Do I need to go to the vet?

[Cocoa]

My two bunnies, Lily and Cocoa, were spayed on Monday. They didn’t get any pain meds. Cocoa is doing great and is eating mash on her own. She ate her lettuce and hay. Lily is eating a tiny bit of mash on her own and her lettuce. I had an appointment today to bring in Cocoa since she wasn’t eating. They couldn’t give us pain meds unless they had an exam. Should I make an appointment for Lily instead of Cocoa?

[Deleted User]

I’d bring Lily in. It sounds like Coca might not be in a ton of pain, but Lily probably is in pain.

[Sirius&Luna]

I would take Lily instead of Cocoa. I don’t think you need to change the appointment though, just take Lily to Cocoa’s appointment.

Is Cocoa pooping?

[Cocoa]

Yes Cocoa is pooping normal. Lily’s poops are about 1/4 to 1/2 the size of a pea. They are all stuck together. I will call and let them know i need to bring in Lily in instead of Cocoa. Should I confirm that they will be able to prescribe pain meds when I bring her in?

[Cocoa]

She is also eating banana

[Sirius&Luna]

All vets should prescribe pain meds, so I don’t think you need to ask but you can if it would reassure you.

Lily is eating banana? or Cocoa? It might be that the sugary food is affecting Lily’s poops too.

[Cocoa]

Lily. I can only get her to eat banana and lettuce. Cocoa is eating lettuce and I am about to feed her banana

[Cocoa]

Lily will only eat one little piece of lettuce

[Deleted User]

Lily definitely needs to go in if she hasn’t been eating properly since Monday. Can you bring them both in? Even if Cocoa is eating better than Lily she probably would benefit from some pain relief as well!

[Mikey]

Stasis can be caused by pain, and stasis can kill a rabbit within 48 hours untreated. She needs to see a vet asap. If she completely stops eating, she needs ER care.

[Bam]

I think Lily’s lack of appetite is somewhat worrisome, so it’s good if you take her in. Cocoa doesn’t seem to need her appointment anyway. Pain meds can really help with appetite – as Mikey says, pain can cause a bun to go off her food. I don’t think it’s a problem that Lily is eating banana at this point, it’s more important that she eats than what she eats. Whatever she gets in her tummy will help preventing gut slowdown/stasis.

Poop can look weird for 2 weeks after a spay.

[Cocoa]

I have been syringe feeding them both. I stopped with Cocoa since she is eating all of her normal food. The vet gave me some medication. I just give that to her through a syringe. I gave her one as soon as we got home. It takes about an hour for it to start working.

[Cocoa]

Me and my mom are both really mad about the situation. I ended up having to pay an extra $65 to get the medication that was supposed to be included with their spay. We got to meet the vet and he took Lily into the back for about five minutes so he could check the stitches and weigh her. We could have gone with her but we would be waiting longer before he could see her. He said her stitches look good.

[sarahthegemini]

Didn’t you take them to a different vet for the pain meds tho or did you go to the one that did the surgeries?

[Cocoa]

Yes it was a different vet. Even if I lived right next door to the vet who spayed them, I would drive an hour to a better vet. I am NEVER going back to the first one

[Cocoa]

The pain meds from the new vet worked great. Lily is now eating her hay and I just gave her some fresh pellet mash.

[Wick & Fable]

That’s great to hear! Pain meds can make a rabbit get sleepy for a while, but hearing that she’s eating is a sign she feels much better so she can finally satisfy her hunger!!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Cocoa]

She has been laying in her litter box all day. Lily comes half way out every time I come near the door. Is that normal for her to spend so much time in her litter box? She likes sleeping in there. Lily is in a very small crate. I wasn’t able to find a larger crate or outdoor housing set up. She won’t be in this crate too long, they have been switching cages every day but I gave them a break because of the spays. I will eventually bond them and keep them in the larger hutch together.

[Harley&Thumper]

I’m glad to hear both buns are doing fine. The litter box is probably softer than the rest of the crate. Just check to make sure she isn’t soaking in her own pee.

[Cocoa]

Okay. She won’t pee or poop in her box. She poops and pees on the soft towels that cover the floor of her cage instead. I covered the wire floor in Cocoa’s cage with towels as well and she pushed them off of her favorite spots. She prefers sleeping and sitting on the wire than on the towels.

[Mikey]

Thats great you two went to the vet to get meds, even if they did make you pay more money. Im sure your bun appreciates it She is likely toileting on the sold towels because it feels better at the moment since theyre softer than most litter. If you are find with it, I would allow her to do it for the first month or two after her spay as her body heals.

[Cocoa]

That is why I used old towels instead of the fleece. She pees on all the towels except for the small area around her stuffed bear

[Cocoa]

Is it okay to take Cocoa out of her cage for a little play time today? I can set up her x pen on the patio so she isn’t in the grass

[Wick & Fable]

As long as she’s not doing a lot of jumping/climbing, that should be fine. Make the area as level as possible. Although she may feel okay to climb and jump, she won’t understand how those movements may affect her incision site. A level area to prance around shouldn’t be too harmful though!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Cocoa]

Okay thanks. I went to give Lily the pain meds and she jerked her head away. I’m not sure if any of it even got into her mouth. Should I give her another pain med? It happened a few hours ago

[Wick & Fable]

If she seems in pain, she may not have gotten the dose or the full dose. I’d give maybe half the dose, just to be safe. If she seems all right though, no need for meds. The pain med for Wick (meloxicam), as described to me for Wick post-neuter, are “as needed”, once a day.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Cocoa]

My vet said twice a day as needed. She wouldn’t finish her apple and wont eat hay and barely ate any pellets.

