Calcium is very important for rabbits; they need it to form strong and healthy bones and teeth and so to prevent dental problems and osteoporosis. It has been suggested that the average sized, adult, non-breeding, pet rabbit needs around mg of calcium daily. Rabbits have an unusual calcium metabolism; In most mammals, the amount of calcium absorbed from the diet is regulated at gut level by Parathyroid hormone PTH , but rabbits predominantly absorb calcium in proportion to what is present in their diet, whether or not they require it.
Meaning that whatever amount of calcium a rabbit has in their diet, they will absorb it all. Rabbits can form solid calcifications in their kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra, as well as depositing thick calcium sludge in their kidneys or bladder.
One or more stones may develop, with or without sludge being present. Symptoms of calculi include: loss of appetite, loud painful teeth grinding, hunched posture, lethargy, unwillingness to move, pressing abdomen on the ground, loss of litter training, blood in the urine, perineal scalding and straining to urinate.
One or more symptoms may appear gradually, or have a sudden onset and be intermittent. A blood test is useful for determining kidney function and calcium levels in the blood. Rabbits suffering from sludge may display any of the symptoms described above for calculi, as well as passing thick, white, gritty urine that in severe cases will become semi-solid when passed.
White or sludgy urine on their own are common in rabbits and often occur after the rabbit has eaten high calcium foods. Diagnosis is the same as that of calculi; as the sludge is made of calcium, it too will show up on an x-ray or ultrasound as a mass. As some rabbits exhibiting no clinical symptoms, can upon investigation, be found to have some degree of sludge in their bladder or kidneys, treatment to flush the sludge from the bladder, is only necessary if the sludge seems to be causing the rabbit problems.
Sludge in the kidneys is more difficult to eliminate, although kidneys can be flushed, and flushings may be sufficient to return the kidneys to an acceptable working capacity, it is unlikely to clear all the sludge. The deposit of calcium salts calcifications show up on x-rays and ultrasound scans, as the calcium content makes them radiopaque light in colour.
Rabbits suffering from calculi are often in a lot of pain and as a result will not eat or drink, subsequently being dehydrated and necessitating fluid therapy, gastrointestinal support and pain relief prior to surgery. Currently there is no known method of breaking up rabbit calculi and it is rare for the rabbit to pass them naturally, due to their often-jagged texture and size to which they can grow. Ureteral calculi may cause enlargement of the kidney hydronephrosis due to obstructed urine flow from the kidney to the bladder.
With such a situation, once the rabbit is stabilised, prompt surgical intervention to remove the calculi is vital to avoid irreparable damage. Rabbits presenting with calculi in both kidneys, displaying clinical symptoms have a guarded to poor prognosis. Surgically removing calculi from the kidney is extremely hazardous, and for these cases management may be the only treatment option, with their quality of life paramount.
If calculi are only located in one kidney, it may be possible to remove the affected kidney, as the remaining kidney should have adequate function to keep the rabbit alive. Other possible reasons, include:. This is suspected to be one of the most important factors leading to the formation of urinary calculi.
Less urine is produced with a low water intake and calcium precipitates out when urine is saturated with calcium. To rectify this problem you must increase the rabbits fluid intake, which can be achieved by:. Overweight rabbits may be physically unable to completely empty their bladder, due to weak muscle tone, or adopt the correct position for urination, which will give any calcium in the urine a chance to settle in the bladder.
Most rabbits will only urinate in a select amount of places. If the rabbit is unable to reach these places, i. Some green foods are high in oxalate spinach, parsley, spring greens, etc.
Illness which causes the rabbit to sit around and not urinate regularly, e. Fruit and vegetable can be grouped into good, moderate and poor calcium providers. The approximate calcium mg content per g is shown alongside:. Alfalfa hay contains approximately 1. Nutritional values for hay and fresh foods vary depending upon the soil the product was grown in, the time of year it was harvested and other conditions that affect nutritional values.
Once the initial condition has been treated, attention must focus on trying to prevent reoccurrence of the condition, but even then there is a possibility of further calculi or sludge forming, particularly if the rabbit still has sludge within their kidneys or bladder.
The most successful approach to preventing reoccurrence of calculi or sludge seems to be by adopting a multi-tiered approach and tackling several possible factors concurrently:. Changes in diet should be done over at least a couple of weeks to prevent digestive upsets. Introduce one new food at a time and if it seems to upset the rabbit in the next h exclude it from the diet.
Try to feed smaller quantities of numerous different foods, rather than larger quantities of a few foods. This gives the rabbit a variety, and also helps to achieve a balance of other minerals.
The vast majority of rabbits on a hay and veggie diet manage fine, and get through a mound of fresh food their own body size daily. Hay and water must always be available. Bloody urine is rare in rabbits and rodents. Cases of bloody urine in rabbits often turn out to be normal rabbit urine which is simply a deep red colour due to the extretion of plant pigments within the diet.
Bloody urine in rabbits may be rare, but red urine is not. Owners who pay close attention to what is in their rabbits litter tray will be familiar with the variation of colour that normal rabbit urine can be.
Red urine is observed in rabbits, and is almost always caused by plant pigments and does not affect the animals health. Vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and dandelions will often result in the excretion of red urine.
