phone books and urine

[BrunosMama]

Haha, full of questions today! so last night, I passed out some old phone books to the buns ( it now looks like a bomb went off in a paper factory in the house now lol) I noticed this afternoon that there was red urine in roxie and Caesars cage. Upon closer examination, it’s more of a reddish orange and seems to be a slightly thicker consistancy than blood/urine. Although, I have seen a few rounds of urine that were not totally liquidy. Both their health seems fine, they’re feisty as ever. Could nibbling on phone book pages possibly have been the reason? It’s the yellowpages so there’s some red and other colored inks. Thanks

[litheandgraphic]

It’s possible that the phone book is the cause, but what you’re probably actually seeing is calcium deposits, which are extremely common. What are their diets? Moreover, what kind of veggies do they get?

The thing you want to look out for is bladder sludge, which of course is a sign of major complications. You can watch this video for more info.

[LongEaredLions]

Was the urine a consistent color? And did you get to see what color it was when it dried?
I agree with FLR that the thickness was probably caused by calcium excretion. Not too uncommon, and not dangerous for the majority of bunnies.

[BrunosMama]

LEL- I couldn’t really tell if it was consistant in the urine just because of where it was at. But it dried about the same color it was wet, orangey red. I removed all of the phonebook paper yesterday and cleaned the box. I’m keeping an eye out for a repeat. If there’s more, I will separate Caesar and roxie temporarily to figure out which one has the problem. I kind of feel at this point that neither bun has “sick” symptoms so maybe for the time being it’s not an emergency.

[BrunosMama]

Well, it’s been over 24 hours since I found the red stuff. They have using their box, but no sign of discolored urine. So I’m hoping it was just a passing thing.

[LongEaredLions]

Good! Bunny urine comes in a rainbow of colors depending on what they have eaten, so that was probably the cause.

[litheandgraphic]

Yep! Glad to hear there doesn’t seem to be an issue. It was likely calcium deposits.

[BrunosMama]

Well, apparently I have jinxed myself. Found more red stuff in the cage yesterday. So last night we put a barrier in their cage to separate them to see who’s doing it. Turns out its Caesar. Below are pictures of what I’m finding. He’s eating, drinking, and pooing regularly. Seems just as annoyed by Roxie’s constant grooming as ever lol. There were two spots.

 

[litheandgraphic]

Ooh, too bad. :C

Well, it does look very bright red, which could be blood. Since it’s only Caeser, this almost rules out plant pigments or ink the phone book pages, but those could still be possible culprits. Is he neutered?

Because of the color of it, I would take him to the vet – better safe than sorry.

[BrunosMama]

Now I’m really confused! I was cleaning their cage and getting them back to normal when I found the same red stuff on Roxies side too. Now I’m stumped. It looks like a trip to the vet is in their future.

[litheandgraphic]

Huh. Well, on the plus side, that means that something in their diet or environment is probably the cause, as opposed to an illness affecting both buns, which I guess isn’t impossible, but it’s less likely. Be curious to know what the vet says!

[JackRabbit]

I would be really tempted to suck some of that up with an eye dropper, put it a small bottle or ziploc bag and take it with me to the vet. Is is really that bright red or does it just look that way in the pic?

[BrunosMama]

JR, it is that bright red color. Almost like thinned down red acrylic paint. It dries slightly darker? I may try to take some in to the vet Monday if it continues and see if he thinks they should be seen. I also checked, there is no red on their butts, nice and clean. The other strange thing, it doesn’t happen every time they pee. They went over 24 hours with everything fine, then this shows up again. Same thing all day, found it early this morning and no more since.

[JackRabbit]

What all did they eat in the 24 hours before you last saw it?

[BrunosMama]

Their usual foods. Pellets for dinner, hay and a couple raisins each. The first time I found it, they had some phone book paper, bit I got rid of all that. No greens either. Haven’t been to the store.

[litheandgraphic]

I’m curious – what’s the brand of the phonebook? Yellow Pages? In America, almost all of the phonebooks are printed with soy ink, which are safe for bunnies, but chemically-based inks can cause issues.

[BrunosMama]

FLR- yes it was the yellow pages. The other bunnies received the same pohone books (we had several) and no one else had issues. Although I suppose it could effect different buns?

[Beka27]

Urine can definitely range in color from almost clear to reddish-orange, but that’s really, really red.

You mentioned they had pellets and hay, any veggies?

[BrunosMama]

They have not had veggies in the last couple days. I ran out before payday >.< But the ones they had prior were not new to them. They had collard greens, a few brussel sprouts and a spring mix lettuce.

[BrunosMama]

The other thing that bothers me is how inconsistant it is. It’s not every time they pee. In fact, there has been none since I took the pictures. I may stop by the vets tomorrow to see if he thinks they need a check up.

[JackRabbit]

Probably isn’t anything, but I think its always wise to check with the vet when in doubt. Please let us know what he/she says!

[JackRabbit]

How are the buns doing? Did you talk with the vet?

[Author]

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