Dehydration or Protein Abundance?

[whaaatmani]

Hello to anyone who reads this, I recently got Sawyer, my 2 month old lop, on 12/23/20 and I am worried about the color of his pee.

His previous owner had given me a quart sized Ziploc bag full of pellets to help transition him to the new food I would be giving him. Anywho, I’ve only been feeding him a monitored amount of pellets and unlimited water. So far he’s drinking and eating as he pleases but I noticed when he pees, its bright orange and I did some research on it which has left me confused. Some sources are saying its just a lot of protein in his diet and others are saying he’s dehydrated. I want to say he is drinking enough water and this is just the pellets doing, but I’m honestly not sure and don’t want to make a careless conclusion. I’ve inserted some pics before and don’t worry, I am changing his linens tomorrow.. it kind of wreaks up close lol.

I’ve also ordered some Alfalfa hay which won’t be here till next Monday, is that okay for him to go that long without hay?

 

[Bam]

Red pee is as a rule the result of plant pigments in the food. Rabbits can also produce red pee spontaneously.

The pee is often a lighter color when it exits the body, and oxidises to a deeper orange or red within sth like 20 minutes after having been exposed to air.

Here is some info from the HRS, a trusted source: https://rabbit.org/journal/3-1/red-urine.html

Hay is important for the digestion, so if it is possible to get him hay sooner, I’d recommend you do that. Any grass hay will do, it doesnt have to be alfalfa. Alfalfa is rich in protein and calcium, but since he is getting unlimited pellets, he is getting the nutrients he needs from them.

Does he have a bottle or a water bowl? Rabbits that have a water bowl as a rule drink more than rabbits that get their water from a bottle.

[whaaatmani]

Yes he has a a water bowl but rarely drinks out of it. I’m not really sure what I can do to make him drink more.

[LBJ10]

As Bam said, it’s probably just plant pigment. I wouldn’t worry too much about dehydration. If he has water, he will drink it eventually. Bunnies in the wild get moisture from the plants they eat. You could try serving his greens wet to help boost the water content.

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