Two question about Rabbits

hey
I have two question about my rabbit its a rex and shes a female I dont know how old she is I think about 3 months anyways heres my first question is when does she start to be in heat? and if she dont get any can she pass away? I know some animals can like ferrets
my second question I let her out of her cage last night and she peed near my bed and I notice that there was some white stuff in it, can it be something serious?
thanks for taking your time in reading this and responding

[Youkey Kuwahara, D.V.M.]

Rabbits don’t really have a heat cycle.  Rather, they are inducted ovulators.  In other words, mating with a male rabbit will cause the female rabbit to ovulate.  Rather than having a heat cycle, rabbits are ready to mate at any time once they reach sexual maturity.  This can cause an overpopulation of rabbits for sure.

Many pet rabbit owners choose not to breed them because they don’t want to add to the overpopulation of unwanted rabbits at the shelter.  Others believe that some female rabbits may increase their chance of developing cancer later in life if they are never mated, while others have pets that live a very long and happy life without ever being mated.

As far as the whitish urine, did this happen recently?  Did you change her diet at all?  My own rabbits had a milkish tinge to her urine which was normal for her.  If you are concerned that this is an abnormal color for your rabbit, you can always get a urinalysis done at the vet.  They can detect if there is an overproduction of bacteria or other stuff that shouldn’t be present in the urine.

Good luck!

Dr. Youkey

[clafoutis]

oh thank you I didn't know that.
the urine happened last night, but I'm not sure if it re happened again I didnt change anything in her diet, so I will keep an eye out to see if it happens and I'm on the search for a good vet

[tumper]

can rabbits get hair balls? and how could you tell the difference between that and a cold?   Darlene