My bunny Julie came to dinner and there were what looked like bloody foot prints everywhere she went. I picked her up. She was covered even her side in it. I think it is urine. There was a high concentration of it on her tail. It was real dark rust colored and the consistency of corn syrup. It is kinda gel like and there was a gob on her tail staying there.She is drinking a lot as normal. Has anyone ever seen anything like that before? I never have seen that before with her or any rabbit. I am worried. I am going to call the Vet tomorrow but hope she will be okay tonight. She is acting normal apart from being mad that I had to bath her. I put her in a couple inches of warm water and it all came off. She is white and it didn't stain her fur. It was in her cage too in really thick droplets all over. It doesn't have much of an odor. What do you think? It is really scaring me.
thick rust colored urine
- Thread starter bunnytoes
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Pipp
Well-Known Member
Make sure she's getting plenty of fluids, more than usual. Thick urine is usually a sign of dehydration, although if she's drinking a lot, it may be more of a case of a urinary tract infection.
How old is Julie? Is she spayed? What's her diet? (We ask all this info in a pinned file in the forum).
Are you seeing anything sticky or clot-like? Strands of darker material?
You may want to get some Pedialyte from the drugstore -- a rehydration formula for kids -- and give her some of that.
Let us know how the vet visit goes.
sas :clover:
How old is Julie? Is she spayed? What's her diet? (We ask all this info in a pinned file in the forum).
Are you seeing anything sticky or clot-like? Strands of darker material?
You may want to get some Pedialyte from the drugstore -- a rehydration formula for kids -- and give her some of that.
Let us know how the vet visit goes.
sas :clover:
jamesedwardwaller
Well-Known Member
bunnytoes wrote:
in the event,diet is not the problem a dvm is an excellent choice.//.i hope it is only discolored urine from eating say carrots,,clean her and area up and try to isolate the problem.//.watch her behavior,,and tell,tell signs.//.this much liquid means something...sincerely james waller:wave:
NorthernAutumn
Autumn - Administrator
How old is Julie?
I would suggest that you hydrate her as much as possible.
The fact you say that it is gel-like leads me to suspect imbalance in gut bacteria. Have you got any bene-bac around?
Hopefully a more experience infirmary person will be along soon.
As with anything though, if you are that worried, a vet visit would be best.
Infirmary Mods: Potentially Relevant thread here:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=51483&forum_id=16&highlight=mucoid+enteritis
ETA: Pipp is faster than me
I would suggest that you hydrate her as much as possible.
The fact you say that it is gel-like leads me to suspect imbalance in gut bacteria. Have you got any bene-bac around?
Hopefully a more experience infirmary person will be along soon.
As with anything though, if you are that worried, a vet visit would be best.
Infirmary Mods: Potentially Relevant thread here:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=51483&forum_id=16&highlight=mucoid+enteritis
ETA: Pipp is faster than me
Julie is 5 years old and always has been very healthy. She is an Californian so fairly big. She drinks and eats a lot. now and always. She is acting normal. The dark urine was the one time and she is drinking and eating and hopping all around. Her poops are normal. Thank you for that link. I am going to do some more research on that but it doesn't seem to be poops but her urine. She did pee after that and it was normal. I will continue to watch her and call the Vet in the morning.
NorthernAutumn
Autumn - Administrator
Any recent changes/additions to her diet?
Pipp
Well-Known Member
The dark colored urine may be normal, but having it thick and sticking all over her is not.
It may have been a bout of dehydration, but I'd watch her very closely for things like peeing outside her box, straining, more frequent urination, drinking more (or less) than usual, etc.
They won't show signs of illness until they are very ill, so you can't go by general activity levels, etc.
With a five year old rabbit, I'd err on the side of caution and take her in regardless. It's similar to recommending regular testing for women over 50. She's not old, but best to nip things in the bud.
sas :bunnydance:
It may have been a bout of dehydration, but I'd watch her very closely for things like peeing outside her box, straining, more frequent urination, drinking more (or less) than usual, etc.
They won't show signs of illness until they are very ill, so you can't go by general activity levels, etc.
With a five year old rabbit, I'd err on the side of caution and take her in regardless. It's similar to recommending regular testing for women over 50. She's not old, but best to nip things in the bud.
sas :bunnydance:
Thank you everyone who responded. I checked on her all night long and she was happy, active and demanding as normal. Her poops are and have been normal and she is peeing normal now. I am still concerned and planned on taking her in to the Vet this morning but was told to wait and keep an eye on to see if it happens again. This time I need to collect some of it. Her bum is very clean and she is her normal self. I will keep everyone updated.
tonyshuman
Well-Known Member
This is strange because usually when urine gets thick, it gets sandy/gritty, like toothpaste, rather than syrupy, like corn syrup. I'm glad it has stopped, but have you considered that it may have come from her bum instead? Could it have been feces and poo mixed together, from a rectal prolapse or something of that nature?
It also sounds a lot like symptoms of a uterine infection/cancer, and I know you said she was spayed, but sometimes they don't get all of that tissue and something can remain to get infected later. Just something to think about.
