smelly pee?

[riverqueen]

My 15month old otter mini lop, bertie, makes a grunting noise when peeing and also he's peeing alot and it smells. we have taken him to the vets twice before now and they can't find anything wrong with him. He's on pellets (just a small amount) hay and he eats grass in the garden. just wondered if any of you have encountered problem before and if there is any advice you can give me on how to prevent it in the future.

thanks
heather

 

[gmas rabbit]

A rabbit starting to develp bladder sludge quite often has smelly pee and a lot of it. Did they check for this. My vet says that it is pretty common and has treated alot of rabbits lately for this problem. Sorry don't know what the treatment is, but if you have a rabbit savy vet they should be aware of the problem and solution. Did they check for urinary tract infection?? Cranberry juice added to his water might help.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

It sounds like he has a UTI or something. I would take him to another vet. Good luck!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: Sounds like Charlene--she had a massive bladder stone.

 

[ValK]

Agree with the above. Sounds like what happened to my bunny. He also had a massive bladder stone. Did the vet take an x-ray?

 

[LakeCondo]

When a rabbit starts drinking a lot more than before, it's almost always a kidney problem of some kind.

I'd cut out anything that has much calcium in it, especially carrot greens. And I'd add something acidic to the water. Cranberry juice would be good, &/or a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice.

 

[patches2593]

my rabbit has been having very smelly pee lately. he has been acting the same just his pee is smelly.
when you say to cut out anything that has a lot of calcium, does that count for salt licks too?

also why has it been smelly? i usually use woodypet litter box pellets but i ran out so i have to use pine shavings until i get more soon. it started smelling really bad this week when he was using the pine chips. could this be why? also can i still give him his regular timothy cubes that i give him every other day?

 

[Imbrium]

pine shavings are a really big no-no, btw... they can cause liver problems/respiratory infections and yes, they could be causing the pee to smell worse than usual.

 

[luvthempigs]

Pine shavings that are kill dried and sold for livestock bedding are fine to use for rabbits (I believe all the pine shavings sold at pestores are kill dried) You want to stay away from the cedar shavings (they are kind of mixed in color with red and beige or white pieces with a very strong smell)
You may notice a stronger urine smell with the shavings than you would with the wood pellet bedding. I believe it's because they are not as absorbent.

A salt lick really isn't necessary for your bunny and will make him/her drink more water and therefore make them pee more

 

[Imbrium]

I know pine pellets are ok because of how they're processed, but I've never heard of any kind of shavings being ok. I used shavings from a pet store when I first got my bunnies and didn't know any better and my vet was able to tell that I'd used the wrong kind of bedding. I would think if the kind sold in pet stores was, indeed kiln-dried and therefore ok for bunnies, then there wouldn't be such a big fuss all over the internet about "no pine shavings" for bunnies, hammies, etc.

http://www.rabbit.org/care/shavings.html

 

[luvthempigs]

The shavings that are kill dried go through a heat process which greatly reduces the aromatic oils. That way they are a safe and economical choice for bedding.

The article you are referring to is about regular or untreated pine shavings and cedar which I believe most people know to be a bad choice. Makes me mad that stores will even sell it.

 

[Blue eyes]

patches2593 wrote:

also can i still give him his regular timothy cubes that i give him every other day?

Do you feed him lots of fresh timothy hay also? Just checking to see that the compressed cubes are not his only source of timothy.

 

[patches2593]

Imbrium wrote:

pine shavings are a really big no-no, btw... they can cause liver problems/respiratory infections and yes, they could be causing the pee to smell worse than usual.

i hate using shavings in general. i hate them. ive always used the pellets for my bunnys but i ran out and thats all i could find until i get some tomorrow or so. out of all of the people i ask if the shavings (pine) is good or bad, i get half yes and half no :expressionless
hahaha

 

[Blue eyes]

Blue eyes wrote:

patches2593 wrote:

also can i still give him his regular timothy cubes that i give him every other day?

Do you feed him lots of fresh timothy hay also? Just checking to see that the compressed cubes are not his only source of timothy.

So is he getting hay?

 

[patches2593]

i just switched back to the litterbox pellets (i just went to the store and got some)and the smelly pee is gone!!!!!!! im never using the pine shavings ever again; it smelt so bad!!!!!!

 

[Imbrium]

awesome!

 

[patches2593]

Imbrium wrote:

awesome!

lol yes, yes it is. hahaha :big kiss::yahoo:

 

[mthomas]

my bunny had red pee a lot and also smelly pee and she uses the litter-box. I recommend cranberries. my bunny is picky and prefers Craisns but she doesn't have red pee anymore and her urine rarely smells anymore. I only give her 6 a day