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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Leah and Calcium sludge

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    • melbunny
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                Because i have no luck Leah bunny is now sick. No more than a month after Rachel passed. Leah has been dealing with urinary issues for awhile and has been on antibotics every 2-3 months it seems. Last week I’d been noticing for a few days she’s been not feeling the greatest so i had my mother (the life of a full time pharmacy tech, but luckily stay at home mom) run her to the vet. Dr. Brady looked her over and decided she wanted to do a complete urinalysis, a culture, and a x-ray. But because i’d been giving her baytryl they had to wait till this past tuesday to get it all done. 

               Leah went in for her results today. The x-rays showed that her bladder is very extended and that she has a large amount of calcium and crystals in it. Dr. Brady told me that she had never seen such a severe case. Something that made me feel so very good *insert sarcasm*. I’m hoping this is because while Best Friends is an exotic vet that it’s because not many other people bring their bunnies in for this issue. I think. They told me that i’m the best bunny owner aroudn… I still feel absolutely horrible about it. She just had a complete urinalysis last octorber and it showed nothing. I don’t know why x-rays weren’t done earlier……..  

              Anyways, Next tuesday Leah goes in to get a “urohydropulsion” or bladder cleaning done. She has to stay in the hospital till that Saturday then. During that time she’s going to get fluids and have her bladder manually emptied. Dr. Brady didn’t seem too hopeful that this will get all of the calcium and crystals out.  Mainly because her bladder is so extended. She might have to have the procedure done again then.  The only way they know it would work would be to do surgery. But because Leah is 5 she’s not sure how she’d do in the operation. Something i’m not really willing to put her through unless she had a high survival rate or it was necessary for her to live. 

        Has anyone-else’s bunny had to go through something like this? I saw it’s common enough to have an article on the house rabbit society, but Dr. Brady said Leah’s case was severe….  Poor baby is so not feeling good……..

        (note this is after the dog had to have a systs taken off her face and behind her ear too.. I seem to have no luck with animals lately)


      • Sarita
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          Yes, I’ve had that done with one of my rabbits before – we did it a few times.

          Many times this (calcium sludge) is a metabolic problem and there is nothing that you can do other than what you are doing. Sometimes rabbits with a motility problem may get calcium sludge too.


        • melbunny
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            I’m glad to hear Leah has other bunny breathern that has gone through this. I know it’s common enough to have the page on the RS, but it’s nice to hear it from other bunny owners too. 

            I’ve already been told that Leah is going to have to get a complete modified diet after the procedure. Less Calcium. Dr. Brady joked that meant loosing all of the “good stuff”. Unbeknownst to the other girls that includes them too.


          • Sarita
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              That is some old thinking about calcium – this is from Dana Krempels:

              en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/201…alcium.htm

              My vet still says that too, but I don’t really beleive it helps to take calcium away.  I think it’s more hereditary or metabolic.


            • TriBun
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                I’m glad you posted that Sarita. I’ve had concerns about sludge because my bunny DOES have motility problems and I’ve wondered if I’m feeding her the right things.

                Melbunny, I’m sorry about your animal issues. It DOES always seem to hit all at once.


              • melbunny
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                  Thanks Tribun ^^…

                  Leah broke her pelvis about 3 years ago in 5 spaces (i STILL can’t figure out how she did it exactly) i wonder if it all stems from that. She started having urinary issues soon after. I had no idea what motitlity meant till i read that article. It would make a bit sense. Leah LOVES dandelion greens so she’ll be happy to know she can have plenty of those. ^^


                • LittlePuffyTail
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                    Wishing Leah lots of luck and a speedy recovery from her procedure.


                  • Sarita
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                      I imagine the pelvic fracture is not allowing her to posture correctly when urinating which could contribute to the sludge. Also at this age, she is losing bone density so decreasing calcium may not be a good choice for her.


                    • melbunny
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                        Thanks LittlePuffyTail ^^

                        I’ve always wondered that, even though she’s been healed for awhile, if the old injury isn’t part of the reason she’s had issues. Right now i’m going to leave her on the pellets, but try to cut down on the calcium in her veggies. I had no idea till i looked it up she was getting all high calcium veggies…. Dr. Brady did tell me not to cut it out completely, but decrease it a bit. Little girl got spoiled today when i went out shopping for her week long hospitalization….


                      • BinkyBunny
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                           Jack had a bladder stone which was removed via surgery, and we did deal with continued higher calcium percentages in his urine afterwards, but with diet changes, we were able to keep the percentages down. Here is a link to what my vet recommended (and what we followed). I suggest printing it out and discussing it with your vet.   Note: What works for one bunny may be totally off base for another, so its best to discuss methods with your vet to find what works for your situation. 

                          https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINF…fault.aspx


                        • melbunny
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                            Thanks for that info BB! I’m going to print it off and show it to Dr. Jeanne/Brady when she gets dropped off tomorrow ^w^ (My mother “remembered” she had an appointment in the morning so i have to drop her off tomorrow night instead. I never been parted from any of my animals for a long time (cept in death) so i’m not sure who is going to be more traumatized by the 5 day vet hospitalization. Leah or myself).

                            I really have no idea how much Leah drinks. They have a water bowl that they all drink out off. I also have a water bottle on the other side of the pen as well. Truthfully i haven’t seen her drink that much. I had to get rid of their really old water bottle awhile back and replaced it with the dish. I so supposed they drink from it since i have to refill it a bit once a day. She loved pinapple juice. I wonder if flavoring it would help……


                          • LittlePuffyTail
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                              How did Leah’s procedure go?


                            • melbunny
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                                Hi,
                                Leah’s procedure went fine. ^^They got most of the sludge out and Dr. Brady believes with proper diet she won’t have to go through it again. Yesterday was her first day home and she’s still getting readjusted. She’s on a strict diet for awhile and has to back on the 17th for a a check up. It’s a bit amazing how different she is now. She was all alert and being reorganizing everything at the vet. She’s a bit quieter at home, but i think once she gets used to everything again she’ll be nice an bouncy. ^^ I hoping that this fixed everything. The main thing is to keep her hydrated for awhile. Something that i think may become an issue because she’s not all that much of a drinker….

                                Melissa

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                            Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Leah and Calcium sludge