urine color

Question
Hello.  I just purchased two baby rabbits from my neighbors son.  The rabbits are 10-12 weeks old and are does. They may turn out to be floppy ears.  I noticed that their urine is like a rust color and I'm not sure if its coming from both rabbits.  Could this be normal ?  

Thank you,
Michelle  

Answer
Dear Michelle,

Normal rabbit urine can range in color from pale yellow to pale orange to dark orange or red, and even brown depending on what the bunny has been eating and even on emotional state.  No one really knows why.  If the urine is really excessively dark and smelly, it's possible the babies are a bit dehydrated and could use a lot of fresh drinking water in a heavy ceramic crock. They tend to drink more from a crock than from a sipper bottle.  A healthy bunny should drink about 90-100ml per kilogram of bunny per day, so let that be a guide to see if they're getting enough hydration.

In an older female, dark urine can be a sign of blood, and if the bunny is not spayed the most likely culprit is uterine cancer (very common in unspayed, unbred females).  You can read more about this, and the importance of spay/neuter here:

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

You also can find articles on litterbox training and proper care of your new family members at these web sites:

www.rabbit.org (the best!)

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

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

Dana