Pictures & Fun Red Urine: Blood or Plant Pigment? | Sandi
Ackerman in consultation with Barbara Deeb, DVM, MS The Biology
and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents by Harkness and Wagner
contains one paragraph on this topic: "Bloody urine is rare in
rabbits and rodents. Many cases of 'bloody' urine turn out to be
porphyrin-pigmented basic urine or a sanguineous vaginal
discharge associated with uterine adenocarcinoma, polyps, or
abortion. Thick white urine containing reddish-orange pigment is
indicative of an excess of dietary calcium." Bloody urine in
rabbits may be rare, but red urine is not. People who live with
house rabbits will find this out. Diseases of Domestic Rabbits
(1988) by Lieve Okerman contains two sentences on this subject:
"Red colour of the urine is sometimes observed in rabbits. It is
probably caused by a plant pigment and does not affect the
health of the animal." Red urine is a descriptive term for the
condition where a rabbit's urine varies in color from the normal
pale yellow to dark yellow,