Why is my baby rabbit's urine leaving white powdery residue?

If your bunny's urine is milky/cloudy, that means she has more calcium in her diet than her body can use. The underlying cause is consuming too much alfalfa hay or pellets. If you are feeding alfalfa hay or pellets I suggest you stop feeding that and switch to timothy or orchard grass hay (or a combination thereof). Hay should make up the majority of the diet and she should be getting very little pellets. I don't know what brand of diet you are feeding but I suggest you use Oxbow: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/oxbow-14-oz-simple-reward-timothy-treat https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/oxbow-2-oz-smple-rewards-cranberry Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello. What you are seeing are porphyrin pigments in the urine. This is perfectly normal & may come & go. Make sure his pelleted diet is fresh & appropriate for rabbits. Rabbits absolutely need hay & grasses to live well & should be available to Snow all day long. You can feed other green leafy plants such as broccoli, cabbage, chard, parsley, celery leaves, watercress, kale, endive & carrot & beet tops. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, and thank you for these questions. Care sheets for rabbits are available on the internet. e.g. here https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/rabbits Briefly, water and hay (alfalfa or grass) should be always available. Commercial pellets should be offered at about 1/2 cup per day to an adult 2kg rabbit. With young rabbits (<6 months) there is no need to limit the pellets. A handful of leafy greens may be added 1-2 times daily. As to the urines, just keep the cage as clean as possible and replace the substrate when it gets wet. Regards

The stress of the bath or whatever condition precipitated the vet last week may be responsible. Discontinue feeding pellets and vegetables and feed solely Timothy hay or similar grasses. Feed as much hay as Oliver wants to eat. Do not feed any alfalfa. Once his droppings return to normal, feed no more than 1/8 cup of pellets daily and gradually introduce small amounts of vegetables or dark, leafy greens. You can continue to offer as much timothy hay as he wants. Rabbits need a high fiber diet. If the symptoms persist or if he stops eating, have him rechecked by your veterinarian or a vet experienced in treating rabbits.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is very normal for rabbits to have "milky urine" as they excrete a significant amount of calcium in their urine. It is also not unusual for their urine to be red-tinged, as a result of the porphyrins and plant pigments they excrete in their urine. I hope this is helpful!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I have noticed that you listed Ms. Bunny as unspayed. Unspayed female rabbits are at a very high risk of cancer of the uterus, so I would be very worried about that as a possibility for the weight loss. The muddy urine could also be due to high calcium in her diet leading to calcium build-up in the urine. This can cause rabbits to have sludgy urine. It is important to get this checked right away. Your vet will try to empty out the bladder, increase the fluid intake, and get a better diet that is lower in calcium. I would suggest having her seen by your vet and discuss her diet, get a urine sample, and check out her uterus. Best of luck with Ms. Bunny.

A sterile urine sample should be collected and submitted for urinalysis and culture. This will diagnose urinary tract infection, identify the responsible organism and determine the best antibiotic to use in treatment. Check the teeth for malocclusion or overgrowth. It is of critical importance to get Lilly eating again. Supportive care (subcutaneous fluids, force feeding, etc) should be continued. Always have timothy hay or similar grasses available. An abdominal x-rays should be considered to diagnose foreign body, large hair balls or tumors in the abdomen. A hairball paste may aid in passage of any hairballs. If you don't have experience force feeding, have your veterinarian show you how. If available, Oxbow Critical Care is an excellent formula to feed sick or injured rabbits.