Dark Orange Pee

[Deleted User]

Hello all,

As some of you may know I have a female dutch. I miscalculated her age and after speaking with the woman I got her from I realized she is actually 6 months already, and I thought she was only 5. We have an appointment to get spayed on June 23rd.

I have had her free range of the entire apartment for about a month and a half without any issues. Recently, she has been ripping up the carpet and leaving poops all around, with also some urine accidents (right outside of her litter box so I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as “spraying”).

Because of these issues, I have no choice but to confine her to her cage when we are not home to monitor her and make sure she is not ripping up the carpet or the couch. However, she peed in her cage outside of the litter box and it was a dark orange color that almost looked like a thick consistency.

I’ve turned to several of my go to sources and have found that this can either be a common problem or it can be indicative of something else more serious such as a kidney or liver problem? In your opinion, do you think this might be caused from stress because she is not used to being in her cage? Can this happen from giving too much parsley (we have had guests recently and I have tried to limit them but of course all they want to do is feed her so she will come to them)?? I introduced her to dried cranberries as treats last week but she has only had 2 pieces of them once as a treat and a few slices of bananas once in the last week. I have arranged for a full initial exam before her procedure on the 23rd but does anyone think I should bring her to the vet now instead of waiting 2 weeks for a checkup the day of her surgery?

[Wick & Fable]

The dark orange color can come from food pigments, so if your rabbit has had a different combination of food recently, or has eaten something novel, this could cause the color change. The parsley or banana could be the cause; not one of harm, but just saying these may be the foods which will dye your rabbit’s urine. My vet says there are times when the color will vary from clear to dark orange randomly as well, not as a result of a health issue, but just as a natural fluctuation of the rabbit’s urine.

The ‘thick consistency’ is more of a problem, if it is one. Sometimes high calcium intake can cause the urine to be more sludgy. I think, in general, when introducing new foods (even in what we perceive as a very small amount), only do one at a time and wait a day or two before trying something else. I find Wick’s urine and poo is unusual, but goes back to normal, when he’s introduced to something new in a rushed manner.

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.

[Deleted User]

Yes I was mostly concerned with the fact that it seemed “thick”. This was yesterday and I haven’t noticed it happening again, but my husband is home today and will be monitoring her. We are cutting back on the parsley and treats because I think she may have just gotten to much in because, of course, everyone wants to pet the bun and see her do tricks. I usually only give her 1tbsp of pellets a day, and I found out that while my sister was visiting she gave her probably twice that much (when she had already eaten) while I was cooking dinner. Needless to say I was upset….. -.- so perhaps it is just from her diet, because I have read that pellets can contain high amounts of calcium. I buy from small pet select so I’m not exactly sure of the amount of calcium in the pellets since I have put them in a container and thrown away the bag. Thanks for your input, I was a bit worried here that something might be wrong with bun!

[Bam]

Bladder sludge is really thick. Here’s a good article with pictures:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/generalities/Sludge.htm

A rabbit that’s 6 months old still need more calcium than an adult bun.

I found nutritional values for one rabbit food by SPS, but I don’t know if it’s the one you’ve got:
https://shop.smallpetselect.com/products/premium-rabbit-food

[Deleted User]

Posted By bam on 6/12/2017 9:05 AM

Bladder sludge is really thick. Here’s a good article with pictures:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/generalities/Sludge.htm

A rabbit that’s 6 months old still need more calcium than an adult bun.

I found nutritional values for one rabbit food by SPS, but I don’t know if it’s the one you’ve got:
https://shop.smallpetselect.com/pro…abbit-food

Oh ok, it definitely wasn’t anything like that thick! I suppose it was just like a milky looking consistency, and it did not dry into a cake layer like that site showed. It just seemed strange to me. I don’t know if any of you have every had thai tea, but it resembled orange thai tea with cream in it…… aaaaannnnd I’ve just ruined thai tea for myself lol.

I had called the vet where she will have her procedure and they told me to bring her in for a $65 test to see if there is a UTI. Since I have not noticed it again I will hold off on the vet, but I’ll bring her if I notice it happening again. I suppose she just got way more treats/pellets than she is used to from our visitors this weekend.

And yep, those are the pellets I got! Thanks, I ordered them off amazon and didn’t realize the site posted the info.

[Bam]

Rabbits eliminate excess calcium via the kidneys, and that’s normal for the species. Most other mammals get rid of excess calcium via the poop. So urine that’s a little chalky (love the thai tea with cream-analogy!) is normal in a bunny and not worrisome. It doesn’t indicate a UTI.

The only thing that perhaps could indicate a UTI is if she pees outside the box, esp if it’s pee dribble/ very small amounts of urine plus she urinates really often. You sometimes see a bun with a UTI strain to pee and sometimes there are specks of blood in the urine. Uniformly red pee is rarely blood, but you can test that by dripping hydrogen peroxide on the pee spot. If there’s blood, it foams a lot. If there’s no blood, there’s no foam. Our leader Jerseygirl has tested this test-method irl and it did what it should on both urine + blood and normal urine.

Could you get us a picture of her urine? It doesn’t sound worrisome at all to me though.

[Deleted User]

Posted By bam on 6/12/2017 9:54 AM

Rabbits eliminate excess calcium via the kidneys, and that’s normal for the species. Most other mammals get rid of excess calcium via the poop. So urine that’s a little chalky (love the thai tea with cream-analogy!) is normal in a bunny and not worrisome. It doesn’t indicate a UTI.

The only thing that perhaps could indicate a UTI is if she pees outside the box, esp if it’s pee dribble/ very small amounts of urine plus she urinates really often. You sometimes see a bun with a UTI strain to pee and sometimes there are specks of blood in the urine. Uniformly red pee is rarely blood, but you can test that by dripping hydrogen peroxide on the pee spot. If there’s blood, it foams a lot. If there’s no blood, there’s no foam. Our leader Jerseygirl has tested this test-method irl and it did what it should on both urine + blood and normal urine.

Could you get us a picture of her urine? It doesn’t sound worrisome at all to me though.

Awesome info with the peroxide!! Good to know for future reference! So I wiped it out of her cage with a vinegar soaked rag and I didn’t snap a pic of it. I was home with her all day yesterday because it was Sunday and I cleaned her litter box and put fresh litter in it and I looked throughout the day and I didn’t notice any discolorations again. I do use brown bedding so I suppose it would not be easy to see discolorations… but I would have definitely noticed this “creamy” looking pee! Of course, it is always an orange tint but this just caught me off guard because of the consistency and strange color! If it happens again I will snap a picture of it! (yuck, beware!! lol). I may look into buying a white litter next time just in case there are any color issues again in the future and I will notice them!

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User]

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It’s not the pee but that is literally what it looked like!! Except a little darker not so bright.

[Wick & Fable]

That color seems fine to me. Some of Wick’s towels have that color on them from pee clean-ups.

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.

[Deleted User]

Ok, I’m not so worried anymore! Thanks guys!! ?

[Bam]

It’s a good color. Comes from plant pigments, as a rule. Can also occur spontaneously for reasons yet not known. In either case it’s fine.

[Author]

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