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Bladder sludge?......

Bunny Boo. said:
My observations have been that for the last 2 days of being on filtered water the amount of calcium has decreased, there is only 1/4 of white stuff in her litter tray, compared with before. We do have very hard water here though its awful...
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Sludge is so difficult. You never know if seeing it or not seeing it is good or bad!
If you don't see it or it reduces you can't tell whether it's because there is less sludge in the bladder and if there is, whether it is due to a change in diet or whether what was seen before was all there ever was to come out and not related to any changes. Or if not seeing it or so much of it, means its now building up in the bladder and less is being flushed out.

There is so much guess work involved. For me personally if there was known sludge in the bladder I preferred to see plenty of it coming out, although I always felt bad for bunny as it must hurt :(

As I mentioned previously fluids is the key so whether it's tap water, filtered water or bottled water just make sure she is still drinking loads and any changes in water type does't lead to a reduction in drinking while she gets use to a different taste. We found that adding probiotics helped increase water consumption as he loved the taste. It also helped boost his immune system as sludge often creates a urinary infection as it irritates the bladder lining.
 
Hugo's There said:
Sludge is so difficult. You never know if seeing it or not seeing it is good or bad!
If you don't see it or it reduces you can't tell whether it's because there is less sludge in the bladder and if there is, whether it is due to a change in diet or whether what was seen before was all there ever was to come out and not related to any changes. Or if not seeing it or so much of it, means its now building up in the bladder and less is being flushed out.

There is so much guess work involved. For me personally if there was known sludge in the bladder I preferred to see plenty of it coming out, although I always felt bad for bunny as it must hurt :(

As I mentioned previously fluids is the key so whether it's tap water, filtered water or bottled water just make sure she is still drinking loads and any changes in water type does't lead to a reduction in drinking while she gets use to a different taste. We found that adding probiotics helped increase water consumption as he loved the taste. It also helped boost his immune system as sludge often creates a urinary infection as it irritates the bladder lining.
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I am keeping a close eye on her drinking consumption, i did worry that changing her over onto filtered water would create me a problem with her not liking the taste and then not drinking enough but she seems to be drinking the same amount as before which is good.:D Thats a good idea about the probiotics, which one do you use?
 
Bunny Boo. said:
This is Peanut, taken today before our marathon round the garden.....
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Peanut, you are a beautiful darling and I can see why you are so much loved :love:
 
Bunny Boo. said:
I am keeping a close eye on her drinking consumption, i did worry that changing her over onto filtered water would create me a problem with her not liking the taste and then not drinking enough but she seems to be drinking the same amount as before which is good.:D Thats a good idea about the probiotics, which one do you use?
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It's great she is still drinking plenty. I use avipro plus probiotics.
 
Up date on Peanut.

Peanut has been doing well with the amount of calcium visible in her urine until yesterday and today! I didn't change her diet before just put her on filtered water, but over the last two days I have reduced her pellet food and upped the veggies that she gets (she only has watercress, rocket and pak choi) but we seem to have a thicker/sludge like consistency in her urine!! should I reduce her veggies back to a handful a day and up her pellets to what she was on or leave it as it is and go with the fact its making its way out?! Im not sure what I'm doing any more! Im reading that more veggies is better even if they are high in calcium as they have a higher percentage of water which is better, I've reduced the pellet as these are a concentrated amount of calcium as they are dry, but her urine looks worse by doing this! she is drinking the same amount as normal and is her normal self. Not sure wether I'm coming or going at the moment, seems one thing after another!
 
I found that parsley increased my buns bladder sludge issues, and I didn't even feed him very much of it. So fresh veggies/herbs with high calcium can still lead to increased sludge problems.
 
Bunny Boo. said:
Peanut has been doing well with the amount of calcium visible in her urine until yesterday and today! I didn't change her diet before just put her on filtered water, but over the last two days I have reduced her pellet food and upped the veggies that she gets (she only has watercress, rocket and pak choi) but we seem to have a thicker/sludge like consistency in her urine!! should I reduce her veggies back to a handful a day and up her pellets to what she was on or leave it as it is and go with the fact its making its way out?! Im not sure what I'm doing any more! Im reading that more veggies is better even if they are high in calcium as they have a higher percentage of water which is better, I've reduced the pellet as these are a concentrated amount of calcium as they are dry, but her urine looks worse by doing this! she is drinking the same amount as normal and is her normal self. Not sure wether I'm coming or going at the moment, seems one thing after another!
Click to expand...

This might actually be a good thing as it could mean the extra fluids in the veg a long with the drinking and reduced pellets is now flushing the sludge out that was sitting in the bladder with a dried diet.

Like I said before its so hard to know exactly what's happening. If it were me I would carry on with the increased veg/ less pellets for a while longer to see if the calcium issue sorts itself out as the sludge is flushed out.

If the sludge continues into next Tuesday or more then I would be more inclined to think the increased veg is the problem and then reduce it. But that's just what I would do as long as bunny is well and comfortable in their selves.

I expect there will be a lot of trial and error with diet until you get the right balance x
 
Hugo's There said:
This might actually be a good thing as it could mean the extra fluids in the veg a long with the drinking and reduced pellets is now flushing the sludge out that was sitting in the bladder with a dried diet.

Like I said before its so hard to know exactly what's happening. If it were me I would carry on with the increased veg/ less pellets for a while longer to see if the calcium issue sorts itself out as the sludge is flushed out.

If the sludge continues into next Tuesday or more then I would be more inclined to think the increased veg is the problem and then reduce it. But that's just what I would do as long as bunny is well and comfortable in their selves.

I expect there will be a lot of trial and error with diet until you get the right balance x
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply, I feel a little more at ease now, will keep going and see how we get on. It's better out then in!
 
Bunny Boo. said:
Thank you for your reply, I feel a little more at ease now, will keep going and see how we get on. It's better out then in!
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It certainly is a difficult subject. If your vet expresses the bladder, they can gain an impression of the situation, so long as your vet has lots of experience with seeing rabbits and this condition.

Wet leafy veg are generally recommended. Have you any grass instead of hay, or instead of some of it?
 
MightyMax said:
It certainly is a difficult subject. If your vet expresses the bladder, they can gain an impression of the situation, so long as your vet has lots of experience with seeing rabbits and this condition.

Wet leafy veg are generally recommended. Have you any grass instead of hay, or instead of some of it?
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Don't have a huge amount of grass as we have had so much rain that has ruined any good bits. She does have a nibble on what's left when I bring her out for her sprint round the garden! I am in the process of getting some trays and growing my own?!
 
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