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Drinking urine

B

Bumblebee Megatron

Warren Scout
Hi,

I wasn't sure where to post this; care, food, health or behavourial...?

My little lionhead is soon to be one year old. He has this habit of drinking his own urine. My other rabbit has never done this... well not that I've noticed and I'm sure I would have by now.

The little lionhead shoots right round and starts drinking it straight away. Is this normal? And is this harmful? I know ec is passed through urine but I guess it would be a worry if he was drinking my other rabbits urine...?

I hope someone can help... and tell me that it is perfectly normal? :D
 
Is he healthy in every other way ?

Does he drink alot of water too and is the urine very dilute ?

Has he any history of Dental problems ?

Is the other Rabbit bonded with him and if so is the other Rabbit a Buck or a Doe ?
 
Yes he is healthy - that I am aware of but as you'll know you can tell when a rabbit isn't well.

He drinks water but not lots (like my other rabbit).

He had an emergency dental when he about 6 months old :( Very upsetting that was as well. He very nearly didn't make it but had the most super exotic vet who helped him.

I have another buck but they are not bonded - I have tried but they appear to not like each other.

I hope he's ok? *Touch wood* he seems brilliant. Good weight, healthy appetite and has been binkying all weekend. It's something that I've noticed him do almost from day one.
 
It may just be a behavioural thing. Especially with another Buck about.

However, I have known Rabbits to drink urine as a pain response (ear pain in the cases I have seen). So a quick Vet check might be a good idea, especially as he has a history of Dental issues. Try not to worry though, if he's always done it it may just be a foible of his :)
 
Bumblebee Megatron said:
Has anyone else had this trouble..... well, not yourselves but have your bunnies? I am worried now
Click to expand...

Yep Thumper's like this, & he's always done it.
He has tiny spikes on his back teeth (molar spurs) next to his tongue.
In his case he drinks his wee because it's warm & doesn't hurt his tongue so much when it rubs against the spurs.
ETA I mean really drinks his wee, & won't use a normal litter tray so he can drink his wee.

He didn't have a dental until he was 3 1/2 because the spurs were so tiny no one thought they were the cause of his endless tummy issues, & difficulty feeding him. He'd only eat fresh food eg grass, herbs & leaves. (They were virtually his only other source of fluids apart from wee)

The good news is that he is very healthy at 4 1/2 with regular dentals.
He needed a bit of retraining to get him to drink water again.

As your bunny has had dental issues at a young age, my advice is to get his teeth checked by a good bunny vet.

Please keep us updated.
 
Last edited:
thumps_ said:
Yep Thumper's like this, & he's always done it.
He has tiny spikes on his back teeth (molar spurs) next to his tongue.
In his case he drinks his wee because it's warm & doesn't hurt his tongue so much when it rubs against the spurs.
ETA I mean really drinks his wee, & won't use a normal litter tray so he can drink his wee.

He didn't have a dental until he was 3 1/2 because the spurs were so tiny no one thought they were the cause of his endless tummy issues, & difficulty feeding him. He'd only eat fresh food eg grass, herbs & leaves. (They were virtually his only other source of fluids apart from wee)

The good news is that he is very healthy at 4 1/2 with regular dentals.
He needed a bit of retraining to get him to drink water again.

As your bunny has had dental issues at a young age, my advice is to get his teeth checked by a good bunny vet.

Please keep us updated.
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for your advice guys.

I say he's had teeth issues - I mean he has had one dental but when he was really young. He went from completely fine to knocking on deaths door in a day and it was horrible. It started by him not eating as much. Luckily and touch wood, this is not the case at the moment but like you said, I think I should take him in to see someone. Luckily, I used to train to be a vet nurse and know a really good exotics vet - the same one who saved the little mans life (may I add, by driving out to meet me on his night off and spending hours with the baby bun)

Will keep you posted.
 
What a nightmare you've been through. I suspect that baby buns go downhill even faster than adults. They must have virtually no reserve organ function at all.
My apologies for "talking down" to you.
I try to translate the jargon words, so that everyone can understand easily. I'm so pleased that you have a good exotics trained vet.

I often wonder whether if Thumper had had his tiny spurs burred when he was 16 weeks, his small malocclusion would have been correctable by diet. But as he was 3 1/2 before he had his 1st. dental in desperation to stop the stasis episodes, I wonder whether the ligaments of the tmj had tightened up cos the spikes acted like a door stop preventing side to side movement. He's never had a hint of oral ulceration.
ETA He drinks infinately better from a bowl.

We see Marie Kubiak who posts on here. She's a brilliant vet who sees the bunnies at our regional exotics referral center. Should your vet want to discuss your bun & compare with Thumper the phone number is 01793603800. E gwr@gwreferrals.co.uk
 
thumps_ said:
What a nightmare you've been through. I suspect that baby buns go downhill even faster than adults. They must have virtually no reserve organ function at all.
My apologies for "talking down" to you.
I try to translate the jargon words, so that everyone can understand easily. I'm so pleased that you have a good exotics trained vet.

I often wonder whether if Thumper had had his tiny spurs burred when he was 16 weeks, his small malocclusion would have been correctable by diet. But as he was 3 1/2 before he had his 1st. dental in desperation to stop the stasis episodes, I wonder whether the ligaments of the tmj had tightened up cos the spikes acted like a door stop preventing side to side movement. He's never had a hint of oral ulceration.
ETA He drinks infinately better from a bowl.

We see Marie Kubiak who posts on here. She's a brilliant vet who sees the bunnies at our regional exotics referral center. Should your vet want to discuss your bun & compare with Thumper the phone number is 01793603800. E gwr@gwreferrals.co.uk
Click to expand...

Not at all! I appreciate your help. I get worried that I worry too much!!! Ha - well I know that I worry too much so I like to get other peoples view. I am annoyed at myself though because I always used to advise people "If you are EVER worried, bring your pet in to see a vet" Durrr!! There is no harm in taking him in. After all, I saw how quickly he went down hill before and I would hate for that to happen again. If there is something wrong, at least if he does need a dental he'll be a stronger little bunny.
He does drink water too, they have bottles - and when they are out their little house running around my house there are two bowls of water that they spend ages at - bless.

I will definitely make an appointment for him to go and see my friend. I think he'd be so pleased to see how much he's grown and how well he is because he was in such a bad way before, so much so that the vet told me he wouldn't make it through the night :cry:

Many thanks
 
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