Yellow discharge (?)

[Pomie]

Hello everyone. I’m very concerned about my male rabbit having any digestive problems. Earlier he was licking his blanket and when I looked I saw a yellowish spot that was also quite slippery in texture. I don’t know what this is or what to do right now to help him. I recently changed his hay from oxbow to small pet select and he also takes supplements ( coat and fur, recently changed him to digestive support). He also had carrot puree yesterday made of only carrots and water. Other than that, his diet is the same. Please let me know if this is something very serious or just something that could pass in a few hours. Thank you!

[Bam]

How old is your rabbit? If he’s very young, this could be an emergency (ie true diarrhoea).

If he’s not young, this could be mucus from the intestine, which would mean an irritated intestinal lining. I’d cut out the carrot pure, since carrots have a lot of sugar. When you’ve pure something, its easy to happen to eat too much of whatever it is that is pureed, so maybe this is a carrot “overdose”?

Do you see any normal poop? How does he seem (altertness, interest in food or treats, does he try to hide away, is he sutting hunched up or trying to press his belly against the floor (almost like a human trying to do push-ups)?

[LBJ10]

Looks more like sludge in the picture.

[Pomie]

Thanks for responding. I’m not sure what his exact age is because he is a ferral domestic rabbit, I can attach a picture right when he got him (1st week of June). His poop has gotten darker and smaller when he started eating the Oxbow timothy hay I got him last time, thats why I switched to a different brand because the batch I got from Oxbow was very brown dusty already. His poop unfortunately hasn’t been back to its normal color or shale even with this change, however, I noticed he’s been pooping a lot. His appetite is still the same and he still runs around doing binkies. I thought I saw him hunch one time but that was it, hes even loafing and flopping around now. I’m not sure if he’s truly ok or not because of the mixed signals. I made sure to tell my parents not to give him treats for now because sometimes they can’t resist giving him more than hes supposed to be having in a day. If it is diarrhoea, do rabbits lick them?

[Pomie]

It’s not letting me add an image but an acquaintance who knew a lot more about rabbits than me told me before that he was around 4 months. So I’m guessing he’s around 10 months? probably nearing 1 year.

[Bam]

If he’s 10 months old he’s not a baby, so that’s great!

As LBJ says, this could perhaps be bladder sludge. Bladder sludge is thick and pasty and consists of calcium compounds.

Have you seen more stains like this?

[Wick & Fable]

Something to note about bladder sludge concerns is water consumption and exercise are both important to deter sludge, in addition to diet. I agree that from just one photo, it looks more like thicker urine than diarrhea or mucous.

Re: adding pictures, you can always upload a link from a website like imgr if you’re having trouble with the site!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Pomie]

Thank you all for responding. I was not aware of bladder sludge until now, but with that info I think that matches what he has. Calcium compounds are white-ish right? I’m pretty sure I saw it but it was hard to see because he only had it on his bed and blankets, so it was getting absorbed. I still saw a few stains of this sludge on his bed even after I removed the blankets that I posted here, he also kept on licking it. Is this something that I need to run him to the vet for? He drinks lots of water and exercises a lot as well, I may have to remove some items from his diet because he could be consuming too much sugar. On a side note, are flower mixes safe for him if I give it to him daily? (It has chamomile, hibiscus, rose, and also rosehips) I’m just trying to figure out what I could stop giving him so he has a better diet. I also give him packaged spring mix as veggies, and I still give him the young rabbit pellets from oxbow (should I consider changing this now if he’s not a baby anymore?). Hay and water is always available. If you guys have any suggestions of how I could improve his diet to avoid getting bladder sludge and any other digestive problems, I would appreciate it very much. Thanks everyone!

 

[Bam]

You can absolutely switch him to adult pellets! Young rabbit pellets have more calcium and protein than an adult bun needs.

The flower mix sounds fine, what to avoid is mainly alfalfa, clover and very dark leafy greens such as kale and black kale.

It’s great that he gets a lot of exercise!

[Pomie]

Yes, I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for all the help everyone! I’ll keep an eye on him and give him just hay and water for now to see if he continues to release sludge. If he does then I might take him to the vet.

[Bam]

If he’s used to eating lots of hay, hay and water will be fine for a while. If heisnt a big hay eater, you should complement his diet with a small amount of pellets, just so he doesnt get too little nutritious food in him (rabbits that are unused to hay cant readily absorb all the nutrients and calories in hay).

Its very good to keep an eye on the urinary output. True sludge is like fine wet concrete. It will cake and crack when it dries. Excess urinary calcium will not cake, it dries to a fine white-ish powder that sticks to the bottom of the litterbox. It’s easily removed with vinegar and some water.

[Pomie]

Yes I think I’ve seen excess urinary calcium before in his litter box, do you think it might be caused by the young rabbit pellets I give him? Not sure about the sludge though because it absorbed in his blankets so I don’t know if it dried down cakey or not.

He does eat lots of hay but I’m still kind of worried about his poop because they got darker and smaller ever since he had the bad batch of Oxbow’s timothy hay. I switched to SPS but its still the same. Just wondering if thats another effect of getting too much calcium? or could the hay quality affect that?

[DanaNM]

Young rabbits pellets have alfalfa, which has more calcium, so I’m guessing that is the source of the calcium! Alfalfa is also more rich and will cause darker poops. I think switching to timothy pellets and encouraging timothy hay eating will help both of these.

Calcium in the urine on its own is not something to worry too much about, you don’t need to worry unless you are seeing a really thick paste.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

I would try changing his diet. As the others said, alfalfa pellets are unnecessary at his age and the excess calcium could lead to problems. Grass hay is best, but it doesn’t have to be timothy. Bunnies pee out extra calcium, so seeing some calcium in their urine isn’t usually a cause for concern. Bladder sludge, however, is a more serious issue.

[Pomie]

I’ll start introducing timothy pellets slowly into his diet and see if that solves the issue. I hope it’s not as serious as bladder sludge. Thanks a lot everyone! I appreciate everyones help 🙂

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