Normal rabbit urine will vary from a pale yellow or clear colour, through various orange and brown colours, right up to a deep red colour. Rabbit urine may also look cloudy due to the presence of calcium carbonate being excreted within the urine. Red urine is not a medical problem and usually returns to normal within one to three days, although it has been seen to take as long as three to four weeks before the urine returns to the pale yellow colour.
If your rabbit frequently has dark or very strong smelling urine then it may be worth discussing this with your veterinary surgeon.
If your rabbit seems unwell in anyway then always consult your veterinary surgeon as soon as possible. True haematuria can occur due to disease anywhere within the urogenital system. An unspayed female rabbit might show a bloody discharge from her vulva, or drops of blood after urination, which could be confused with urine; either of these occurrences could be a sign of uterine cancer.
An un-neutered male rabbit could have genital cancer or trauma which could cause blood to appear in his urine in either case you should take your rabbit to see your vet immediately.
Other causes or haematuria may result from calcium stones or sludge anywhere within the urinary tract system kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra , cystitis, polyps or even abortion. All of these conditions need urgent veterinary attention as most are painful to the rabbit and life-threatening if not given immediate veterinary care.
When we see red urine, most of us worry about a bladder or urinary tract infection. However, actual blood in the urine is usually difficult to see with the naked eye. When due to kidney disease, straining to urinate may not occur, but straining is the most common sign of urinary bladder disease. A rabbit straining to urinate assumes an unusual stance, that is, he sits for an unusually long period of time on the tip toes of the back feet, with the tail very high in the air.
If you notice your rabbit is straining, you should immediately change the litter box so you can determine if he is producing urine or not. Rabbits metabolise calcium very differently from other mammals such as dogs and cats.
Whereas dogs and cats will only absorb the amount of calcium their body needs from their diet, rabbits absorb all of the calcium within their diet and excrete the excess through the urinary system.
This is why rabbit urine is often observed as being cloudy or white in colour. Passing cloudy urine can be normal for rabbits which are fed a high calcium diet or those rabbits which are slightly dehydrated. However, rabbits who are fed a high calcium diet are much more likely to develop stones or sludge deposits within their urinary system, which often require corrective surgery and can be impossible to rectify.
Therefore it is recommended that rabbits are not given calcium supplements unless specifically stated by a veterinary surgeon and are not fed excessive amounts of alfalfa hay or vegetables high in calcium; carrot tops, spinach, water cress, kale or dark cabbages, etc. It is not necessary to take your rabbit to the vet for the condition of red pigmented urine, unless your rabbit is showing any other symptoms.
If you notice urine that is red or pink orange is OK and there are no other symptoms, you could wait until the next available appointment at your vets to ask them to test the urine for blood. If your rabbit is straining to urinate, he may only produce a drop or two of urine at a time because of the frequency with which he is attempting to urinate, if this is the case you should make an appointment for your rabbit to see your vet on the next available appointment.
Yes, your vet can test a urine sample urinalysis to determine if there is blood within the urine. If haematuria is diagnosed then your vet will want to determine exactly what is causing the blood in the urine.
This may involve taking x-rays of the abdomen to look at the bladder and associated ureters and urethra to look for stones or sludge, which show up very well on x-rays. A urine sample may be taken and tested for bacterial growth and to determine what antibiotics would be most effective.
If your rabbit is an entire female then the vet may do an ultrasound examination to look at the reproductive tract for any sign of tumours. If any growths are located then it is advisable to take chest x-rays to look for any spread of the disease before embarking upon any surgery. Handrearing a rabbit kitten or kittens can be an extremely rewarding experience but is not a job to be taken on lightly. The task ahead is difficult, exhausting and there is no guarantee of success.
Rabbit kittens can require hand-rearing if they are true orphans due to maternal death, or because the mother is unable to feed her kittens. Kittens only suckle once every 24 hours, at night and only for 5 minutes or so — they are left in the nest for the rest of the time and ignored by their mother.
This avoids drawing attention to the nest a survival strategy. Mothers with a new litter can take 24 hours to start producing milk. If the kits have not been fed for 48 hours then mis-mothering can be diagnosed. Unfed kits will have thin tummies and wrinkled skin.
Check also that the kits have pink rather than blue skin colour. They will also cry if they are not being fed. Occasionally a mother will abandon one or more kittens in the litter. There are times when we DO worry about urine. If the urine stays white or whitish for longer than a few days, you may need to change the diet to contain less calcium. Calcium can build up, causing urine sludge and stones, and we never want that. Can you even imagine how that feels?
There is not an easy fix, and you are looking at surgery to remove stones and catheterization also under anesthesia to clear out sludge. If the urine is still yellow but very dark, possibly even brown, we start to worry about dehydration. Is your rabbit showing any other symptoms of being unwell?
Still eating and drinking, still playing and moving around happily? Still passing poo and caecotrophs with no trouble? If not, call the vet. The vet will get a sample of urine and determine if it is blood or just pigment from the foods it is eating. If your rabbit is not showing any changes in eating, urinating, or other behaviour, you may simply need to take in a urine specimen to be tested. If you think it is due to the foods you are feeding, try not feeding specific ones for a couple of days and see if the pigment disappears.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call the Avian Reptile and Exotic Pet Hospital on Send in your pet care questions and get expert answers from the veterinarians at the Sydney University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Werombi Road, Camden. If your pet has an emergent problem, seek medical attention immediately.
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