Chalky Pee AGAIN!

[Deleted User]

Noticed chalky pee from Bun Bun beginning of March. She was spayed on March 7th. Vet told me to go back to the pellets I used to give her pre chalky urine. I did for awhile but its not one of the better foods so I recently tried switching to oxbow, mixing in slowly to the zupreem that she is used to. Chalky pee again. 

Question – Do you think she is just meant to stay on the zupreem only forever? (for pellets I mean)

She does get fresh vegetables twice a day and hay of course. Vet only wants her on 1/8 cup pellets every two or three days???

She is a lion head and weighs 5.5 pounds. She is approx. 2 yrs old.

Question – Is squash high in whatever is making this chalky urine?

She loves squash and I try and let her have a small chunk of it almost daily for her 10-15% non-leafy veggies.

She has a vet apt wednesday with the vet that spay her. He is suppose to be the best rabbit vet around. He wants to give her sub Q fluids and do an X-ray for bladder sludge? She just had an x-ray March 8th (day after her spay) because she was not eating from  pain but they did the X-ray to see if she had blockage. Couldn’t they see if she had sludge on that x-ray? She was having same issue?

How does he know she needs sub Q’s without even seeing her? I understand the x-ray I guess?

She does not drink a lot at all…..never has. She has 2 bottles and a bowl. She never uses the bowl. I always soak her greens. Ive tried giving half water half juice she won’t touch that either.

(I have a baby H.lop 15 weeks old that drinks double what she drinks)

Am I doing something wrong?

[Azerane]

What leafy vegetables are you feeding on a daily basis? I’m not aware that squash is high in calcium, however calcium is what will be causing the chalky pee. Excess calcium is meant to be excreted in the urine, however you don’t want it building up to a sludge. Do you notice a change in her behaviour on the different pellets? More or less active?

1/8 cup every few days should be fine, some people don’t feed pellets at all and simply feed a wide variety of leafy greens in addition to hay. My pair have been off of pellets for about 2-3 months now due to Luna having issues. I do intend to reintroduce some, but probably only 1 tablespoon a day each to ensure they’re not missing out on any essential nutrients. They really don’t need a huge amount.

I’m not sure regarding the x-ray how quickly sludge can develop. It depends how tightly they framed the x-ray as to whether the bladder would have been visible on it. Sometimes a rabbit that is a little dehydrated can have more chalky pee because the calcium is less diluted in the urine, if that makes sense.

[Bam]

Chalky pee isn’t very worrisome. Bladder sludge isn’t chalky, it’s more like gravel or fine, wet concrete. Adult buns are supposed to excrete excess calcium via the urine.

I’m guessing the vet thinks she might be dehydrated, hence the sub Q fluids. Is this a rabbit savvy vet (an exotics vet)?

Squash isn’t considered a high calcium veg.

[Deleted User]

Vet – yes, he is exotics. He does all the spay/neuter/and health care for a large rabbit only rescue. They are the people who helped me find him. The only thing he will not do is rabbit teeth.

Im wondering if I should keep the appointment? It truly dries to chalky white. Nothing like cement. Could it truly be all from a quality pellets? 

Her vegetables are kind of limited because this is what she will eat. 

Romain lettuce – daily

parsley, cilantro, celery tops – one or the other 5-7 days a week

squash (different kinds- no seeds) her favorite is acorn – daily when available

carrots, apples and bananas occasionally as treats

2 raisins and 2 small pieces dried papaya – as treat to get her in her cage for the night.

And, when I can find it escarole, broccolini, (She also likes green beans but I stopped giving them to her because I read they could be bad?)

She HATES Kale, peppers, tomatoes, Asparagus, and apple twigs so I quit buying them to just toss out. 

In summer I should be able to find her a better variety of things, fresh grass, dandelion, black berry leaves, mint etc. on my own property. We even have organic apple and pear trees. 

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Oh and no change in behavior on the different pellets.

Except, she does act HUNGRY with such a small amount of pellets. She is maintaining a good weight so I guess thats ok for now. She used to eat when SHE got hungry and just let her greens sit there until she was ready. Now she looks for them and gives me the hurry up look! LOL! She has even waited at the bowl for me recently. 

She will always eat the pellets first and ALL of them.

[Bam]

It’s difficult to say, since your vet is rabbit savvy and experienced, he must think there’s sth abnormal about your bun’s urine. It is normal for it to not be clear, but there must be sth about it that your vet doesn’t feel happy with. Here’s an article on chalky urine and bladder sludge and stones: http://www.rabbit.org/health/urolith.html It says in the article that normal rabbit urine dries to a chalky white.

Acorn squash doesn’t appear to be high in calcium, but the peel is dark green and that’s often seen in high calcium vegs. If she’ll eat just the pulp if you remove the peel, I’d do that just to see if that helps.

[Azerane]

The only one of your other veggies that is high in calcium is parsley, but you’re not feeding that often at all so I highly doubt it’s the cause. Do you feed a grass hay like timothy, or alfalfa?

If not it’s possibly just the different ingredients or calcium levels of the different pellets. You could always try another different brand too. Or even mix the two brands.

[Deleted User]

Hay – Timothy high fiber

[Bam]

Timothy is of course perfectly fine.

[Author]

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