Baby bunnys sludge/bloody urine

Question
We have gotten a new bunny about two weeks ago. It real age is unknown but I'm guessing 6-8 weeks. She's seems to be a fine happy little rabbit, but the other day we noticed her urine residue was a thick pink/red color. She is eating well and in fact seems to be gaining weight. She's seems very happy and playful just as you would expect a baby rabbit too be.
After noticing the discolored stool I began researching, leading me to this web site. I believe she may have some type of "sludge" as her urine is thick. We were giving her water treated with a vitamin supplement, but we changed that to normal water fearful that was affecting her, or causing her not to drink as much as she should. As for the red color I am at a loss. We don't really feed her any vegetables that are red in color. Mainly leafy greens on occasion. Should I assume this is blood? If so, is this a concern? Any advice, or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.  

Answer
Dear Matt,

Rabbit urine can range in color from pale yellow to orange to red, and even to dark brown.  The darker colors are usually not immediately apparent (though sometimes they are), and usually yellow pee oxidizes to a darker color.  The plant pigments putatively responsible for this color change don't necessarily come from red plant parts.  The pigments (porphyrins) may be almost any color, but chemically change in the body and may oxidize (when exposed to air) to red, orange, or brown.

Such a young bunny is unlikely to be suffering from uterine problems or bladder infection.  But in older rabbits, red urine can sometimes indicate the presence of blood, which requires the immediate attention of a good rabbit vet, which you can find here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer, so it's important that she be spayed when she's old enough:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

I doubt she's having urinary tract problems, but if she's straining to urinate or showing any other unusual signs when she urinates, then please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

just to be aware of all the possibilities.

Good luck with your new, wee family member!  If you need more information about her proper care, please refer to the articles at

www.rabbit.org

and

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/rabbithealth.html

Hope that helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana