Bleeding?

Question
We took in a bunny about 1 month an a half ago that one of our neighbors had callously left outside in the heat with a sign on the box that said "free". He is male (he has testicles), but i dont know how old he is. We named him Marshmallow. He is kept outside but in the shade and I bring him in to play in my room every couple of days. I feed him bunny pellets, water and the occasional carrot slivers. Today I noticed that there was ALOT of thick red-brown looking liquid in his cage around his poops. Some of it had dried and was more brown than red but under him it was fresh. I picked him up immediately and checked him for wounds but found nothing. Im scared he might be peeing blood. I know that rabbit urine can sometimes be colored this way by treats but we havent given him any of those and I am worried it might be blood. I held him like I usually do and while most times he is passive and mild this time he kept trying to escape and chew through the towel i was holding him in. I didnt exactly sense discomfort but I am scared that it might just not be evident to me as I have never had a bunny before him and dont really know what their behavior is like?

Marshmallow also about a month ago was playing on my carpet and hopping like crazy when he caught one of his little nails on the carpet and hopped, the nail ripped out and he bled a little. However that seemed to heal fine and stop bleeding after I disinfected it with hydrogen peroxide.

Also, do bunnys breathe a little hard? Not like panting or gasping but does their breath move their bodies? He is very nice and hasnt tried to bite me. Im worried because I am in college and my dad has told me that he wont pay for any vet. I want to make sure that it isnt blood though.

What do you think? Thanks!

ps. Should I buy hay for him? If so, what kind and what is it for?

Answer
Hi Teresa,

first, thanks for rescuing and taking care of this little guy.  Glad he found someone who cares.

Here are my recommendations:

1.  Take him into a good rabbit vet for a wellness exam.  Rabbits need at least an annual exam, it'd be a good time to do it as you can ask the vet questions and have the nail he broke looked at and ask about the urine colors.

2. What a rabbit eats colors their urine.  Many things can turn it orange to red.  If this has been going on a long time it probably isn't blood, rabbits do not have that much blood in them to live that long.  The vet would confirm this.  Often when rabbits are passing blood you can't even see it in the urine, a test has to detect it.

As for picking up, he may just not have wanted to be picked up that particular time.  

For nails, you will need to trim his nails every 6-8 weeks using the same kind of 'loop' trimmer they use on dogs - they come smaller for small animals.  This will prevent snags and tears (and infections).  You should get to a pets supply store and pick up some styptic powder (or gel) to keep on hand to stop nail bleeds from accidental tears or if you trim too close to the nail quick (blood supply).  If he has dark nails you will need a small flashlight to backlight the nail to see where the quick is and leave some nail in front of it.  A vet can show you how to trim the nail properly.

Breathing: rabbits will breathe harder after running, or when they are excited or anxious.  Sometimes being picked up and held can cause them to breathe faster.  Yes, you can sometimes see them move back and forth while they are resting or sitting and breathing.  No big deal, we do this kind of thing as well.

Yes, you need to get hay for him.  Hay is the most important thing you can feed a rabbit, even more important than pellets.  The long fiber is what pushes out ingested hair so that they don't form blockages, since rabbits don't couhg up hairballs like cats.  Timothy hay and alfalfa hay are good choices.  I am guessing he's under a year, so alfalfa hay is okay right now.  Over a year, he shouldn't be given alfalfa anymore.  A vet could also possibly help you determine an age range for this guy.  He's at least 3 months old since he is sexually mature.

You do need to somehow budget for a vet.  Wellness exams vary - 45-60 dollars.  You also need to make sure that he has a hidey-place for him to go into in his outdoor space in case he is scared by something.  Make sure the outdoor living space he has is strong enough that outside predators cannot get in. Reinforce things if needed.  The hidey-hole can even be a heavy cardboard box with a entrance hole in it (but I would put small vent holes on the top and on the sides since it is outside and hotter)

Ideally he should be indoors and neutered, but that may be something more feasible down the road.  Much safer for him indoors, and if he could be neutered he would be able to be trained to use litterpans and would become a model indoor pet.  If you have very hot days around you, he should be brought inside, as temperatures over 85 degrees can put rabbits into heatstroke and kill them.  even if you can give him an area in the basement that is cooler for those times it will keep him from overheating.  They don't sweat like dogs/cats/people, all their heat goes out through their ears.  If they start panting with tongue out, they are overheating and in danger.  A cool pack wrapped in a light towel should be placed next to them.  You can also put ice in a baggie (carefully wrapped in a towel) and place next to them.  If they are already showing signs of being overheated, they may need to get to the vet.

To get the best bang for the money, you need to see a good rabbit vet.  To find one around you go to:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet in your area.  If there are none, call up your local humane/animal shelter and/or rabbit rescue groups and ask them who they would go to for rabbit care/rabbit surgeries.

Also, check out the HRS site (www.rabbit.org).  They have a searchable article index on everything you'd ever want to know about rabbits and rabbit care.  Search on terms such as "nutrition", "neuter", "Litter", "behavior" and others you can think of.  You'll get a lot of great reference aritcles to print out and keep handy.

Thanks again for caring for this little guy.  He will always love you for it.

Lee