absorbed litter?

[CocoaButter]

i think cocoa may have absorbed her litter.. as of yesterday i could not feel anything in her tummy.. no lumps wiggling or anything i looked all over in her cage to s ee if she buried them or something… nothing.. last week i could feel wiggling lumps about 4 of them.. i’m scared.. help!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Cocoa, did she ever see a vet? It is possible that she just had something in her stomach that she needed to pass through and their GI tract does gurgle or give the impression that something might be moving, such as a litter, in there and lumps could have been a mass of fur or undigested material. I am not sure if a rabbit can absorb the litter, I know that a horse is capable of doing that. I’ll need to read up on that part.
Please don’t be scared, is she acting normal and eating OK? Is she acting unusual at all?

[CocoaButter]

she is acting fine.. just really mean.. although she has been nesting with hay.. no fur pulling.. its been exactly 29 days since i got her..

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hmm, the meanness could just be because she has not been spayed and if it’s a false pregnancy she could be doing the same thing, but then again they get very territorial right when they go to nest too. Since I assume she has not been to the vet for an exam it is very hard for me to say if she is or not but the gestation period as you well know is 31 days so we shall wait and see.

I finally discovered that yes, in times of stress a bunny can absorb the litter. Keep us updated on her condtition.

[BinkyBunny]

Since I am still learning about pregnancy and litter information, the absorbion thing I didn’t know about either. I just thought it could happen earlier on in the pregnancy. I didn’t realize it could happen so far down the line. The next couple of days should really reveal what’s going on.

Do you have a vet to call in case something is wrong though? Not to scare you, just so you have an expert that can help you out with this.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Binkybunny, I have not discovered up until when they can absorb the litter.  Most sources I have found just say "before they are born." I’m going to try to look some more today. I too have limited experience with bunny babies and pregnancy as I am more geared towards preventing pet overpopulation by spaying & neutering.

[Gravehearted]

i don’t really have any experience with it either, but I hope she will be ok.

Were you able to get her into a vet to get checked out?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Cocoa, was there a litter born today? How are things?

[CocoaButter]

No, there has not been a litter born yet and it’s been 36 days since I got her.. I figure that there isn’t going to be a litter. Her belly is really squishy.. and suddenly she started using her litter box. strange. she’s also really sweet now, she’ll let you hold her and she licks your hand when you pet her. I’m very confused and yet fascinated at this.. i’m not quite sure what has happened. Although I’m making a call to a wildlife vet i know who raises rabbits, to make sure everything is all right.. could it have been a bunch of feces in her? It makes me laugh though bc for sure i thought she was going to have babies so i bought her a huge 30″ X 40″ cage 2 weeks ago.. ah well.. i may just end up rescuing another bun.. a friend of a friend is giving away a male mini lop cage and all (she’s moving) maybe i might just contact her.. but i want to make sure everything is alright first.. thanks with all the help on caring for babies, it might come in handy one day if i ever do get a “surprise”.

Xoxo, CocoaBunny

[BinkyBunny]

So strange. I doubt it was a bunch of feces otherwise she’d be sick. A blockage that big would cause stasis. I am assuming you haven’t taken her to the vet. I sure recommend it to find out what’s going on. Let us know what he wildlife vet says. I would also recommend you spay her before you introduce her to a male, even if the male is neutered, otherwise she could go into a false pregnancy. And boy, you know how stressful that is!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Awe, oh heck just roll with it I say. But at least you came here to help prepare yourself for what might happen. My best to you and I do hope you can help save the bunny your acquaintence is giving away. Let us know!

[CocoaButter]

Lol.. I know.. maybe it was a false pregnancy.. i’m not sure.. very strange.. There aren’t any more lumps, so I doubt theres still something there.. i may take her to the vet, if she thinks i need to.. otherwise i will just take her in and spay her.. How long would it take for Cocoa to recover from being spayed? So I can introduce her to a male bun?

[BinkyBunny]

It usually takes females longer to recover.  They are usually very quiet and don’t feel good for the first few days, but in a week she should be doing much better.  Here is a great link from the House Rabbit Society about pre and post op stuff. http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html#pre-post-care

It does take about a month for hormones to fully die down though.   But you can start doing prep work to get them used to each other’s scent after Cocoa seems like she’s feeling back to her old self.  Start switching litterboxes, and blankets or switch pens/cages.

Note: If the male is not neutered, you may still have deal with some major humping and marking issues, even if she’s spayed.  It really just depends on the male.

Keep us updated!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Sorry about the double-post!!! Cocoa, it looks like you’ve got some great tips from BB, I second everything she said!

[CocoaButter]

The vet said that maybe part of it was stress, but she said that if shes doing well and seems ok then theres no r eason to come in to see her. Cocoa’s been doing fine, she always want to cuddle now and is getting used to being picked up. I think that’s she’s going to be fine.. thanks for all the good advice it was muchly appreciated

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh good, I’m glad that she is OK and I’m also glad we could help! Oh you’re going to bond her, how sweet! Definately wait a while until she’s all adjusted from the hormone levels dropping and is all healed up to acutally put them togther, like BB said. Have you looked around yet at prospective suitors?

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