Stinky dark pee

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lionheadbunny21

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Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada
I have two bunnies that share a cage so I'm not sure which one has the stinky pee or watery pooh. I'm going to seperate them tonight and see which one is eating and which one it is that has the stinky pee. There is a lot of fluid in the smaller corner litter box and it is quite smelly. They have not touched their salad from this morning. I had to throw it out because it was sitting all day. The smell is really strong.

Fluffy(Lionhead): 7 months, has had smelly poohs and also has a bald spot on back of her neck. Has not been too lively today. Sleeping in her litterpan all day.

Happy(Lionhead): 4 months, good appetite. I have not seen anything to be concerned about.
 
Poor bunny, hope she's okay. Could be a uti. Diet could be an issue as for the loose stools. How's the hay intake?

Bald spot? Do you think from scratching? No scratching? Do the ears look clean?

Let us know what the vet says.:)
 
She was ok after we seperated them. I've tried before to seperate them and they were so sad, but this time they were both content with being on their own. I hope all goes well with her vet visit as well.
As soon as she was alone she began to eat her hay and I didn't give more pellets (I thought I should consentrate more on the hay and water) She was drinking as well.
She just didn't seem the same yesterday. Although I did take the pen down and just left the cage door open. Maybe that's why. I am starting to pick up clues of what bothers her and what she likes. I'm going to leave them seperated for a few days until she is looking happier. :)

I'll check her ears when I get home. I'm at work right now and I'm just going to call and see what the husband has seen of her today.

I'm not sure what the bald spot was from. :( It's getting bigger. If it's mites I'll have to bring both in :( But the baby is not scratching or going bald.

Thank you for responding and I'll post updates on her.
 
Stinky dark pee here could be a sign of dehydration. Did you figure out if Fluffy is the one that is having the stinky pee as well as the runny poo? Runny poo can lead to dehydration which can be a serious issue. It sounds like she's not doing very well if she's just sleeping all day.

I would limit her diet to only hay, water, and an infant rehydration drink. The pellets contain protein and carbs that can keep bad bacteria in the GI tract alive. Removing them and going to a very basic diet when a bunny has diarrhea is like giving a human the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet when they have diarrhea. **This is just a comparison--the BRAT diet is totally wrong for a bunny with diarrhea; it's only ok for people.**

The infant rehydration drink, if you can find it, will really help her get better. It should firm the poo up a little, reduce problems related to dehydration, and give her some more energy. Don't give human sports drinks--here in the US the product is called Pedialyte and in the UK it is called Dioralyte--not sure what it is in Canada. It should contain only a tiny bit of sugar, lots of electrolyes, and some artificial sweeteners. It should be in a pharmacy or grocery store in the baby health section. I would give her as much as she will take, in a second bowl in her cage, or via oral syringe. If she won't take it orally at all, I'd say at least 10mL every 2hrs, it's an emergency.

Keep an eye on her temperature too--if she is too hot or too cold she should NOT be syringe-fed, and should be taken to an emergency vet.

I don't want to scare you, but diarrhea can be really serious in young bunnies. Usually I say that if the bunny's less than a year, diarrhea is an immediate emergency because they can go downhill very fast. Whenever a bunny of any age is listless and not moving much, that is an immediate emergency. Dark urine as well, and the combination of all these things really would make it an emergency in my book. The reason is that the bacteria in the rabbit's GI tract are not well established in younger bunnies, and bad bacteria can overgrow the good ones more quickly in younger bunnies than older ones. The bad bacteria produce runny stools, leading to dehydration, and they also release bacterial toxins into the blood stream, which is another serious issue that can only be solved by a vet drug called Questran or a more difficult to find over the counter horse drug called Bio-Sponge. I had to buy this drug over the internet because it's so new that it's hard to find. Some horse vets do carry it, and in some rural areas of the US it can be bought at farm supply stores.

I would also look into a probiotic. In the US we use BeneBac (from a large pet store) or ProBios (from a farm supply store), but in Canada it seems to be hard to find these. Another option you can use is human acidophilus capsules. They're found at grocery and natural food stores. Don't give milk products containing acidophilus--just get the capsules and cut them open and give in water via oral syringe.

The fur thing is most likely fur mites because of location but I wouldn't worry so much about that right away--it is not an emergency.
 
She was fine after I moved them and I know it was just a lot of pee. But very stinky. She wasn't eating or drinking but once I seperated them she was eating her hay and drinking her water. She's drank half her bottle since and all her hay I keep giving her. I don't know which one it is that had the stinky pee. I haven't smelled it since I moved them, but they are both pooing, peeing, eating, drinking and playing.

I think I'll reschedule the spay and get them both examined. I think that's the most important right now. In a few weeks I can bring them both in.

Thank you to all who replied, I was totally freaking out last night. I haven't smelled their pee before. I've only had them 5 weeks now.
 

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