1 week after neuter and still not drinking right

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 6sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 10 months ago by Quantumgirl.

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- 06/27/2013 at 3:55 PM
  Quantumgirl
  Participant
  3 posts
  My 15 week old Holland lop got neutered a week ago. He seemed fine and started nibbling on food after a few hours.
  
  But now, a week later, he is still drinking a lot less than before. He used to drink about a cup of water a day, most of it at night. Now he drinks maybe 15 percent of that. He does not pee much and if he does pee, it is only tiny amounts and orange in color. I tried pinching his neck to check for dehydration, but it is so hard to tell with all the fur.
  
  I think he is eating somewhat less than before as we’ll. His poop looks completely normal though.
  
  also, when I let him out of his cage at night, he jumps on furniture, chews on everything and is doing binkies.
  
  Fluffy was on pain meds for 4 days after the surgery. His wound seems to be healing fine as far as I can tell. I am feeding him alfalfa hay and pellets. I tried diluted apple juice but he does not drink any more of that either. I also tried some collard greens and parsley, but he is not interested in it. I didn’t feed him any greens before his surgery, but figured I should try it to get his water intake up. I put numerous water bowls in his cage, no bottles.
  
  any ideas what could be wrong with him? He is my very first bunny. Is he fine as long as he is playing and pooping? Could he be drinking less because of the hormonal change? I don’t want to put him through the stress of taking him back to the vet, who is an hour away, if it’s not necessary.
- 06/27/2013 at 4:13 PM
  Stickerbunny
  Participant
  4128 posts
  Call your vet to make them aware of the change, they will likely give you some signs to look for. When my male was neutered he didn’t drink at all for three days, I had to dropper it into his mouth. My vet said as long as he got some water he was fine as long as he was eating and mine went back to normal after about two weeks.
- 06/28/2013 at 3:03 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Could he be drinking less because of the hormonal change?
  
  I suppose it could be this.
  Some rabbits will drink for something to do or because its soothing. So if he’s calmer/ more content post-neuter maybe the desire to drink has lessened. Idk…
  
  If he’s eating ok I would guess that his throat is ok and it’s nothing to do with intubation. All the same, you could ask vet about it.
  
  Another thing to try is vary the water temp. Starting with chilled water. Rabbits generally won’t drink warmish water (unless they’ve got a sensitive mouth).
- 06/28/2013 at 7:53 AM
  hannaroo
  Participant
  317 posts
  I have a few questions to ask:
  Are you syringe feeding him water? If so he may not be drinking because he doesn’t need the water.
  How much veggies are you feeding?
  As you mentioned the veggies have a high water content so again he may not need the hydration
  Did he mark alot previously?
  This will make him drink alot of water as he is using alot of fluid. The decrease in marking could mean the decrease of drinking
  Is he exercising outdoors?
  Again grass has a higher water content
  
  As jerseygirl suggested suggestedrabbits sometimes eat/drink less post neuter. My vet said it was due to the hormones calming down so the body has less going on.
- 06/28/2013 at 9:44 AM
  Quantumgirl
  Participant
  3 posts
  Posted By hannaroo on 06/28/2013 07:53 AM
  I have a few questions to ask:
  Are you syringe feeding him water? If so he may not be drinking because he doesn’t need the water.
  How much veggies are you feeding?
  As you mentioned the veggies have a high water content so again he may not need the hydration
  Did he mark alot previously?
  This will make him drink alot of water as he is using alot of fluid. The decrease in marking could mean the decrease of drinking
  Is he exercising outdoors?
  Again grass has a higher water content
  
  As jerseygirl suggested suggestedrabbits sometimes eat/drink less post neuter. My vet said it was due to the hormones calming down so the body has less going on.
  
  I tried syringe feeding some water but he does not want it. And If I hold him down, trying to give it to him, he scratches. So I stopped trying to force him. I wasn’t feeding him any veggies before the surgery, as he is only 15 weeks. I just now realized that it is okay to give him leafy greens starting at 12 weeks. So I introduced parsley and carrot tops yesterday. He didn’t care for it at first but now he loves it, so I guess I will slowly increase the amount. Fluffy has been using the litter box since he I brought him home with 6 weeks. He never sprayed urine. He did poop a lot in front of Blackys cage, my female lop, when I left him out at night. He totally stopped that now and shows no interest in her anymore. I guess that’s normal?! Fluffy is only exercising in the living room. I’m in the Houston area and don’t want to let him out with 95 degrees weather. I have also noticed some other odd behavior since the surgery. He eats a lot more cardboard than before. He plays with toys that he never cared for before, while ignoring his former favorites. It’s like they did brain surgery on him. 😉
- 06/28/2013 at 12:29 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  They can go a bit wacky after desexing but it calms down over several weeks. Do keep an eye on the amount of cardboard he’s eating. Too much isn’t good.
  
  If he’s been eating less hay at all, that might reduce water consumption also. Hopefully he’s eating hay as normal.
- 07/03/2013 at 9:43 AM
  Quantumgirl
  Participant
  3 posts
  Well it has been 2 weeks now. Fluffy still has not increased his water intake. He is eating and pooping fine though, and being his happy energetic self.
  
  he missed his litter box this morning, so I was able to catch some of his pee. It is orange. Is that normal? It used to be yellow before he got neutered. It has been that color for two weeks now. He is eating alfalfa hay and some regular hay, pellets, and greens like collard greens, parsley, romaine lettuce and cilantro. He has only been eating greens for a week now and his pee was already orange before that.
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