Pee Wars! Help!

[HipHopBunny]

Hi, so my rabbits are getting spayed in little less than a week, and they are now doing pee wars. OB and Silver won’t let me in their cage, and are very aggressive, by launching attacks at me 😯 and they have been peeing all over their cages. How do I make it end? When they were having their bonding time the other day, Silver ran around the others, while peeing, and ended up getting some pee on Smokey. They are also peeing so much, that they get some pee on their selves, and since rabbits can’t take a bath, how do I get it off? Smokey doesn’t participate in the pee wars, but OB and Silver sure do. Will the spay fix this? And how do I get in their pen to clean it, when they won’t let me? So far I’ve managed, but it is hard to get them out of there pen, that is without bites and scratches. HELP!

[Bam]

A spay will most likely help a lot. Keep in mind it can be a while after the spay until the hormones die down and the rabbits “reconnect with their true selves”. Just now they seem to be in a hormonal frenzy. This can actually temporarily get worse right after the spay, when  the production of sex-hormones is abruptly shut down, but the body still expects (and craves) these hormones. Their bodies will eventually establish a new hormonal balance, but it can be a few weeks.

I dont think you can do anything to make it stop, except get them spayed. After the spay you need to nurrse them through the post-op period, and then it’s just about waiting for hormones to subside.  As troublesome as this seems now, it is still normal.

They will groom the pee off of themselves, since rabbits are meticulous about personal hygiene. I would not worry about that. Really soggy butts can  be given a butt bath, but that’s practically never needed with healthy buns.

If possible, it is best if you can clean their area while they have playtime outside  of it. It is natural for rabbits to be territorial about their living space, and this territorislity is to a large extent hormonally driven.

We would be happy for updates.

[HipHopBunny]

Thank you, Bam!

OB  does have a soggy butt, is that a health issue? Silver will sometimes have pee smudges on her face (I think that is because she eats her poop out of the litter box lol) but they do gradually go away. But, after their spay, I was planning on rotating their pens, so that they could get used to each other’s smells, will they start marking the pens more if I do that? Do you have any recommendations to make this time after spay go easier?

When they started getting hormonal, I split their double-decker home and got a third pen. Eventually, I want them all to go back into the double-decker home, how can I make this work?

Again thank you!

[Bam]

A soggy bottom can indicate incontinence or frequent urination due to a UTI. It should be cleaned up, because pee can cause urine scald. Constant wetness also compromises the skin’s barrier function.

You can give a butt bath, ie a bath where only the butt and hind legs get wet. It’s best done on the floor in a wash basin etc, filled to just 1-2 inches of lukewarm water. The placement on the floor is so that nothing bad happens if the rabbit decides to jump out. Place the rabbit in the basin so it either has your arm as support or has its paws on the rim of the basin.

Rinse out the pee by scooping water on the soggy fur and run your hand through it. Then dry the bun with a soft towel. You can also use a hairdryer on a very low setting, but make extra sure it doesnt get too warm. If there are bare patches of skin, put some bag balm or vaseline on them for protection against moisture.

For proper bonding after the spay, I recommend a visit to our bonding section. You can read about other people’s bonding efforts and ask your own questions there.

As for cleaning the cage, it would be best to do that when the buns have playtime and arent around to defend their territory. If that is not possible, I recommend gardening gloves or similar.

[HipHopBunny]

Update: My rabbits just came back from their spay! Everything went fine :-D, and I got them some pet cones (“collars of shame”) but they keep taking them off! Are these pet cones needed though? The vet said that he glued it back together so it would be harder to chew. I also got them some pain medicine to help with the pain. Are there any other things I should do to help to nurse them through this?

Thank you!

[Louiethebunny]

most people don’t end up using the cones I’ve heard, but lots of rabbits end up trying to get at their stitches, which you don’t want. Some people spend all their time watching their buns, but I know that doesn’t work out for most people.

[Bam]

Yay!

If you cant watch your buns all the time, if you f ex have work or school, the cones are necessary. It does happen that rabbits tear open their surgical wounds. We recently had a member here whose bun took off the cone and messed with the surgical wound, until the vet taped it in place. Wearing a cone is often stressful for rabbits though, and makes it harder for them to eat their cecals.

I’m happy to hear you got pain meds for them. They will need that for 5-7 days. Inadequate pain relief is a major reason why a bun busies itself with the wound.

The most important thing now is to keep them warm and get them to eat.

They can eat pretty much what they like now, within reason. Dont go to bed on their first night home until you’ve seen them eat something. If they refuse all food, you will have to syringe feed them. Fresh greens and fragrant herbs might spark their appetites.

A heat source like a warm water bottle or hand warmers in a towel is good, but they must have space enough to move away from the heat source if they like to. Hypothermia is a common side effect of full anesthesia in buns, and it’s dangerous. If a bun gets cold “from the inside” it gets lethargic and wont eat.

 

[HipHopBunny]

Thank you Bam and LouietheBunny!

They haven’t been eating much, and all of them have diarrhea. I was wondering if the diarrhea is bad, or if it’s because of the surgery, should I be worried about this?

Yesterday Silver was taking it the worst of them all, her coat was un-groomed, she was tired, and in so much pain. 😥 But today they all seem to be doing really great. No pain, although they are all still not eating much. It is room temperature where they are, so not too hot, or too cold, and they don’t seem to be cold.

They are all curious about their incisions. Not really picking at them, but sniffing them, and licking them. Should I try to put those cones on again? They took them off pretty quickly after I put them on. They all really dislike those cones, Smokey is giving me the devil eye, and if looks could kill, I’d be dead 😯

Again thank you!

[DanaNM]

Can you explain what you mean by diarrhea a bit more? True watery diarrhea is a medical emergency, but my suspicion is maybe you are seeing some soft poops or uneaten cecals maybe because of the cones? Have they passed any normal poops?

If they aren’t eating normally, you should syringe feed them (this also helps hydrate them) as Bam says. You can also offer extra favorite greens (but if that’s all their eating it could explain the mushy poops). Critical care is very nutritious and has lots of things to help buns recover for surgery and illness. Cones are very stressful for the buns, but if they start really worrying at the incisions put them back on.

. . . 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.  

[HipHopBunny]

Thank you DanaNM!

The poop is round, really mushy circles. All the poop you can recognize circles, but it is all just mushy.

They are now eating food! And are drinking some water! Yay! 😀

The incisions are doing good.  I’ve been keeping a very close eye on them, but unfortunately, I can’t be there all the time. How can I make these cones work? They keep taking them off!

Thank you!

[Bam]

So happy to hear they’re earing! Their poop will come back to normal if they eat like normal, but it can take up to 2 weeks.

The reason we ask about diarrhea is that you differentiate between true diarrhea and runny/mushy stools. All runny stools, without any tendency to formed poop is a veterinary emergency. It mostly occurs in very young buns and sometimes in buns on a longer course of some types of antibiotics. Since your buns are now back to eating properly, this sounds like “just” runny/mushy poop, which is not an emergency. If you like, you can give them a prebiotic, f ex Benebac, to help their guts get back to normal.

As for the cones, sometimes the only option is to tape them shut. This means you can’t take the cones off when you’re able to watch the buns, and its not nice for the buns to wear cones all the time – but it’s better than having them rip the surgical wounds open.

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