Jenny still struggling to keep warm

[Gina.Jenny]

Jenny has struggled to stay warm since she was spayed last Thursday. She is going through a full molt, with her fur changing colour, and I guess that could be what’s holding her back. Today, she is refusing to eat any pellets, and only small amounts of hay. She has only had a few tiny poops, some with hair in, a gurgly tum, and she can’t seem to get comfy.

She has been eating small bits of spring greens, blades of grass, and dandelions from me, and I’ve given simethicone, which I mixed in a tiny bit of baby food fruit puree, but I think its going to be a call to the vets first thing. Its the first time I’ve ever used simethicone. After maybe half an hour or so, she went into her litter tray, and her back end kind of shuddered several times, which I hope was gas coming out? She left about four droppings, so I guess that’s good. Not sure should I give more before bed? Apart from anything else, I don’t want to give too much fruit puree, or is that a good thing for her to have more of if she will eat it? Its apple and banana.

[Gina.Jenny]

Waited til four hours, and gave a second dose, its midnight now in UK, so I’ve left her snug in a nest of fleecy blankets, and hopefully she’ll be brighter in the morning.

[OliverBun]

I’m not sure on he fruit purée part, but the dosage for simethicone is 1-2 ml every hour for 3 hours then 1ml every 4hours for the next 8. At least, that’s what my vet said and it seems to work wonders.
My bun is always eager to eat kale before anything else when he has stomach issues. You might want to try that. It’s also good because it has extra fiber.
Hope she’s doing ok! Please update in the morning.

[jerseygirl]

Did you have pain meds to give at home after the spay?

{{{Jenny}}}

[Gina.Jenny]

vets said to bring her straight in, off now

[Gina.Jenny]

Jenny’s temp and weight are slightly down, but not by very much. The vet has given two injections, one for pain relief, plus some antibiotic as a precaution.

She checked Jenny’s tum and it seems to be healing fine, and she thinks Jenny is just taking that bit longer to get over the anaesthetic. She has given Jenny a week’s worth of oral antibiotic, which she kindly didn’t charge for, and said to keep feeding lots of greens, including kale, plus hay. She will see Jenny in a week, and if she is no better, she will keep her in. Bought some kale on the way home. Jenny hopped straight from the pet carrier into her run, she’s so far turned her little bunny nose up at the kale, but we are running out of dandelions in the garden, plus the vet said kale because its high fibre.

If I’m not happy with how she is over the next few days, I’m to bring her in sooner than next Wednesday.

[Gina.Jenny]

Three hours later, and Jenny is eating decent amounts of hay, at last. The kale has gone, and she’s done some normal looking droppings.

Gina asked to have floor time, and did several bunny 500’s with a few binkies between circuits, so I guess she is well on the mend

[Cottontail]

I’m glad to hear that there is improvement; and also that your vet is showing extra care toward Jenny.
During cold months, we would keep hot water bottles where the buns could cuddle up to them if they wanted. We’d just fill a regular water bottle with hot water, secure the cap, and slide it into a cushy sock and tie it off. It worked really well because they could get up and move away from it if they got too warm, and it gradually got cooler through the night so they tended to stay close to it anyway. If she seems to continue having issues with her body heat, it may be an idea to help her stay warm at night.
Sending {{{Good vibes}}}

[Gina.Jenny]

I tried wrapping a warm wheat bag in a blanket, but she didn’t like that, so for the first two days and nights I used the wheat bag to warm the blankets, then wrapped the warm blankets over her, which she seemed to welcome. The problem with that was it meant I was up through the night, and I couldn’t keep going without sleep. The last three days and nights, I’ve kept the floor of her run covered with an old duvet,with a lovely soft blanket on top of the duvet, which has helped.

Its unfortunate that Jenny turned out to be one of those rabbits who don’t cope well with anaesthetic, but thankfully, she’s a little fighter, and she does seem better today. She’s still not wanting to be out and about, but she has almost emptied her pellet bowl, after not touching it yesterday, and she has been eating hay too.

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