rabbit health question - Paw Talk

Fane81 · #1 08-20-2005, 11:22 PM

hello.

i'm not sure if this is normal or not but my rabbit Sniffles has a crusty build-up from where she pees from and it seems yellowy and reddish. also- she has been getting these small hard dried blood pieces that also come from where she pees from. i found one peice the other day that looked like half of a toe-nail stuck in there- but when it came out i was able to break it in half and see that it was red like a thick piece of dried blood. i'm not sure what it is! has anyone ever seen anything like this before? i have a vet appointment tuesday for her. so far she seems perfectly normal other than this.

also- she is supposed to be spayed. i bought her as a spayed female and i'm wondering if this could be a sign that she isn't fixed afterall- due to blood in her peeing area. does anyone with unspayed female rabbits ever see this?

thanks.

velvetrabbit · #2 08-21-2005, 03:07 PM

I've not ever seen that before in any of my rabbits (and all of them are unspayed).
Nor have I heard of this in healthy spayed rabbits, either.

The very first thing you should consider is taking her to a vet. They will be able to confirm that she was spayed, and be able to tell you what the problem could be.

While it is not uncommon to find the urine in rabbits to take on a reddish tinge, it is uncommon to find blood dried or otherwise in the urine or the hind end of a healthy rabbit.

Please, take your rabbit to a vet.

Fane81 · #3 08-21-2005, 05:25 PM

hello.

thanks for your reply.

you confirmed what i feared- that it is not normal to be seeing blood in that area.

i have made an appointment for her first thing tuesday morning- its as soon as they could get me in during regular hours- but i'm keeping a VERY close eye on her- she lives in my bedroom so i'm always checking her litter box and her back end. i haven't seen any blood yet today- but it seems to just appear suddenly! so i'll keep checking. she seems happy and comfortable so far but if i notice ANY odd behavior i will drive her to the emergency vet clinic immediately.

thanks again

Claire · #4 08-22-2005, 01:24 AM

Hope everything works out ok. Keep us posted!

Fane81 · #5 08-24-2005, 06:02 PM

well it turns out the dark reddish piece came from where my rabbit Sniffles poops from and not pees from... also i didnt see it again after i posted in here about seeing it. however- i brought Sniffles to the vet yesterday for a complete examination anyway and the vet said she appears in perfect health and that she thinks my rabbit probably ate something that got stuck when it came out and if i never see it again then it was not something that she needs meds for. however- she told me to check daily and if i see it again to bring a sample of the hard piece into the vet for analysis.

i haven't seen anything in a couple days now and think it was maybe a fluke thing... but i still feel a little nervous about it and will keep a close eye on her back-end in case it happens again.

velvetrabbit · #6 08-27-2005, 07:30 PM

PHew! I'm glad that nothing was truly wrong! If she's a house rabbit with free rein, perhaps this means you need to do some more bunny proofing,

. Rabbits, as I'm sure you've noticed, LOVE to chew.

animalexpert · #7 08-28-2005, 08:10 AM

Glad to hear that your bunny rabbit is ok and perfectly healthy

after seeing the vet, i know alot of people who have some rabbits who probably wouldnt noticed and if they did they proabably wouldnt take them too the vet.

Do you have an idea of what snuffles could have eaten or is she out and about during the day? just curious

Fane81 · #8 08-28-2005, 02:53 PM

hello.
thanks for your replies and support!

well- Sniffles does have a lot of free rein in my apartment! so i think i'm going definately have to do more bunny-proofing! she's only about 5-6 months old and is much more interested in eating things that are unknown to her than my older rabbit is. Sniffles has to "taste" everything!

anyway- although i'm not sure exactly what she ate- i think the problem stemmed from the day she got into my closet by accident. i think she may have eaten something in there, so i have since completely cleaned it out and put everything on shelves in there up off the floor just in case she ever gets in there again! it may sound extreme but i can't chance her getting into something again! it almost gave me a heart attack when i didn't know what was going on with her. she's so accident-prone. just yesterday she ran
face-first right into my bedroom door when racing around my room and got a bloody nose! so i had to bring her into the emergency vet because i didn't know exactly how bad her nose was hurt! but she's fine! just got a littled dazed is all.

so anyway- she has a big 4 foot by 2.5 foot cage that she'll be spending more time in now- just to save her from herself!

velvetrabbit · #9 08-28-2005, 03:52 PM

Sounds like you're taking excellent precautions

PetFairyGodGirl · #10 09-02-2005, 10:20 AM

Its most likely coming from her vents, right beside where she pees. You should clean them gently with a baby wipe if you notice it looks dirty.

Fane81 · #11 09-02-2005, 01:00 PM

yes, that's exactly where it was coming from. i had to pull the stuff out from there VERY gently because it was stuck in there so the vent was closed.

what are these vents for? i thought it was where her cecotropes and fecal droppings came from. am i wrong? i admit the rabbit's anatomy sometimes baffles me...

PetFairyGodGirl · #12 09-02-2005, 01:17 PM

You are, feces and urine come from two different areas right next to eachother. The vents are waste, it should look orange/reddish. its not blood, and it should be waxy, this is a sign that your rabbit is healthy, just clean it up gently with some baby wipes, and you'll be all set.

Fane81 · #13 09-02-2005, 01:34 PM

well that clears up a lot for me! thank you!

i think she had a build-up of that waxy stuff, but it was VERY dark so thats why i thought it was blood. i feel like an idiot! i'll check her vents regulary. my other rabbit's vents are always clean, but i think that's
because she's more interesting in grooming herself than my other one is.