Does this urine look abnormal?

[kirbyultra]

I might have put too much hay in Kirby's little box and Kirby's urine missed the side of the litter box. He spilled some onto the floor next to the litter box and I found it this morning. I can't really tell how dark Kirby's urine is most of the time because his box is a dark blue and his litter is a brownish pine anyway (Feline Pine). It's pretty dark... is this abnormal?

Just to be clear, there's nothing wrong with Kirby that I can tell. He is a happy bun, eats and poops very well. He just gets2 plates of romaine, and green lettuce with a few sprigs of parsley and 1/4 cup of Oxbow timothy pellets every day. He loves his timmy hay. One thing is Kirby doesn't drink much waterand he's always been that way.He might take a sip once a day judging by how little his crock changes daily. He gets his moisture from the salads twice a da and the residue water at the bottom of the plate.

The only treats he gets are a couple pieces of Craisins daily, maybe once a week a papaya tablet, every few days I'll give him 1 baby carrot. Do you think it's the baby carrot? I don't think he pees this dark every day, but then again it's hard for me to tell with the color of his box...

 

[Saudade]

As rabbit urine dries it rapidly becomes a much darker color, that could be what you're seeing there, i've noticed pinkish redish urine before staining my Lucy's bedding, but after talking to a vet and a breeder they both agreed that it was a little too much calcium in her diet.

If you're really worried put him out on a white tiled floor for a while till he goes and then check the color. Rabbit urine can range wildly from bright yellow to a brownish color.

Though I'm really only a newbie when it comes to this so i'll let the pros leave their final verdict. I suggest checking it against a white tiled floor.

*EDIT*
On closer inspection it almost looks like it has blood in there but I can't tell from the quality in this pic.

 

[Maureen Las]

I had a bun who barely drank any water and because of some posts here when we suggested adding a little apple juice to the bowl of water I started to do this on a regular basis with 2 buns of mine who barely drink anything.
It worked very well and they drink an entire crock a day right down to the bare bottom.
i would suggest adding a small amunt of either unsweetened cranberry juice or apple juice to his water to try to get more fluids in him and then take a look and see if the urine looks better.
Ithink that it is just pigmented urine but if it is like this all the time it is really concentrated.

 

[kirbyultra]

Luckily, I doubt it is blood. I checked Kirby all over and felt him down. Doesn't seem to be anything alarming. No lumps or tightness anywhere. If it's too much calcium what could it be coming from? His food doesn't seem to give him particularly large amounts of calcium, I think.

I don't know of any apple juice that is totally unsweetened but I got "no sugar added". It's made by Apple and Eve. I bought the little baby juice boxes so I could easily dispense some into his crock. That's ok right?

I tried to get Kirby to drink pineapple juice before and he didn't take to it. I added only enough to put some taste into the water but if you ask me it didn't taste too yummy either. How much apple juice should I put for say, a cup of water? Would it be too much sugar if I did equal parts water and juice?

 

[Maureen Las]

I never measure it
start out like adding cream to coffee and watch to see if he drinks more by tomorrow ; if not add a little more

unsweetened is
"no sugar added" because it is naturally sweet
that's what you want
if you want a specific measurement I'll give it to you later .as soon as I see exactly what amount my crocks hold

 

[Maureen Las]

I would make about 7/8th cup water to 1/8th cup juice for 1 cup or 12oz

 

[kirbyultra]

Thanks!!! I will try this with Kirby tomorrow and hope I come home to an empty crock.

 

[kirbyultra]

The crock is unchanged. I think it might take some time until Kirby takes notice of his water crock and the fact that it is yummilicious now. I stopped giving himhis treats the last couple of days (don't worry, he knows I still love him ) and after the next litter box change I should be able to have a good look at his urine again to see if the extreme color was just the carrots. I do want him to drink more water, but I'll be patient.

 

[kirbyultra]

Kirby's urine doesn't look as dark since I've stopped the carrots. However, he has not touched his water crock at all. He does not care for it. I'm worried that he will dehydrate himself in the sumemr if he doesn't learn to drink water soon...

