# Orange urine, should I be worried??



## Emyhb22 (Apr 19, 2013)

If you have seen some of my other posts you will know my four girls have been acting really strange lately. My smallest girl Coco has decided she wants to be alone, 3 out of the 4 girls have matching barbering patches around their ears that I believe the fourth girl is doing. coco is the dominant female, but she's acting differently and I know it's her weeing orange as her fur around her bum is orange! Is this something I should worry about? What's wrong with her? I've put some melon in the cage in case it's dehydration... But I have a feeling she's on her way out... 

I have a feeling the barbering is a way for one of the other girls to gain dominance as Coco has "stepped down" any ideas??? 


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## Jenzie (Dec 26, 2012)

Has she eaten or chewed on anything bright orange/yellow/red lately? My boys had a blue wood chew in their cage and I noticed some greenish urine spots after Fievel had been chewing on it a lot.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Along with it being something she ate recently, it could also be kidney failure, or at least a kidney issue. Its much more common in older male rats but it does happen in females.

See if you can put her into a carrier, preferably one that's clear or a bin cage that's clear, without any bedding and wait for her to pee (then after that put her back into the cage). that way you can get a good look at what color her urine actually is, if you do so would also be good to take a picture. 

It's possible the spots on her bum are from the other goods scent marking/peeing on her, since you mention that they are taking over her spot as alpha. Can you get a picture of her rump?

Has she had any other symptoms like weight lost? obsessive drinking?


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## Emyhb22 (Apr 19, 2013)

I will try and get a photo of them today. It could be another rat scent marking but she is losing weight... And she's getting older now and her personality is being really off... 

She isn't even using the litter tray anymore and just goes anywhere. I notice the pee when I remove the fleece liners and wipe the cage down and the wipe is bright orange... Here is a photo of her recently, she is also curling up into a ball on her own with her fur puffed out... A sure sign something serious is wrong? 


















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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

If she's loosing weight, especially rapidly, that's not a good sign. Fur puffed up normally means that something is wrong as well.

If you can, I would get her into a vet to check her kidneys.

If she's still eating, you will want to lower the amount of protein and phosphorus in her diet. Sodium might also have to be lowered. It should take some pressure off of her kidneys, though it probably won't cure it. 

Foods that I'm finding for that are berries (seems to be almost all berries including cherries), apples, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Garlic (Onion is also considered good but if you give her onion best it's in a small amount and cooked from my understanding since it large amounts it can cause anemia, but in small amounts can have other benefits). Fish and Olive oil is also considered good. There are a lot of good foods out there that she can be given, it might just be easier if you search for kidney failure diet. (There used to be an article for a kidney failure diet in rats I believe but it got taken down).


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## Mousey (Oct 23, 2012)

I agree - it sounds like a kidney issue or a UTI. I would get her into the veterinarian with a urine sample. The easiest way to get a urine sample is to wake her up (rats pee right after waking up) and put her in an empty carrier (no bedding - completely empty) and wait for her to pee - when she does, remove her and suck up the pee with a syringe, and get her and the pee sample into the vet ASAP. If she has a UTI - ask for Septrin instead of Baytril! It's so much better for UTI's than Baytril!


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