It also sounds a lot like symptoms of a uterine infection/cancer, and I know you said she was spayed, but sometimes they don't get all of that tissue and something can remain to get infected later. Just something to think about.
tonyshuman wrote:
Oh my. Now I am scared again. I am going to book her in for a check up next week. I don't really know where it came from. It was definitely not gritty and it had no real smell to it. Someone on another forum suggested that it might of been a bleed from her sore hocks. My initial thoughts was that it was blood. Her hock sore appears to not be an open sore at the moment but the person that mentioned it said that it happened to her rabbit and the bleed point appeared almost normal after the bleed. She seems fine today and is peeing normal and pooping normal. I am watching her closely.
It doesn't sound like blood to me but I do think that it is odd that it was all over her.
Sludge is sandy or clay colored so not that ..
if you see it again get a picture of it ...that could help us a lot .
Occasionally a few of my rabbits will pee a very thick rust colored urine which dries and turns brown. It usually is hard to get off the floor seems like it is thicker when dried; it is normal for them,.
Sludge is sandy or clay colored so not that ..
if you see it again get a picture of it ...that could help us a lot .
Occasionally a few of my rabbits will pee a very thick rust colored urine which dries and turns brown. It usually is hard to get off the floor seems like it is thicker when dried; it is normal for them,.
for several of my rabbit it is normal
still seem odd that it was all overher though ; I don't think that they pee in their sleep...
still seem odd that it was all overher though ; I don't think that they pee in their sleep...
As I had previously said, Julie's vet wanted me just to watch her as she was acting normal and the pee incident was one time. I planned on calling on Monday for a check up appointment anyways. The pee scared me. On Sunday she had the strange pee again and all over her. I called Monday and the Vet was off. I decided to take her to the Vet that I take Raul (American parakeet) to. She said that she was rabbit savvy. She is closer also. She seem to really be rabbit savvy and know what she is talking about. She tested her urine and poops. She said that her urine looked horrible and didn't even look like rabbit pee. Julie appeared healthy in every other way. Julie's test came back today. The vet said that she has protein and billiruben in her urine. They don't like to see protein present in the urine but rabbits sometimes have the biliruben. The main concern is that she has many many many calcium crystals. She kept saying many many many......... more than they have ever seen. The crystals lead to stones. She needs to loose weight and most important she needs her diet changed. Only long stem timothy fresh hay, no pellets for now. Her veggies can't have any calcium. She also needs high fibrous fruits such as apples and pears. No alpha at all. She needs another urine sample in 2 weeks. If the crystal content has'nt changed she will need an x ray to look for stones. The Vet said that the color of Julie's urine was so bad because of the consistency and color they could not get an accurate reading for glucoses and keystones. She said the reason for the thick reddish urine allover her is that the crystals are painful so she is holding it until it trickles out. The sample I gave her was one that I collected in a cup when she was using her litter box. It was not red color. It was whitish and thickish. Poor baby. She is going to hate the diet change. Has anyone ever experienced this? Does what the vet is saying and recommending sound right? As I said this is not her usual vet but I really get a good feeling from the vet.
tonyshuman
Well-Known Member
I would be a bit concerned to eliminate all the pellets. The reason is that no matter how little calcium the rabbit takes in in their diet, they can still excrete calcium in the urine. This is a condition known as Metabolic Bone Disease, and is related to vitamin D deficiency. Pellets often have a lot of vitamin D, and I tend to give them like a "vitamin pill"--just enough to make sure my guys get enough vitamins. I feed my medium-sized bunnies only a tablespoon each a day.
I agree that a rabbit her age shouldn't be getting alfalfa, but totally eliminating pellets could backfire and lead to more vitamin D issues. Some bunnies improve by having a good quality pellet (Amy27's Chase was all but cured of bladder stones and sludge after switching to Oxbow's Organic bunny pellet), and some time outside in the sun. Most windows in houses block the UV rays that lead to vitamin D production.
I agree that a rabbit her age shouldn't be getting alfalfa, but totally eliminating pellets could backfire and lead to more vitamin D issues. Some bunnies improve by having a good quality pellet (Amy27's Chase was all but cured of bladder stones and sludge after switching to Oxbow's Organic bunny pellet), and some time outside in the sun. Most windows in houses block the UV rays that lead to vitamin D production.
tonyshuman wrote:
Julie is on the Oxbow timothy pellets. She currently gets a 1/4 cup twice a day. That is what her regular vet suggested. This vet said no pellets for now as the dry food causes more crystals in the urine. I wonder if she just means no pellets only until the second urine test is done? I will ask. Do you think 2 weeks without pellets will hurt her if that is the case?
tonyshuman
Well-Known Member
I don't think 2 weeks without pellets will hurt much, but I really don't think it will help. I wouldn't give her so much--maybe half of what you normally give, or less.
tonyshuman wrote:
I agree with Claire; I cannot understand why this would make much difference at all...:?
