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Rabbit not urinating, eating normal..

S

Stephankne

New Kit
Hi,

I have a 7 year old neutered male rabbit who over the past month or so had been given kale. He had never had some before and I thought it was healthy for him- although I've been reading it is high in calcium which can cause bladder sludge or stones :(

Over the past week he has not been drinking and his urine is an orange color. He has not been straining but when he goes it is not a lot and is not normal for him. Other than the drinking/peeing he is totally normal. Hops around, licks me, wants to cuddle and has been eating. I have been giving him lots of lettuce (Romaine and green leaf) soaked in water. I gave him some water in a syringe and he took it okay. Also, each time he pees he licks himself right after.

I brought him to the vet yesterday and they gave him baytril and some ointment for his sore bum. they also did some subcutaneous fluids. Any thoughts on how long I should wait before I bring him back in to see if it is a bladder stone?

Could he pass a bladder stone on his own?

Thank you for any thoughts!
 
Welcome to the forum :)

Rabbits can get a lot of water from their food, to the extent that if they eat enough fresh foods they'll hardly ever use a bowl/bottle. So if you've been feeding more vegetables, or he's been eating more fresh grass it's normal for his water intake to go down. You can encourage him to drink more by adding a little unsweetened apple juice to the water.

Rabbit's urine can also be effected by what they eat. It varies in colour from quite pale, through yellow, orange and even red! It can be a little startling but doesn't necessarily indicate a problem.

One possibility would be a urine infection - they are quite common in rabbits and often go undetected. If that's the case the baytril should clear it up. The symptoms you describe certainly sound like they could match.

If he's acting normally otherwise then I would finished the course of antibiotics and see if that resolves the issue, if not then take him back in. Though of course if you are at all worried in the meantime give you vet a ring for advice.
 
Update

I brought him to a new vet and they did an X-ray... He did have sludge and quite a bit of it. He was dehydrated so they wanted to keep him overnight with fluids and manual expression. I'm very upset because they ruptered his bladder and now he is undergoing emergency surgery. Does anyone have any experience with the success/recovery rates?? i am so nervous :cry:: and feel like its my fault :(

The vet he went to is on the house rabbit society site but was out of the office yesterday and I think it may have happened when she wasn't there.
 
I'm so sorry this has happened - your poor bunny (and you).
I don't have any experience of ruptured bladders or the likely outcome of surgery, just hope he will be ok.
 
Stephankne said:
I brought him to a new vet and they did an X-ray... He did have sludge and quite a bit of it. He was dehydrated so they wanted to keep him overnight with fluids and manual expression. I'm very upset because they ruptered his bladder and now he is undergoing emergency surgery. Does anyone have any experience with the success/recovery rates?? i am so nervous :cry:: and feel like its my fault :(

The vet he went to is on the house rabbit society site but was out of the office yesterday and I think it may have happened when she wasn't there.
Click to expand...

Oh goodness how awful :cry:

I fear your Bunny needs something of a miracle now and I so hope that he receives one and that he can pull through xx
 
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