[DanaNM]

If she’s not wanting to eat again she is probably in pain, so I would give her another half dose at least.

Is her pain med Metacam (Meloxicam)?

It’s usually sweet, so some bunnies will lick it readily off a spoon, or mixed in with some banana, or even just dropped onto a lettuce leaf.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Cocoa]

The medicine is Buprenex. 0.3mg. The vet gave us 6 tiny syringes that are each filled with 0.3mg of Buprenex.

[Hazel]

First of all, you’re doing great Cocoa! This is a difficult situation, dealing with your parents and an insane vet and two poorly bunnies. They are lucky to have such a caring owner!  And wow, I just can’t believe that vet, why on earth would you mutilate a bunnie’s teeth just so they won’t chew their stitches?! Ever heard of a cone??? And to do this without even telling you, is just… insane. Rabbit teeth should only be trimmed if they grow too long, and I’m assuming your bun’s teeth were the proper length to begin with. Of course they don’t want to eat, their teeth are probably trimmed way too short, exposing the nerve.  You said that the pain meds were supposed to be included in the spay, were they listed on the receipt? If so, it shouldn’t be too hard to get your money back for that, since you never received them. Not your main concern right now of course, but might be worth inquiring about, since you had to pay extra to get them from the new vet. Did the new vet take a look at their teeth?

[Cocoa]

No. We didn’t have an appointment and they were busy. I was so worried about her that I forgot. I am going to call the new vet today and ask what they think of that. The stitches are on the inside so they cant even chew on them! I will most likely report the first vet. I haven’t been able to look at their teeth yet. How can I tell if they are too short. I will look into getting money back

[DanaNM]

Ah ok, I’m not familiar with that one, and had to look it up. Looks like it’s a relatively newer but very effective drug from serious pain.

It’s an opioid, and interestingly it says it’s usually injected? But it might be absorbed through the cheek lining in the mouth:

See page two of this article: http://www.columbusrabbit.org/newsletters/newsvol8issue1.pdf

Since it’s an opioid, I would recommend calling the vet before giving any additional medication, as the risk of overdoing it is much higher than with metacam (which is a lot like ibuprofen).

I also want to second that you are doing a great job! I didn’t see the whole ordeal with teeth… but that sounds crazy!

If the vet does recommend you inject it, it is honestly easier to give a cutaneous injection than mouth feed a bunny that doesn’t want her meds, so if that’s the case we can give you lots of tips.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Cocoa]

I just gave her the medication. Lily is really good about taking meds from a syringe. I’m glad it’s her that needs meds instead of Cocoa. Cocoa hates the syringe but Lily is fine with it. He actually recommended giving it to her once in the morning and once in the evening. I don’t think any of the first one even got in her mouth, i think all of it just got on my arm. I have her in the stroller right now so I can look at her teeth if some one can tell me what to look for. I use the stroller to move them around.

[Wick & Fable]

Top and bottom incisors (the front four teeth) should be straight both vertically (how they stand) and horizontally (the biting part; where it’s worn down). The front teeth should go over the bottom.

http://www.rabbitmatters.com/images/nicelyaligned.jpg

… If you find it doesn’t look like that, I’d let your new vet know! Not having perfect teeth isn’t an immediate emergency red flag, but it’s good to have it formally assessed to see if it can be fixed or if it needs to be regularly maintained.

Wick’s bottom teeth go in front of his front (under bite) and his jaw doesn’t line up right (top and bottom teeth don’t match up with each other in the center of the mouth).

Only a vet can see the back teeth, so no need to concern yourself with trying to check those.

You can also just assess the gums in the front. They should look like human gums in a way, so smooth and pink. If you see it’s swollen or something, that’s a cause of concern.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Wick & Fable]

Top and bottom incisors (the front four teeth) should be straight both vertically (how they stand) and horizontally (the biting part; where it’s worn down). The front teeth should go over the bottom.

http://www.rabbitmatters.com/images/nicelyaligned.jpg

… If you find it doesn’t look like that, I’d let your new vet know! Not having perfect teeth isn’t an immediate emergency red flag, but it’s good to have it formally assessed to see if it can be fixed or if it needs to be regularly maintained.

Wick’s bottom teeth go in front of his front (under bite) and his jaw doesn’t line up right (top and bottom teeth don’t match up with each other in the center of the mouth).

Only a vet can see the back teeth, so no need to concern yourself with trying to check those.

You can also just assess the gums in the front. They should look like human gums in a way, so smooth and pink. If you see it’s swollen or something, that’s a cause of concern.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Cocoa]

One of the bottom teeth is shorter than the other and the top is kind of not level

[Author]

Messages