Rabbit diabetes?

Question
Hi!
We have recently adopted a rabbit.  He came from a pet store, originally, but the folks who bought him could not keep him, so we brought him home.  I'm not entirely sure of his whole dietary history, but we were given pellets and alfalfa with him.  He's only been here a couple of weeks now, but we've been gradually introducing fresh vegetables, timothy hay, grass and dandelions to him.  He seems to be generally healthy and active in most ways.  However, he seems to drink and urinate an astonishing amount for one small bunny.  We've had rabbits before, so I'm noting this in comparison to other rabbits.  There is no offensive odor, nor real cloudiness to the urine.  Frankly, it is nearly like water.  He has no "urine burns", no signs of distress during urination (or otherwise).  He has lost a little weight, also.  He eats readily and happily.  He drinks like a fiend.  We're in the process of finding a rabbit friendly vet around here (ours retired abruptly) and will do so as soon as we can find one and my check arrives (late this week, for the check).  However, in the interim, I'm wondering if maybe this bun has diabetes and, if so, what can I do to help him until we can get to a vet?

Thank you so much!

Answer
Dear Lori,

You don't say how old the bunny is, which could make a difference.  

But unfortuantely, the signs you describe are consistent with a bunny who has renal disease.  Diabetes, while not unheard of in rabbits, is extremely rare.  Kidney failure, on the other hand, is not uncommon.

Once you find a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

ask him/her to take blood samples for complete blood chemistry and cell counts.  The BUN and creatinine levels, as well as some of the electrolyte levels, will reveal whether the kidneys are concentrating urine or not.  It will help to couple this with a measurement of the urine specific gravity. But if you say the urine is very clear and watery, then the s.g. is probably very low (dilute urine).

In the meantime, provide unlimited access to clean water at all times.  In many cases, a rabbit can manage his/her excretion and osmotic regulation simply by drinking on his own.  When we intervene too often with subQ fluids or other therapies, we can throw things really out of whack, with disastrous results.  Even in human medicine these days, physicians are learning that unless a person is in acute renal failure, it's often best to do as little as possible, and let the person manange his/her own homeostasis by listening to his/her body's cues.

That's what your bunny is doing now, and I hope he'll be able to maintain that for a long time to come.

I hope this helps.

Dana