Red colored pee

whiskers387 · Dec 30, 2009

I got home from vacation yesterday and ran in to check on the chinchillas and i discovered a puddle of red pee, what could that mean? Right now i have the liners out and am waiting for them to pee again to see if it was just a one time thing or if it will keep happening.

sheri7 · Dec 30, 2009

I know that sometimes if my chin pees on the carpet and I don't see it right away and it starts to dry it turns a rusty color....maybe thats all it is?

Ruby · Dec 30, 2009

Reddish pee usually means they have not been drinking much water. If it is not normal for your chins make sure that their water bottle is not malfunctioning, otherwise they probably just didn't drink that much while you were gone.

whiskers387 · Dec 30, 2009

Yea i noticed that much water wasnt gone but the water bottle is working fine

AZChins · Dec 30, 2009

It can also just get a little reddish and concentrated from the normal fluctuations in fluid in the bodies of chins. They have extraordinarily efficient kidneys that are very sparing with the water lost in the urine. It isn't necessarily that the chin is dehydrated just that the chin may not NEED to pass as much water through the urine with the other waste products. It's nothing to worry about unless the chin definitely hasn't been drinking.

This time of year it's cooler and the chins here seem to drink a little less. The urine does seem to be a bit more concentrated because of that.

Chinchillas are amazing little critters...they are masters of water conservation in their bodies.

whiskers387 · Dec 30, 2009

I think the two of them combined drank about 10 oz of water, maybe only 9oz so should that be fine?

AZChins · Dec 30, 2009

Over how long did they manage to drink that much? If it was over a day or two, that's perfectly fine. It's about 1 to 4 ounces per day consumed per chin for good health - the amount depends on the chin and sometimes, it seems around here, the time of year.

whiskers387 · Dec 30, 2009

It was almost 6 days and i have 2 chins, but it was WAY colder than usual

Bostongirl'sChin75 · Dec 30, 2009

Thanks goodness! I noticed this very thing a few days ago..on a day it got really cold too..and thought Herby may have had another UTI. But the next time she peed, there was nothing wrong with it. Now I know what I may have caused it! Thanks everyone!