Bladder Sludge

[deadgirl]

Hi all.

A little advice please…I’m almost positive my Casper has Bladder Sludge. I’m most likely bringing him to the vet tomorrow…but is this true bladder sludge? Of course whatever he urinates on, the texture is different. Sometimes there’s no sludge, sometimes it’s a light yellow and looks normal, dries up normal too. It all depends on what he goes on. For example, sheets, tile, and cardboard will not pick up the sludge. It will look like ordinary urine(it does not show and calcium or sludge?) But thick rugs and carpet do pick up the sludge. His liter absorbs the pee so I cannot tell the difference from there. It does not sludge up every time he pees.

Every time he goes out of the liter box, I’ve been letting it sit to see if it actually does dry up into a thick like chalk substance.

It’s not pretty at all, it’s very noticeable on carpet, but never fully drys up into anything. Even feeling it hours later, it’s never completely hard or dry. Just damp. Sorry for the gross pictures. I’ve also attached a picture of what was originally orange colored urine, dried hours later on cardboard. There was no sludge when it was new. 

I’ve read just about every page I’ve found and read that some cranberries, and liquid magnesium could help clear the sludge over time?

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/LiquidMg/Liquid_magnesium.htm

Well, we don’t have liquid magnesium or cranberries here.  We only had sweetened cranberry juice I purchased. Does anyone know if that’s okay to give, instead of sugary treats for now?

I must have visited 15 pharmacy’s/vets asking around, no one had anything. I turned down milk of magnesia, and instead purchased some magnesium chloride. Was this the right choice? I’m not sure of the difference. The MC however is salt like, and is suppose to be put into water…

Of course I’ll ask my vet…but I have a feeling he won’t know anything about it. I’ve had a rabbit with stones in the past, but never with sludge. This hasn’t been going on very long. He has no other symptoms other than his odd cecotropes mixed with hard droppings, and sometimes what sounds like a gassy tummy. Thanks so much in advance.

[Sarita]

Bladder Sludge is very thick – like toothpaste – If you know how to express his bladder this can help you discover if he indeed has sludge – also your vet should do an x-ray to determine if there is sludge – it will show up on x-rays.

I do not believe either of those will help with sludge – maybe an UTI but not the actual sludge.

How old is your rabbit?

[JackRabbit]

I can’t see the pics, but it isn’t unusual for bunny pee to dry white. Like Sarita said, it’s when it is thick that it can be a problem.

Edit: If your bunny’s pee always has alot of calcium in it, you could try sticking with greens that aren’t high in calcium/oxilates. I have one bunny that I have to limit things like that so she gets no kale, spinach, etc. I think one of our vets told us to avoid the “dark” greens like these and stick with green leaf lettuce, romaine, etc.

[deadgirl]

I’ve fixed the pictures.
I feel bad because a few weeks ago I had been giving more spinach than usual…he didn’t really have this problem before that. Casper is a year old.

[JackRabbit]

I don’t know about the first pic, but the pee on the cardboard just looks like bunny had some excess calcium to dispose of. Kieko’s pee looks like that sometimes and will have white calcium stains in her litterbox sometimes. My lops drink a ton of water and their pee will be the color of whatever they’ve been eating, but clearer.

I’d show the pics, especially the first one, to your vet.

[Sarita]

I cannot tell a thing about those photos….bladder sludge is not something that is just going to happen because you give too much spinach.

[deadgirl]

I was more referring to his diet in general.
I brought the vet the picture, he said for now to just cut off minerals/vitamins…so the veggies. I think he’ll be fine for now if I do. Thanks a lot.

[Sarita]

What do you mean by mineral/vitamins?

[Sarita]

I recommend you read this article from a vet here in the US:

http://rabbit.org/bladder-stones-and-bladder-sludge-in-rabbits/

It is very interesting and taking away veggies is not the answer.

[deadgirl]

That’s exactly what the vet said to me. Maybe the vet l believed I had him on vitamins? We did, many months ago. I think he meant veggies…but I know that’s not very effective once something has already begun.
Thanks for the great article. It was definitely helpful. Hopefully this isn’t anything too serious, and I’m able to help him out before it does become something big, as we do not have a vet who can perform any type of surgery.
Hmm, what else can I do for now? So far I’m thinking about increasing his water intake, and more veggies with vitamin c. Today’s been a stressful day for him, so he’s barely touched his food. Hopefully in a few hours he’ll regain his appetite.
If it doesn’t get better I’ll bring him back to the vet, I’d rather not stress him for now.

[Sarita]

What is the amount of pellets you currently give him? Those are usually higher in calcium and it’s more concentrated.

[JackRabbit]

I agree with Sarita about the veggies. Maybe you could clarify with your vet?

Kieko doesn’t have bladder sludge but is more sensitive to calcium buildup than my other bunnies and we’re just sticking with lower calcium veggies (and wetting them), plus she gets salad 2x per day (increased her salad intake) and pellets 1x (reduced her pellet intake) where my lops get salad 1x and pellets 2x per day. I’ve heard of bunnies with calcium issues being put on pellet free diets but have never heard of them being put on veggie free diets.

[deadgirl]

His diet is not like the average rabbits diet, only because it’s nearly impossible.
We don’t have hay here. I’ve been waiting since I got him at 8 weeks. Apparently, they’re finally bringing some in this month.
I’ve looked online, but no one delivers to where I live.
Instead, I’ve been making him hay his entire life. Of course, I don’t have enough to feed him his size a day, but he gets by with grass and this combination. I’ve tried alfalfa, and the rabbits version of hay here for some time as well. I’m not sure what it’s called in English. Here rabbits only eat pellets.

[JackRabbit]

Are the pellets alfalfa based or timothy based? Alfalfa pellets plus alfalfa hay might be a problem. I would check with your vet about increasing the veggies — that will increase the amount of water your bunny gets plus add fiber.

[deadgirl]

I’m not sure what they’re based on. I only go to one pellet supplier, and she only told me the ingredients. The vet actually said he has too much fiber.

[JackRabbit]

Wow, that’s a new one on me! I didn’t think a bun could have too much fiber, especially one that doesn’t eat alot of hay.

[Sarita]

The vet says too much fiber is causing the bladder sludge?

[deadgirl]

No. We’ve done cultures in the past and just overall discussion, and he always mentions my rabbit has too much fiber. I honestly never saw it as a problem, as rabbits can never have enough fiber?

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