Is this pee or diarrhea on the bed? Help!

[LuigiTheBunny]

Hey guys! This is my first post and I’m a first time bunny owner along with my husband. We’ve had our bunny, Luigi, for just over a month now. One month and one week exactly. Luigi is a Mini Lop buck and approximately 5.5-6 months old now. He’s not yet neutered but we are seeking a good vet and looking to have the neutering done soon.

We haven’t had any problems with him until yesterday, when he started pooping more than usual on our bed, and then either peed OR had diarrhea on it. I can’t determine with 100% certainty whether it’s pee or diarrhea, and that’s why I’m here. We have dark gray bed sheets/bedding (see picture below), and the first time seeing that wet patch was very alarming.

He’s been roaming freely for a week now and has been a good boy most of the time. IF this was urine marking, I don’t understand why it’s happening now specifically, a whole week after he left his cage. I guess he’s hitting puberty? I caught him mounting and trying to hump my plush cat a few days ago. Sometimes he also circles our legs.

Before the incident, he was licking and sniffing the bed, and we laid down to watch/play with him. He hopped around on the bed, leaving behind poop pellets in his trail, until he went to the corner/end of the mattress and that’s when it happened. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the dirty bed sheet anymore. Here is one of the stain on the mattress. It seeped through unfortunately, and has left this dark orange stain that I’ll have to clean out with vinegar.

http://puu.sh/Be7Un.jpg

And here’s a picture of him on our mattress/bed, licking a towel:

http://puu.sh/Be7VF.jpg

We have put him back in his cage and he hasn’t been let out so far today. Blocking him from the bed isn’t really an option as ours is not a proper bed. We sleep on a mattress on the floor (temporarily, for various reasons), so there is no height at all between him and our mattress. He would spend half of his day on it, licking it constantly as well as licking the pillows, duvet and whatever towels we have lying around. My husband does sweat in his sleep, so I’m sure Luigi picks up on his scent easily. I read a trick by one of the posters here that aluminium foil can deter bunnies from peeing on beds, so I guess I could try that.

I’m just unsure what I’m dealing with here: pee or diarrhea. If the latter, I would be worried. But if he IS marking, do bunnies do so because they love our scent or is it not acceptable to them to the point that they need to mark their territory? Luigi is the most adorable bunny in the world, and it really breaks my heart that he has to stay in his cage today. Aside from this, he’s seemed happy and healthy so far, certainly happier and more active ever since he realized he could leave his cage. I feed him unlimited timothy hay, a handful of pellets, and a bowl of veggies per day (rucola, lamb’s lettuce, lollo rosso). 1-2 times per week, he gets a small piece of fruit as a treat (banana, apple, grape). He needs to eat more hay, but I’m always working on that. If there’s anything else you guys need to know to assess the situation, please let me know. Thanks!

[jerseygirl]

I think it’s pee. Rabbit pee can be dark orange, brown sometimes. The lighter part in the middle may have been some calcium sediment. Did you see that on the sheet? They pee out a lot of calcium their body doesn’t need.
Beds are unfortunately a favoured place for rabbits to mark. It does sound like you’ve got a pubescent bunny on your hands at the moment!

[Asriel and Bombur]

It’s definitely marking, and not diarrhea. He is at that age where it’s best to have him neutered to prevent his unruly habits. When you do get him neutered, he could likely go through a post neuter craze for 1-2 months where his hormones will be all over the place. So it could get worse before it gets better.

He is still getting exercise though and not staying in the cage for 24 hours? I wouldn’t do the foil trick, especially if he ingests it you will have stomach issues to deal with (which are quite costly). The best solution is to take a blanket or towel that he’s already marked as his own and lay it on the mattress. It should reduce his need to mark.

I too have a mattress on the floor, and Bombur has chronic incontinence to do with an illness, so I 100% understand your frustration with this xD

[LuigiTheBunny]

Thanks for the responses!

@jerseygirl – Yes, it looked a little sludgey where his pee was, as if there were sediments in the liquid. That’s what alarmed me the most. The patch looked a little greyish on the sheet itself, but is actually orange on the white mattress!

@Asriel and Bombur – my husband doesn’t want him out of the cage for today. I don’t know if that will change. I’ll try and see if he can be out later, since we’re away from home for now anyway. I totally forgot bunnies will eat anything! I won’t use foil. He definitely likes to munch on random things. We’ve put a few towels around his cage just to minimize the mess from his hay. Maybe putting these towels on the spot might help? They may or may not have our scent on it as well, in which case should I use newly washed towels?

Edit: I’ve let him out of his cage again so he can at least exercise. Here is my temporary solution. The mattress cover has been washed at 60C (140F) and is back on the mattress. I hid all our duvet/pillows and laid some fresh, clean towels all over the side where he peed on. I also sprayed some perfume on the bed. He was allowed back on the bed and immediately pooped a pellet. He’s also left some poopies near his cage, but it’s no coincidence that he relieved himself as soon as he got back on the bed. He’s not allowed on the bed anymore. I clapped and said “NO” whenever he got onto the bed, gently pushed him off, but he always hopped back on. I have now blocked off the mattress with a large suitcase and some big boxes. For now he’s eaten dinner outside his cage, sniffed around a bit, and is now loafing in the corner. No poop pellets in sight so far. Fingers crossed that he’ll behave and not poop too much or pee at all outside his cage from now on. Poor Luigi is very confused as to why he can’t access the bed anymore. I hope neutering will eliminate this behavior in the long term, even if he does go through a post-neuter craze. Thanks again for all the suggestions. I may update this thread if the situation worsens. If anyone has more useful advice, I’m all ears!

[LuigiTheBunny]

Now he’s started peeing and pooping in the cardboard box I’ve put out for him that contains a pile of hay! I always leave some boxes lying around for him to chew on/play with, and one has had its top cut open and then filled with hay. I figured I should leave more hay for him outside his cage now that he’s roaming freely, it does give him the opportunity to eat more hay, and he’s never peed or pooped in it once until today. It seems like he thinks it’s okay now to pee outside his cage after yesterday’s mishap. He peed a small amount and pooped a whole handful of pellets! Is this more marking? Should I get him another litter box and put it outside his cage? I’m honestly afraid he’ll keep peeing and pooping outside his cage, especially before his upcoming trip to the vet.

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