Stopped eating 3rd day after neuter

[Cassandra Jane]

Opu (5-6 months old) just got neutered on Sunday and was eating pretty much normally on Monday and Tuesday. He was given 4 doses of pain meds orally every 12 hours, so yesterday would have been the first day that he had none.

Yesterday, before I left for work, I gave him his morning pellets, which he ate all of. But when I got home, he was refusing pellets, his favorite hay pieces, and even banana. From his hay rack, it looks like he only ate a small handful of hay throughout the day. I did get him to eat several pieces of his old pellets (unbranded from pet store) last night, and I’ve been syringe-feeding him water. He still isn’t really eating this morning. He maybe ate two pellets, 1/4 of a banana chip, and five mint leaves.

Activity level is zero even though he seemed to be back to normal on Tuesday. Since Wednesday evening, I’ve noticed that he’s been looking uncomfortable with his eyes half-closed. I’m pretty sure this is that hunched loaf of ultimate sadness.

I called the vet’s office right when they opened and they’re going to call me back when the vet comes in today, but the rabbit vet doesn’t come in until tomorrow. I’m about to go run to the pet store to see if they have critical care. I don’t ever give him treats except for the occasional 1/4 banana chip, but should I get some treats to entice him? I know the pet store here has those Oxbow baked treats.

[Bunny House]

He might have a low pain tolerance and may need drugs for a longer time period.Do you feed him veggies? Green Leaf and Romaine are awesome veggies that have a lot of water in them to keep buns hydrated. Pet stores often don’t have critical care on the shelfs, don’t know why….. since we always need it last minute. It seems like you don’t live in the states since the vet did a surgery on a Sunday, so you might be able to find Fibreplex which I know is common on here that has fiber in it to keep things moving along, at the store, since we don’t have it in stores here. It is very important to keep food in him to keep his gut moving if he has stopped eating. He may also be getting gas pains from the decrease in gut motility, baby gas drop can be given since they are not absorbed in the body wall so they are harmless. Are his poops normal or have they decreased from the lack of food? Its good you’re syringe feeding him water, just make sure his temp stays normal until the vet comes in. You can also mix in a bit of pumpkin or sugar free applesauce into the wet pellets to try and entice him to eat.

Keep us updated!

[Bam]

You can give him any treats to entice him to eat, fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro can sometimes inspire an appetite. You can also give him simethicone baby gas drops in case he has gas (gas is painful and often occurs in a bun secondary to any gut issue).

The non-rabbit vet should be able to prescribe more pain killer for him and possibly also antibiotics, in case the surgical wound has become infected. Some buns also need a gut motility drug to kick-start the tummy. This should not be given unless you’ve seen some poop though, if there is an intestinal blockage, motility meds can make matters worse.

Have you had a look at his surgical site? It’s easiest if you can get someone else to hold him so you can take a peek. If you see excessive swelling and redness of if there’s seepage, he could have a bacterial infection. Some buns become really swollen, if one or both scrotal sacks fill up with fluid or blood from a leaking vessel. The scrotal sacks can potentially become as big as a golf ball. If you see anything like that, a re-visit to the vet is necessary.

It’s not normal for a male bun to lose his appetite three days after a neuter. Most boys would be up and running by that time. Hopefully this is just a matter of insufficient pain relief, rabbits are very sensitive to pain.

[Cassandra Jane]

Thank you SO SO MUCH for the quick replies!!

We live in the states but not on the continent. We have alllllmost everything that the mainland has.

He refused cilantro last night, but he’s never had it before. I’ve only introduced mint, basil, and kale so far. He ate some mint this morning. His poops have decreased since last night. I haven’t found any new ones this morning.

He’s really grumpy right now, so I can’t check his incision site. He’s usually a big grump about his personal space though, but I’ll try to coax him when I get home from work. I’m just scared to stress him out. He does seem a bit sluggish so maybe he’ll let me bother him. On Monday or Tuesday, I did see that one of his balls were swollen, but not any larger than how it was before the neuter.

I’m definitely going to pick up baby gas drops and pumpkin puree. The pet store just started selling those Oxbow immune support and digestive support treats, so we’ll try those too!

Thanks for being here. <3

[Bunny House]

Of course! Let us know if you need any other help. Baby food is also good to try, just make sure it’s very low in sugar and no fancy stuff in it, and it may help him!

[Cassandra Jane]

When I got home, I spotted him nibbling some hay (not a lot at all) and he did eat all the pellets that I left around his cage. I tried to give him more pellets but he refused, but I’m glad he ate something today. He made maybe 25-30 small poops. He seemed alert and active but still a little grumpier than usual.

I just gave Opu his pain meds. The vet gave me another three day’s worth, twice a day.

I also gave him unflavored Pedialyte. I read somewhere to give him (3.4 lbs) a dose of 10ml.

He ate a pinch of parsley and a bunch of basil. I also fed him a real tiny bit of apple/pumpkin/carrot baby food. Maybe 2ml.

I sort of just tried to get him to eat anything that he would eat. I hope it isn’t too wild on his gut with barely any hay in it, but I sort of have been freaking out all day that I didn’t really think about it.

After all that, he left a 2-inch cecotrope and is now loafing in his cage.

I have the Infant’s Mylicon. It says Active ingredient: Simethicone 20mg. Is it ok to give it to him on top of all the other things I just put in the lil guy?

[Cassandra Jane]

Ok so he didn’t take the gas medicine, but I stopped trying because he just made these two huge ungodly poos that smelled so bad and I freaked out. It wasn’t a normal cecotrope at all but it wasn’t liquid.

He’s been frolicking lightly outside of his cage now. He’s sorta back to how he was before we ran out of pain meds. He’s just not eating hay yet, but he’s accepting his favorite pieces (those fluffy pieces in the Timothy). He’s pooping a decent amount I think. They’re just small.

[Bam]

Good! The first poop after a gut slowdown can be a blob of gooey poop- that’s not uncommon and not sth bad. That his poop is small now is because he hadn’t eaten very much. It can take a couple of weeks before the the poop is back to normal again.
It does sound like he is on the mend now. Great job!

As for Mylicon 20 mg/ml, you can give 1 ml of that every hour for three hours to a bun that has a gas problem. It’s not absorbed by the body, it works locally in the GI canal, then it comes out with the poop. It’s good to have in the bunny medical cabinet, even if you don’t need to give him any this time. Most buns don’t really like the stuff, but that’s normal. Sometimes they’ll take it if you offer it on a piece of fruit.

[Cassandra Jane]

I think he made less than 10 small poops today. I don’t think he drank any water (always in a bowl so it’s easily accessible) and he’s still eating only a tiny amount of hay. He does eat his pellets though, just not all of them like usual.

Should I keep trying to feed him more of the baby food just to get something in him? It’s the Happy Baby Apple/Pumpkin/Carrot one with 10g sugar 2g fiber. I’m just worried about the sugar, but is getting food into him more important at this point? I’ve read that buprenorphine can slow the gut, but he does seem better with it. I dunno.

UPDATE: He sat in his litter box for a little while and made 40 to 50 poops in one sitting. He is AMAZING. The downside is that he has worms again.

[Author]

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