Urine Sludge problem

[Buttercup n Charlie]

Hello,
Buttercup is almost 4 months now soon to be spayed in the next two weeks. 5 days ago we noticed she has urine sludge and wasn't drinking any of her water. It has been continuing on and there is more of it now. She has also developed slight sniffles/mini sneezes as of today which worries me.

What can we do to get rid of the urine sludge problem? Please help.

Deeply concerned,
new bunny mommy/daddy

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Usually sludge is a result of too much calcium, so we eliminate high calcium veggies and opt for a feed that is lower also in calcium. Another culprit may be alfalfa as it is high in calcium and protein. With a bunny that age you shouldn't be having a problem. May want to inform your vet ans see what is recommended.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

:yeahthat:

And you might try a water dish and to coax her to drink more, add a bit of apple juice to flavor it. This might get her drinking some more.

 

[Buttercup n Charlie]

we don't give her alfalfa, she is too young. No veggies either. We occasionally give her coin sized carrots as treats from time to time but that's about it.
The only thing we did differently is added oat hay to her timothy hay to encourage her to chew more hay. Could that be the cause of it? Because we did our research and it seems highly unlikely that would be the reason.

Thank you for the info we have coaxed her to drink water and looks better today.

 

[Buttercup n Charlie]

Also read somewhere that cranberry extract supplements are good for sludge
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00014I3LS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

but they come in gel capsule form and we are not sure that's safe for bunnies. Does Anyone know about this or used this before?

 

[Buttercup n Charlie]

Editing my 2:45 pm post!
We don't give her alfalfa, no veggies either. We occasionally give her coin sized carrots as treats from time to time but that's about it.
The only thing we did differently is added oat hay to her timothy hay to encourage her to chew more hay. Could that be the cause of it? Because we did our research and it seems highly unlikely that would be the reason.

Thank you for the info we have coaxed her to drink water and looks better today.

 

[Kizza]

Im glad she is looking better, I would keep trying to coax her to drink water before giving her any supplements.

Sounds like the problem was just that she wasnt drinking enough water, the oaten hay shouldnt be a problem.

Perhaps mention this to the vet before she has her surgery so they can keep an eye on her water intake, and also mention the snuffles as they might not be able to put her under

 

[Buttercup n Charlie]

Yes will do! we are coaxing her to drink water twice a day now. Slightly better but the problem continues.

We have decided to give her fresh cranberries to help strengthen her immune system tomorrow.

thank you all for the continued support! This is such a great forum for new comers like us

Sincerely,
new bunny mommy/daddy