Possible Urine Sludge? (or just paranoid mom)

[Manda and Loki]

okay so this morning I had went to look at Loki’s litter box… basically there was a lot of poop in the corner of his litter box.. and it looked to be a very dark brown color liquid on the paper around it. He usually sits in his litter box with his back end in the same corner every time. So I know it’s possible for him to have peed on it, and from his poop being there, it could’ve just mixed it in. 

so I made sure when I emptied it this morning, to look closely at the rest of the paper. As I dumped it out, in mix with the alfalfa.. it was very very mushy and thick light yellow.. almost pasty. I am wondering if this is bladder sludge? or do you think it was just softened alfalfa? I have never seen this before. I am in the process of switching him from alfalfa to timothy. He only had alfalfa in his litter box because I left the little bit in there for him before completely switching him over to timothy. Before this he only had alfalfa. he gets practically no pellets, and veggies everyday. this week he has had carrots, celery, kale, and parsley. 

to prevent bladder sludge I have read to give them just timothy hay, veggies like collard greens, dandelion greens, carrot tops, and endive. also to put a little of natural fruit juice into his water to make sure he drinks enough to get it all out. 

so basically what I think I should do is try only giving him timothy, the veggie greens, and some fruit juice for a couple of days to see what happens, and If I still see it, then I will call the vet.

was is your opinion on this?

[Sarita]

Well normally bladder sludge is the result of either a metabolic problem not really a diet problem. Also some rabbits who are unable to posture correctly (like those with arthritis) seem to develop bladder sludge.

I have rarely seen this in rabbits at this young age – I’m guessing by your profile he’s about a year old. Normally too for sludge you will see other changes in behavior like straining to urinate, urinating more frequently, urine scald.

What I guess I would do if it were me is to change the litter box more frequently to see if you see signs of this and watch his behavior for other signs.

[Manda and Loki]

he isn’t even 6 months old! 

and yeah that’s what I planned on doing. and just making sure he drinks enough and gets a lot of exercise.

[LongEaredLions]

From my experience, sludge can be due to a genetic condition, but can be limited with careful monitoring of calcium in the diet. I have also heard of younger bunnies having sludge problems when transitioning foods. I would keep an eye on it to see if it changes, and perhaps ask the vet at your next appointment.

[Author]

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