Is Red/Black pee an emergency…???

[OreoMyBaby]

Hii. This is a bit of a gross subject but I don’t want to call the vet and look silly. I’m a first time bunny owner, and i know that normally red/organge pee is normal, left over from veggies and stuff. It’s happened a few times to Oreo.

I was only concerned, because when I woke up today to check on him, he had peed outside of the litter box, next to his hay toy. Normally it’s a dark yellow/light orange, but apon first glance I thought he had gotten ahold of INK. It’s such a deep red that it looks like black, and then the puddle fades into orange and then normal yellow again. Its in like, clumps too. I don’t want to rush him out to the vet, cause I know red pee is common, but I was wondering where I should draw the line between normal and worrying.

[Trixieandcookies]

You should call the vet. If its black like ink and the red looks like blood there could be something seriously wrong.

I hope this helps!

[LBJ10]

I’m trying to envision what you’re describing. Was it a steady gradient of color? Or were there blobs/streaks of dark red inside mostly lighter colored urine?

How long was the pee there? Long enough to evaporate? I’m wondering if the color wasn’t just concentrated because the pee was in the process of drying up.

[Trixieandcookies]

Usually red pee means they have too much protein in their and it is very common. In my opinion the line would be more to the worrying side. But I would just call the vet and ask if this is normal and see what they say. According to jwoodvet.co.uk it states that “Cases of bloody urine in rabbits  often turn out to be normal rabbit urine which is simply a deep red colour due to the extretion of plant pigments within the diet. True cases of blood in the urine (haematuria) are often due to stones/sludge within the urinary tract, cystitis, uterine adencarcinoma, polyps or abortion.”

[Bam]

If this occurs again, please take a picture! If it doesn’t occur again, its most likely not sth to worry about. I have seen fairly light orange pee oxidise into a very dark red within say 20 minutes to half an hour, and the dark red did look scary – if I hadn’t seen the puddle as it originally looked.

To test if there’s blood in the urine, you can drip a little bit if hydrogen peroxide on it. If there’s blood, it will foam. If there’s no blood, just colored urine, there will be no foam.

Is Oreo drinking enough? It’s best to give rabbits a water bowl, so if you have a sippy bottle, you could add a bowl and see if he drinks more from that. Hydration is of course especially important in summer temps. Sometimes a bun is too lazy from hot weather to bother with drinking. You can help by serving his fresh greens dripping wet.

How is he doing otherwise? Is appetite and poop good?

[Peanutthebunny]

call the vet this isn’t good

 

My Research

Cases of bloody urine in rabbits often turn out to be normal rabbit urine which is simply a deep red colour due to the excretion of plant pigments within the diet. Actual cases of blood in the urine (haematuria) are often due to stones/sludge within the urinary tract, cystitis, uterine adenocarcinoma, polyps or abortion.

[Peanutthebunny]

but it might be ok so if it happens again call your vet and send a picture

I still recommend calling a vet though

[jerseygirl]

Is he okay with being handled? I do think it would be worth picking him up to check his genitals just in case.

Is it normal for him to pee outside of the litter box sometimes?

If highly unusual, that in itself could indicate he has something going on. But if he sometimes pees on the floor, I do agree it could be just the pee that is concentrated & oxidised. Could the clumps be some cecals perhaps?

[Author]

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