HELP: sludge or calcium?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 6sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 9 months ago by DanaNM.

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- 02/20/2021 at 10:11 PM
  Bree McKenna
  Participant
  2 posts
  New bunny mom here! My bunny Pancake is 5 months old, male and unneutered. He is scheduled to get neutered next week. He is active and happy. He eats and poops normally. There were two times recently where he seemed like he took longer than usual to pee. But he definitely still does pee, both in his cage and out…He has been peeing and pooping outside of the cage a lot recently when he usually wouldn’t, but I think a lot of it has to do with his hormones.
  
  Today he peed and it had a weird texture. At first it seemed clay-like and was a light brown/beige color. It dried chalky. I have noticed normal calcium in his pee before, but it usually looked a little more white than this time. Also, I didnt touch those calcium deposits right away so have no idea what they were like when he first went, but when I did touch them they were chalky. I attached pictures here, do you think it is sludge or just more calcium?
  
  Since he is scheduled to be neutered in 8 days and get a check up that day too, I would hate to rush him in to an emergency vet visit if its nothing/can wait. At the same time, I would be devastated if I waited and something was seriously wrong.
  
  I read that sludge is common for overweight and older bunnies that don’t exercise. He is young and small. He is eating alfalfa hay and pellets, but only since he is young still and is supposed to be.
  
  I would love some opinions!
- 02/20/2021 at 10:16 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17027 posts
  They look like calcium deposits, but probably a bit more concentrated that what you normally see. Sludge would be the consistency of toothpaste. I’m not seeing that here.
  
  Calcium in urine isn’t necessarily something to worry about. If it seems to be becoming a problem, you can adjust his diet. What else is he eating besides alfalfa pellets? Does he get grass hay? Veggies?
  - 02/21/2021 at 7:04 AM
    Bree McKenna
    Participant
    2 posts
    Thank you for your reply! His diet is primarily alfalfa hay with about 1/4 cup of alfalfa pellets a day. He also gets a cup of fresh greens a day and small portions of fruit/other vegetables as a treat
  - 02/21/2021 at 12:24 PM
    LBJ10
    Moderator
    17027 posts
    What he’s on is fine for now. Since he’s 5 months old, it wouldn’t hurt to start trying to transition to grass hay. The calcium in his urine really isn’t concerning though. As the others pointed out, calcium deposits are normal and the amount you are seeing right now is likely the result of his “young bunny” diet.
- 02/21/2021 at 7:14 AM
  pinkiemarie
  Participant
  425 posts
  I absolutely freaked out the first time my first bunny peed calcium because I thought it might be sludge too. He tends to still avoid doing it in the box if he has a lot of calcium to excrete. Maybe it’s a little uncomfortable? This looks like pretty normal bunny pee and he’s definitely in a low risk group!
  
  I should also warn you in case you haven’t encountered it yet. Their pee is very different from a human and it won’t always be yellow. Carrot pee is, well, basically carrot colored. If they have various little treats it can change to a whole weird rainbow of colors and that’s pretty freaky the first time too 🙂
- 02/21/2021 at 9:03 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  16966 posts
  Good point, @pinkiemarie! Rabbit pee can certainly come in a rainbow of colors. Carrots, dandelion and several other plants will color the pee bright orange to red, which can be scary the first few times you see it. It’s perfectly normal though.
  
  Rabbit pee should never be completely clear. Rabbits are peculiar in that they, contrary to most other mammals, take up all dietary calcium into their blood stream, then they execrete the surplus calcium via their kidneys. This means their pee should be a little bit cloudy. If it isn’t, it can mean that calcium is collecting in the bladder, which eventually will turn into thick, toothpaste-like sludge.
  
  This Medirabbit web page has good pictures of sludge versus normal bun urine, plus additional good info:
  
  http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/generalities/Sludge.htm
- 02/23/2021 at 11:46 AM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  Agree with others, it doesn’t look too bad. That said, alfalfa pellets and hay are one of the most concentrated sources of calcium for buns (a small scoop of alfalfa pellets more than meets a buns daily requirement for calcium). At 5 months you could start transitioning him to timothy hay for sure, as they only need one source of alfalfa while growing.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
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