Do you think he doesn't like the apple juice smell? Not that he was drinking water even before I added the apple juice. Maybe I should give him choice with 2 crocks. One with water and one with water and juice...

I think he pretty much gets all his moisture from his lettuce at this point.

 

[mischiwapos.cyra]

Its not blood. When certain rabbits eat Alfalfa hay and other types of food their urine will sometimes go a red colour. It's totally normal

 

[Maureen Las]

Oh I should have told you to give him a choice of having plain water or juice. spiked waterACCCK :shock:
let him having two crocks and try another flavored juice like cranberry unsweetened. Some buns don't like even juice so don't force it on him...

always allow him to have 2 crocks and maybe a water bottle too with plain water as long as he isn't drinking well..

 

[kirbyultra]

angieluv wrote:

Oh I should have told you to give him a choice of having plain water or juice. spiked waterACCCK :shock:
let him having two crocks and try another flavored juice like cranberry unsweetened. Some buns don't like even juice so don't force it on him...

always allow him to have 2 crocks and maybe a water bottle too with plain water as long as he isn't drinking well..

Yipes! Yeah he didn't touch the apple juice at all, but it doesn't look like he usually touches the plain water at all either usually.. no harm done...

I gave him 3 choices (one on each floor of the condo) - plain water, apple water, and pineapple water. I don't have any cranberry juice but I know Kirby doesn't like tart stuff (he avoids any fresh fruit that is tangy at all). He loves dried cranberry but who doesn't? It's so sweet!:biggrin2:

Hope he likes one of the choices...

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Saudade wrote:

On closer inspection it almost looks like it has blood in there but I can't tell from the quality in this pic.

If there were blood in the urine, you probably wouldn't see it. Blood doesn't give it a reddish tint, too much calcium does.

Alfalfa hay can cause this, sometimes even alfalfa pellets, or if you're feeding any veggies high in calcium. I'd just suggest lowering the level of calcium in his diet and he should be fine.

 

[kirbyultra]

Where could Kirby be getting his calcium from?? This is all that he eats:

Oxbow Timothy Hay (no alfalfa at all)
Oxbow Bunny Basics Timothy pellets (1/4 cup per day)
Romaine lettuce (2 plates a day)
Parsley (a few sprigs per plate, about 4 - 5 pieces)
Sometimes I'll give him green lettuce to mix with the romaine
1-2 papaya tablets a week (Months ago I used to give him 1-2 a day, but I thought it was too much so I lowered it and now...)
1-2 pieces of dried cranberry daily
about 2 baby carrots a week
He likes to chew the edges of the newspaper in his litter box, so he has a few mouthfuls of that sometimes...

I'm racking my brain - He doesn't eat anything else other than what I've mentioned... He hasn't even touched the juices. Where could he be getting too much calcium?

 

[tonyshuman]

It looks normal and healthy to me. My guys' pee ranges in color greatly, and that is within the normal range. It could be from the parsley, as it contains more calcium than romaine. It sounds like he gets a good variety of foods and none of the heartier greens that give my guys dark urine, like kale, chard, and red lettuce.

I'm sorry I missed this before. A few drops of vanilla may also entice him to drink more water, but to be honest I wouldn't be worried. I could take a pic of some pee that exact same color on my floor right now (I need to wipe that up!).

 

[Maureen Las]

kirbyultra wrote:

Where could Kirby be getting his calcium from?? This is all that he eats:

Oxbow Timothy Hay (no alfalfa at all)
Oxbow Bunny Basics Timothy pellets (1/4 cup per day)
Romaine lettuce (2 plates a day)
Parsley (a few sprigs per plate, about 4 - 5 pieces)
Sometimes I'll give him green lettuce to mix with the romaine
1-2 papaya tablets a week (Months ago I used to give him 1-2 a day, but I thought it was too much so I lowered it and now...)
1-2 pieces of dried cranberry daily
about 2 baby carrots a week
He likes to chew the edges of the newspaper in his litter box, so he has a few mouthfuls of that sometimes...

