Post-spay hyper rabbit. afraid going to injure self!

[laurainthesky00]

Hello,

First time poster.  I had a childhood bunny, so I have always loved rabbits.  RIP Cinnamon 1995-2005

I recently got a rehomed rabbit, Alice, from Craigslist.  The family had an unexpected baby and felt that they could not give her the proper attention.  They gave me her exercise pen and all of her supplies for free because they really wanted her to find a good home. She is such a sweet bunny.  She likes to jump in my lap and give me kisses!  

She is about 2.5 years old, so I knew that spaying could not wait.  I got her spayed on thursday and I got good news that she is in perfect health and the spay went really well.  She was alert and eating not too long after the surgery.  I brought her home and stayed vigil, making sure she ate.  She was not happy to be stuck in a tiny cage for recovery.  So unhappy that she would try and escape every time I put my hand in.  I was able to get her to eat the antiobiotic and metacam lettuce and banana..maybe too groggy to know the difference!

I felt bad so I put her back into her exercise pen yesterday (Friday) as I figured it would be ok as there is nothing to jump on and she is not really prone to running around it.  Now she wants out of the pen and to run around!  She is biting at the doors, making a lot of noise, and actually running about >_<.  She is angry with me and is refusing the medicine covered food! (I was even careful to just put a little medicine per food to hide the bad taste.  I sat in her pen and gave her some lovins so I got her to eat the lettuce.  noooooo Alice...no binkys!!!!!!!! =(.  She is more hyper than she was before the surgery >_<

I need to give her some more lovins and get her to eat some metacam apples.. She is tired of the lettuce.

and she is grooming her abdomen!!! Fortunately, they used the internal dissolve sutures so she has not stitches to chew out.

So questions:

1. Should I be worried about her activity level?

2. Is it ok for her to be grooming her abdomen (not bleeding, but red and swollen)? Does she need a collar?

3. Anyone have tips on getting rabbits to take meds?  

[laurainthesky00]

Finally settling down…

[LBJ10]

I would just keep her confined in the pen. It sounds like she at least cannot jump onto anything in there.

[kinggoblin]

I’ve always treated my bun’s medicines like I would a treat……. my bunny hears me rustling through the baggies I keep them in and he gets so excited and he stands up and tries to pull himself up the side of his x-pen and holds his mouth open and I just squirt it in his mouth with the syringe. I think he actually likes the taste now though lol…. after his tooth extraction he was licking the syringes clean.

I might just be lucky though, I know some people have to burrito their bunny for medicine time.

[tobyluv]

You may just need to hold her yourself, or get someone else to hold her still while you give her the medicine orally with a syringe. The Metacam tastes sweet to them, but the Baytril is bitter. You can get a syrup from the vet to add to the Baytril to make it more palatable. When using a syringe, stick it in the side of their mouth, not the front.

[laurainthesky00]

I’ve been trying to make medicine treat time. She rarely ever gets bananas and apples. She doesn’t like the taste of either medicine. She got excited at first when I offer her these these medicine filled treats, then sniffs it, then turns her head to the side and turns sideways to communicate that she rejects my offering. Then she won’t eat anything I offer for awhile until I give her a little space, then come back to pet her. The antibiotic is in strawberry flavored syrup. The metacam smells really nasty to me!

I can’t imagine having her just eat these medications through the syringe. I would think force feeding would be dangerous.

She is now too mad at me to take any food from my hand. She eats it after I drop it and look away. At least I am not getting the butt. She is a super picky bunny about food in general. I have had a really hard time getting her to eat sufficient hay. I finally hit gold by buying fresh hay from a feed store. But she is such a brat that she only wants to eat it when I take it fresh from the bag!

I feel comforted that no one thinks my bunny is in medical peril! She has kind of sulkily accepted that she is not coming out of the pen.

[Elrohwen]

My favorite way to give meds is to kneel on the floor with bunny between your knees and one hand holding down the shoulders. You can use your knees to keep them still and from going backwards, and the hand on the shoulders keeps them from going forwards. Then just stick the syringe in the side of the mouth and squeeze slowly, making sure she has time to swallow. I find this to be a pretty quick and painless way to do it, rather than trying to pick them up or burrito them in a towel.

My boy was very hyper after his neuter, so it’s normal. Just keep an eye on her, but she sounds fine.

[laurainthesky00]

thank you for all your responses!
Alice is doing great.  I finally let her out of her pen Monday evening (4 days post-spay).  I had wanted to wait a little longer, but she was acting out more and more and my boyfriend and I figured that is probably worse for her health to keep her cooped up.  She was kicking litter.  threw a food dish about a foot. threw her hay into the water.  threw any food dish or cage item she had the strength too. and I walked in Monday evening and she didn’t even react to me. just an icy glare.

so, she is a much happier bunny and we no longer have to :”poison” her food with medications.  I will try some of these med giving suggestions next time.  I was too afraid to mess with her wound to physically administer.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad she is doing so well.

[laurainthesky00]

thank you!! =)
In a month, I am going to try and bond her. So I may end up needing more forum help there! She gets lonely during the day. Ok, time to make the bun some dinner!

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