My rabbit ate banana skin. Why is his pee reddish-brown now?

Normal rabbit urine often reflects their diet and comes in many colors of red-orange-yellow and is not of major concern unless there are obvious blood clots, discomfort when urinating or altered thirst/fever.

Rabbit urine can be naturally more of an orange color than other mammals. This is partly due to their diet and partly their biology. If Olaf's urine is normally more yellowish than this and remains this color when you stop giving him medication and extra fruit (which is high in sugar so generally only given as a special treat), I would discuss this with your veterinarian. One way you can monitor urine color in rabbits who are litter box trained is to switch to white CareFresh litter, which will allow you to see the urine color more clearly than most other litter types. I hope this was helpful!

This urine color could be normal, as rabbits can have red/orange urine due to the extretion of plant pigments within the diet. It's also possible it could be caused by a medical illness such as stones/sludge within the urinary tract, cystitis, uterine adencarcinoma, or polyps. Even though it often turns out that the color of the urine is normal due to the excretion of plant pigments, it's still important to have Waffles (love his name!) checked out by a vet to be sure. I would bring him into the vet in the morning for a health check.

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.

Hello, and thank you for your question. It's amazing to hear Rusty is almost 15! If all the foods you mentioned are regular items in his diet, it is unlikely that any of them are a cause for the orange urine. Sometimes if urine is left out to oxidize in air (i.e. he peed on the floor instead of in the litter box), it can turn a reddish-orange colour. If Rusty is otherwise acting, eating, and pooping normally, I would keep an eye on him for now. If any of these behaviours change, I would recommend taking him to the vet. They can test his urine sample for any evidence of abnormal crystals or bacteria, and also assess the concentration of his urine to ensure his kidneys are functioning normally. His diet seems just fine. The only thing I would be cautious of is not to feed spinach too often, which it doesn't seem like you are doing since it is in rotation with other veggies. Spinach in large quantities can cause calcium crystals to form in the urine. I hope this helps, and that Rusty is happy and healthy!

It could be that Lusi is experiencing bladder infection, and that the brown color of his urine is due to blood. I would have him seen by a vet first thing in the morning for a physical exam and urinalysis to diagnose what is causing his urine to be brown so he can be treated.

The first thing I would want to find is if the urine really has blood in it. Rabbit's urine can often look like it has blood in it, because they excrete a certain pigment (porphyrins) in the urine. This can be due to a diet high in carotenoids (carrots, mango, papaya, other orange fruits and vegetables) and stress. Blood in urine can also be a sign of infection. The best thing you can do is get the urine tested by a veterinarian. If Thunder otherwise seems fine, then it would be OK to wait a day or two and see if the urine does not look like it has blood anymore. Keep in mind that a rabbit's diet should be mostly grass and hay. Fruits and vegetables should be less than 10% of their diet. Also make sure that Thunder has a bowl of clean water available at all times.