I'm racking my brain - He doesn't eat anything else other than what I've mentioned... He hasn't even touched the juices. Where could he be getting too much calcium?

Randy and kathy Smith have brought up some interesting ideas in previous posts in reference to certain water in certain areas of the country contributing to excess calcium in urine. In Certain areas of the country humans develop kidney stones more readily (Randy has said that this happened to him)
i doubt if this is an issue with Kirby as he doesn't drink it , however, you could try bottled water for a few days to see if he prefers it to tap water.

I doubt whether it will make a difference but maybe worth a shot to ease your own mind.

Calcium problems in some rabbits is a genetic problem but with Kirby it really doesn't look like a problem.

I have 2 buns who almost drink nothing soI did the apple juice thing and they are now drinking but with Kirby ; I don't know why he isn't thirsty??

 

[kirbyultra]

angieluv wrote:

I doubt whether it will make a difference but maybe worth a shot to ease your own mind.

Calcium problems in some rabbits is a genetic problem but with Kirby it really doesn't look like a problem.

I have 2 buns who almost drink nothing soI did the apple juice thing and they are now drinking but with Kirby ; I don't know why he isn't thirsty??

Genetic? Maybe I should ask Mitsuki's mom if she doesn't like to drink water either lol... we are currently suspecting that it's possible Mitsuki and Kirby were born of the same mom or otherwise coming from the same breeder. hehe

Kirby seems perfectly healthy, but I wonder the same thing: why isn't he thirsty? He pees though, believe me! Especially since the weather is consistently 60s and 70s in NYC these days, he must be feeling the warmth? He likes to sunbathe in the early morning sun, and int he afternoon he retreats to the shade of his play pen. But he doesn't touch his water.

I also suspected that he might be stealing sips and I'm not home to see it and there's not a significant change in the water level for me to notice. But I've worked from home all week (last week) and haven't seen him take a single sip from the crock. When I first got him, he used to drink a little bit at night. When I switched his hay to Oxbow he ate a ton of the new hay and he'd also drink almost his entire crock but that behavior only lasted a week, and he hasn't drank much since.

When he was at the shelter, the people gave him a bottle and a crock and the lady told me he didn't really care for either. :?I soak all his greens before giving them to him. There's a small amount of water dripped off theleaves onto the plate. I've seen him lick the plate a few times but not a whole lot.

The water I put in his crock has always been filtered brita water since that's what I drink. NYC tap is perfectly drinkable though. Since the juice doesn't seem to entice him maybe I should try some bottled and some tap in different bowls to see if likes any of that... what a picky bunner.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Romaine and parsley both contain calcium...

The carrots can also do it.

 

[DazyDaizee]

His urine looks like normal dried bunny urine. If you can get a picture of fresh urine, I'm sure it would be lighter and more dilute.
Blood in the urine CAN be seen as reddish if it's fresh blood from an irritated bladder wall/urinary tract, or a brownish/darker reddish color if the blood has been sitting for longer periods in the urine. Red urine in rabbits (your rabbit's urine isn't red) is rarely blood and usually pigmented due to diet, which is not a problem so long as you're feeding a healthy diet. I did have a rabbit with calcium stones in her bladder when she ate alfalfa based food (before I knew better). She was straining, sitting hunched, and would urinate on the floor rather than using the box like she normally did. The difference was very clear.

Your bunny doesn't NEED to drink a lot as he gets most of his moisture from the 2 platefuls of veggies. This is true for a lot of different species, including guinea pigs. Some animals will still drink a decent amount of water, but those who eat lots of foods with high moisture contents don't NEED to take in any more moisture by drinking water. If your rabbit's urine was legitimately very concentrated (which I don't think is the case, as the urine has dried and appears darker and more concentrated than it would have been if it were fresh) then you could rinse all the veggies without shaking the excess water out or drying them off. Then when your bun eats, he's taking in more water. But again.. I really don't think it's an issue. If you could get a photo of fresh urine to confirm that it's normal, that would be helpful.