Rabbit not eating or pooping after spay.

[binkybb]

Hi there, I took my bun to get spayed this morning around 8am and picked her up around 4pm. Since then she’s been drinking a tiny bit of water here and there, but she’s really not interested in any kind of food or treat whatsoever. I have not seen her poop nor pee since bringing her home. The vet gave me 3 doses of meloxicam and when I picked her up they told me to give her one of the doses by 8pm if I saw that she wasn’t eating (which I did). I thought maybe that dose of medication would ease her pain enough to encourage her to nibble on a strand of hay or maybe a treat, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. I have some critical care on hand and wanted to see if I should try syringe-feeding her throughout the night? I’ve read some people say not to force feed until consulting with the vet first, so I don’t want to risk making anything worse for her. I guess I’m just extra concerned because she has not pooped nor peed at all. Is this normal? It’s so heartbreaking seeing her this way.. I can’t wait until she starts feeling like her normal self again. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Edit: I just wanted to add a bit more info about my bun. She’s my first ever pet bun and she’s a netherland dwarf about 8-9 months old. I don’t know her exact weight but I would guess that she’s around 2 lbs.

 

[JBun]

Pain meds are important to help them get eating again because a rabbit in pain isn't going to be too interested in eating. But the anesthesia can also make them tired and nauseous, which can also affect their appetite. And until that wears off it's going to continue to affect her eating. Usually by the next day they are more back to normal and eating again on their own. If she isn't, contact your vet.

The first thing to do if you haven't already, is make sure her body temp is normal. When a rabbit has had anesthesia, it's common for their body temp to drop and they can easily become hypothermic, which means it can affect their recovery and they won't be inclined to eat on their own until they're warmed up. I check body temp by feeling their ears. If they feel warm, then it usually means the body temp is normal. If the ears feel cold and have a more contracted closed appearance, this means they're trying to conserve body heat and are cold. In which case, some sort of safe heating pack needs to be used to help warm your rabbit up.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/opcare.html
Next I try feeding leafy greens. They are usually the first thing my rabbits will start eating again after surgery. And it's best to try and stick to ones they are used to eating so it doesn't risk causing digestive upset from being a new food. One rabbit I fed a little bit of greens every 30-60 minutes for two days, because that's all he would eat. But it was enough to add up and keep me from having to intervene with syringe feeds, which can be a stressful thing for them and you to have to do.

Because her lack of eating isn't due to a blockage but because of her surgery and anesthesia, the rule of not force feeding until a vet has ruled out a blockage, doesn't apply. If you want to attempt to try and syringe feed, that's up to you. If you've never done it, it needs to be done slowly and carefully, giving the rabbit time to swallow each mouthful. If it's done too quickly, you risk aspiration occurring, which can cause serious respiratory illness if it occurs. I would suggest watching the video link below on syringe feeding(and maybe others) to get an idea of how it's done.

You also have to be very cautious about how you handle your rabbit for the syringe feeding as she has just had major surgery and any improper handling or if done too roughly, could potentially cause internal damage where her incisions are. So if you aren't completely comfortable with syringe feeding or in doubt, it would be best to wait til tomorrow to consult with your vet on how to syringe feed if your bun still isn't eating on her own by then.

 

[binkybb]

Thank you so much for your detailed response. She actually started nibbling on some of her hay and pellets a few minutes ago, so that’s definitely progress!! I’ve been scouring through tons of posts on here all evening/night and I tried out a trick someone mentioned to keep them warm without heating packs by warming up uncooked rice in a sock and I think that may have helped too. I’m going to hold off on the critical care for now and I’ll contact the vet in the morning if it looks like things haven’t gotten better. I appreciate your help!

 

[binkybb]

UPDATE: Hey everyone, so since my last post everything has been great. She's been eating and pooping great and she's been full of energy. I've kept her in an x-pen with a cut-out litter box and absolutely nothing she can jump onto. Before her spay, she was basically free-roam (I would only put her away at night time), so her frustration to get out has been growing immensely as the days have gone by. I've been checking her incision regularly by tricking her into standing up against the pen as I feed her a treat (she absolutely HATES being picked up and I didn't want to agitate her wound by attempting to lift her), and everything has seemed fine. Today, however, when I got home from work, I checked her wound again and it suddenly looks red in certain areas. Can someone please tell me if this requires immediate veterinary attention (picture attached)? Does this look like an infection? I'm thinking she may have picked at her wound while I was gone. She doesn't seem to be in pain and she's been behaving normally too. I emailed my vet the same thing and I'm waiting for a response now, but his clinic is closed for the day so I can only hope he gets back to me soon. Any tips/advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[JBun]

It looks more like she's been picking at it. So you'll just want to keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't try and do anymore than that or she might need a cone or pet shirt on to prevent her from messing with the incision site.

 

[binkybb]

Whew, what a relief. Okay, thank you so much.