Gas and irregular eating/pooping after spay

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 6sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 2 months ago by BinkyBunny.

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- 02/13/2014 at 1:21 PM
  cassious
  Participant
  3 posts
  Hey everyone,
  
  So I just had my two year old lion head rabbit (Bread) spayed 6 days ago. She came home and was lethargic but drinking water. The vet said she had eaten well after the surgery before the anesthesia wore off. It’s been a bit of a fight to get her to eat anything but she’s had some nibbles of carrots and fruit. She won’t eat any pellets or hay though.
  
  Yesterday I noticed her tummy was grumbling and she was grinding her teeth in pain. So I had read she could have a bit of simethicone to break up the gas. I went out and got some along with cilantro, which is her favourite. I gave her about 0.4 mL and some cilantro, which she ate a fair bit of. But then for the rest of the day she had the absolute loudest stomach grumbles (as in I was across the room and could hear them). I found a video on how to give her tummy massages to help with the gas so I tried it but she hates having her tummy touched so she wasn’t very cooperative.
  
  Today is the sixth day since the surgery, the gas has died down to a few rumbles here and there but she is still grinding her teeth over them. She still hasn’t touched her pellets or hay and has eaten very little cilantro. She’s still drinking though. As far as I can tell, she hasn’t pooped over night and I’m not sure if she’s pooped today yet. But she has been pooping (in much smaller amounts) and peeing since the surgery so I am pretty sure she’s pooped today while she’s been out of her cage.
  
  Aside from all that, she’s pretty normal. Frisky in the morning and at night, lazy during midday/early evening, which is how she is every day normally. The only major difference is she DOES NOT want cuddles. She’ll kiss me and let me pet her but heaven forbid I try to get her to lay down next to me!
  
  Is this normal? I’ve called the vet a few times and she keeps saying so long as she’s eating and drinking, no matter how much, she’s ok. Will the gas die down on its own? I don’t want to be overbearing on her but she’s my first rabbit so I’m not entirely sure what’s normal. She’s a lot different than a dog or a cat! Haha!
  
  Oh! As I’m writing this she just ate a bit of hay!
- 02/13/2014 at 8:29 PM
  manic_muncher
  Participant
  1061 posts
  YAY for hay! Glad she’s started to find interest in it again! I would clean her litter box out and sweep up any stray poo. That way you can be sure that she is pooping. I would hold off on carrots and fruit treats for a little bit (I’m no expert though!). Carrots are gassy and you wouldn’t want to aggravate that situation. If you feel she still isn’t eating enough hay, maybe try to temporarily increase her pellets, since buns generally LOVE their pellets. It sounds like the spay was a little hard on her and she’s starting to come around.
  
  Hopefully someone else can offer more advice, please keep us updated!
- 02/14/2014 at 8:32 PM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  Very good she’s eating hay! Try picking up some alfalfa and different kinds of veggies to entice her.
  Did she have pain medication after the spay?
- 02/15/2014 at 11:25 PM
  cassious
  Participant
  3 posts
  hey thanks for your replies, guys!
  
  she did have pain meds and I think they helped a lot. her gas has died down and she’s getting back to normal (except she doesn’t want to be cuddled LOL). Shes eating a fair bit of parsley and cilantro but now there’s another issue; she’s not eating ANY pellets. normally she loves them and eats her 1/4 cup of them in a day. but she hasn’t touched them and its been a week. she’s also eating almost no hay and her poop is very small. she’s drinking water though.
  
  what should I do? is this a phase? should I switch brands of pellets?
- 02/16/2014 at 3:54 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  How is your bunny doing today? Does she have more appetite?
  
  Don’t switch pellets. They are the least important part of the diet so I wouldn’t worry too much about them for now?
  
  What type of hay are you feeding? If it’s Timothy maybe you could get some Orchard or Oat hay to mix in to entice her to eat more.
- 02/16/2014 at 5:47 PM
  cassious
  Participant
  3 posts
  still eating her veggies. I just bought oxbow pellets (she was on Harrington’s) and meadow grass but no interest yet. they’ve only been out for about 10 mins though. her poops look a bit bigger but she hasn’t eaten much more than the other days so maybe she’s getting back to normal? should I be super concerned or take her to the vet?
- 02/17/2014 at 2:09 AM
  BinkyBunny
  Moderator
  8776 posts
  I wouldn’t do any further tummy massage. Even though it’s been a week since her spay, I am sure that the massage to her tummy would be too painful still.
  Also, since you are switching pellets, do so very slowly — make sure to follow the mixture directions on the bag.
  
  It’s great that her poos are bigger. That is a good sign. Veggies do offer fiber and hydration so that is good and maybe for her that’s what she knew she needed to heal, but if she’s not eating her pellets and hay in a couple of days then I would call the vet and let him/her know.
  
  Keep us updated! Sending healing vibes!
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