Is this bladder sludge? (pic)

[skibunny8503]

I had Gracie and Archie bonding with Sandy (with an xpen seperating them) and of course they had to start peeing all over the place because I took them out of their cage before they went to the bathroom.  Gracie peed and it was clear yellow (hers are different someitmes it’s clear, other’s it’s a more yellow but not clear, and other times it’s orange..unless one of those is Archie, I can never tell since they’re together).  Sandy peed and it was clear but had some thicker stuff in the middle.  I hurried and put a towel down because I was on the only one in the kitchen and I didn’t want her hopping into it and getting her feet wet.  But I quickly noticed the white and pulled up the paper towel.  It absorbed the clear yellow pee but left the white.  First thing that came to mind was maybe that was sludge.  Took a pic of it and cleaned it up and sprayed it down.  So, any thoughts?  Is this sludge?  I looked in her litter box but I couldn’t see anything.  She has hay and wood pellets and shredded paper in there so I couldn’t see any pee.  I know when Gracie’s pee seems to look thicker it’s all yellow and def. not sludge, it’s absorbed.  But this looked more white. 

[jerseygirl]

That looks like calcium crystals. Sludge is apparently really thick like toothpaste and yellow. I think it might even be smelly. Sometimes I see opaque pale yellow pee but after it settles the calcium can pool in a whitish paste once the litter takes the liquid away.

[Sarita]

My rabbit’s sludge is very thick and yellow and paste like – you cannot get any liquids through this stuff and it smells foul. My rabbit cannot really pass her sludge without having her bladder expressed.

[skibunny8503]

Oh thank goodness! I was worried I’d have to take her to the vet. Do I need to adjust her diet at all or is that something rabbits get sometimes?

[Deleted User]

I worry about my rabbits’ urinary system easily, too, Skibunny. Seeing calcium crystals like that is actually good because it means that the rabbit is excreting calcium which is what you want.
I like my grated litterbox for that reasons, first I can hear my rabbits going to the bathroom and second I can see exactly the consistency on the tray underneath if I leave it bare. It is very helpful to know which bunny has what type of pee.

[Sarita]

http://www.rabbit.org/health/urolith.html

This is a good article on bladder sludge and stones that hopefully will help answer your question.  But basically, no you do not want to change her diet.

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