium veggies.

Here are some links that helped me figure out calcium content. But again, I am not saying don't feed this stuff. But to just be aware of what you are feeding and how much.
http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/caforage.html
http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/calevel.html

Just wanted to say I am not an infirmary mod so take my advice with a grain of salt. It is just stuff I have learned from my calcium bun.
 
Just to give you a comparison, this is what I feed my rabbit. Oxbow Organic Rabbit

Guaranteed Analysis
•Crude Protein min 12.00%
•Crude Fat min 2.00%
•Crude Fiber min 23.00%
•Crude Fiber max 25.00%
•Moisture max 12.00%
•Ash max 8.50%
•Calcium min 0.60%
•Calcium max 0.90%
•Phosphorus min 0.30%
•Copper min 25 ppm
•Vitamin A 19,000 IU/kg
•Vitamin D 900 IU/kg
•Vitamin E 190 IU/kg
•Omega 3 Fatty Acid min 0.30%
•Omega 6 Fatty Acid min 0.41%

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=1549
 
They were really short staffed so will get the full report tomorrow. When she called me, she said his kidneys, bladder and urethra were lined with calcium. They are pushing subq fluids because he ISN'T drinking excessively which they said was unusual. Honey was a lot more perky when they brought him out to see me though. They are hoping that the fluid push Will flush out the deposits. so far he has no stones only sludge

Sorry for the typos posting from my phone. Will check out the oxbiw pellets.
 
Yeah, but the dietary intake of calcium is not as important in creating bladder sludge. If you feed only the calcium-rich veggies every day, then it might be a concern, but not if you only feed them along with other veggies.
 
yeah, just never realized there was so much in them. most of the stuff I found states that the problem with pellets is that almost all of them are made with alfalfa which is extremely high in calcium. Which means that the calcium ratings on the bag aren't accurate (I called Nutrena last night) lol The bag only lists the added calcium, not including what is naturally in the grass.
 
dainerra wrote:
yeah, just never realized there was so much in them. most of the stuff I found states that the problem with pellets is that almost all of them are made with alfalfa which is extremely high in calcium. Which means that the calcium ratings on the bag aren't accurate (I called Nutrena last night) lol The bag only lists the added calcium, not including what is naturally in the grass.
Click to expand...
This is great info, thanks.

One thing about the calcium content in veggies is that there is so much water, the calcium becomes pretty much a moot point. The calcium in pellets is a different story.

Best to switch to a better pellet regardless - lower protein, higher fiber, more nutrients. If they're outdoor buns, don't worry about the Vitamin D, although I'm pretty sure there are other nutrients that are also helpful with sludge bunnies, just not sure what they are yet. The whole calcium and rabbits relationship is still being studied.

Watch for infection. Sludgy bunnies are prone to urinary tract infections. I'd try spiking the water with cranberry juice and hope he drinks it. Maybe a cranberry/apple mix or something else natural. (And I don't think craisins have the same properties and they're way too sweet).

Hope he's okay!


sas :clover:
 
a lot of craisins have sugar added, at least the ones sold at my grocery store.

He is home now and doing great! We got a new/bigger hay feeder. It's actually a giant suet feeder with some modifications. We are shopping around for pellet options, but they recommended to keep them pellet free for at least the next little bit.

On x-ray, his bladder was a solid mass of crystals. From Wed to Friday afternoon, they kept him on a constant flow of sub-q fluids.

I love my vet though! 2 nights at the clinic, 4 x-rays, 2 blood panels, and all the time on sub-q fluids was only $120.
I've been keeping a close eye on his water intake as well as the other bunnies.
 
I have tried to find Crasins with no added sugar and have not been able to find any. I have even looked for the organic ones and they still had just as much sugar in them as Crasins.

Wow your vet is awesome. It costs me more then $120 to take Chase to her monthly appointment that includes just a vet visit and 1 x-ray. That is awesome.
 
well, according to my bill

1 small animal x-ray $85. discount $60. net $20

all the sub-q fluids were only $25. the hospitalization would have been $20, but they discounted all of that. office visit was $40. the rest was the blood tests and also an ultrasound.
 
how do I go about adding them? It's All Creatures Vet Clinic in Gassville AR

ETA: they are not rabbit "experts" but have general experience with them. They are quick to do research, contacting experts and such. It's the closest thing we have here though.

This is the same clinic that fixed Patches broken leg 2 summers ago (has it been that long??) Patches made a 100% recovery and has only a slight limp when the weather turns cold.
 
Cranberry juice can be found unsweetened sometimes, and I've found dried cranberries that were sweetened by adding apple juice, not plain sugar, at Whole Foods before. I think like all treats Craisins can be ok in small amounts. For a bunny with bladder issues, that you want to get some cranberries into regularly for their urinary tract benefits, juice is probably better though. My guys also sometimes like frozen cranberries--they don't have sugar added. Not all like them, though. I find them in the frozen fruit section of the grocery store year-round, but I know not everybody can. When they sell the fresh ones at Thanksgiving, these people will buy a few bags to stock up.
 
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