# Newly adopted bun, just spayed, not pooping!



## rpuckett (Oct 16, 2012)

Just adopted this rabbit yesterday from the shelter. She was spayed earlier Monday morning. She came home around 6pm Monday night.

-Is drinking a small amount of water.
-Has eaten a piece of grass, a piece of timothy hay, and about 5 pellets worth of slurried water.
-Has peed once, but seems to be dribbling and standing in it. When I pick her up, she is damp and pee-smelling on her tummy and her fur is stained (scent glands smell awful, too, but I think whoever owned her before probably never cleaned them).

-NO POOP. Not a single one in almost 22 hours. FREAKING OUT. 

-She is definitely more alert than yesterday as seems like she is starting to feel better, but I am terrified about the lack of poop. Never had a doe spayed before and I don't know exactly how the shelter went about it, which is appalling to me, and no one outside the vet team at the shelter knows, and I can not reach a single person in the vet team.

-I am worried her gut is slowed/stopped. But she did just have an invasive procedure. So am I freaking out prematurely or should I be on the line with my emergency vet?


----------



## Nancy McClelland (Oct 16, 2012)

I'd call the place you got her from and see if someone there can help. I've used a syringe before to get them started eating, but never had a problem after a neuter.


----------



## agnesthelion (Oct 16, 2012)

I would say to get her to a vet. You can try to syringe some canned pumpkin into her, to get things moving, but not eating much is a concern.

A rabbits digestive slowing or stopping can take a turn for the worse quickly. It also is alot for her to be going through, a spay and then a new home right on top of that, it's kinda a recipe for this to happen.

Not trying to scare you but if it's already been a full day then imwould be heading to the vet.

So sorry you are going through this  I hope your new girl is okay. Let us know!


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 16, 2012)

That is what I was thinking... The shelter I got her from was really great...until I actually picked her up, I haven't been able to get a soul to talk to me from there since.


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 16, 2012)

Going to go put her in her carry cage and put my shoes on. Hopefully we will be back without cause for worry soon. Keep us in your thoughts. We need strength. 

~R


----------



## Imbrium (Oct 16, 2012)

best of luck! ray:


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 16, 2012)

back from the vet. After some subq fluids, and some force feeding of critical care, we are still no poops, but the vet was glad I knew what I was talking about, and said I wasn't crazy for freaking out. I have some metacam for the pain of the spay and some more critical care for trying to get poops moving, I have some hope. 

It is gonna be a long night though.


----------



## agnesthelion (Oct 16, 2012)

Oh wow. So bunny is home with you? What are the steps you are told to do??

I sure do hope things are okay! Let us know!!ray:


----------



## cwolfec (Oct 16, 2012)

Oh I hope she gets pooping! Poor little lady...If you can get your hands on Pedialyte (infant rehydrating drink) I woud syringe feed her that. Hopefully will help with hydration and getting things going. Someone above mentioned pumpkin which is a good idea too.

Good luck!


----------



## HEM (Oct 16, 2012)

So sorry to hear about your lil' bun
It's good that you went to the vet and took some action. Also good that she got some fluids and some food.
Hopefully by the morning you will see some poo's.
Hopeing everything goes well


----------



## Geoff (Oct 17, 2012)

It is not always unusual to have a rabbit not eat or defectate for 24 hours after a spay, but they should start soon after that. Continue with the fluids and syringe feeding and most of the time it will happen. And definitely keep her on the pain meds. Good luck!


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 17, 2012)

Houston, we have poop! Well, it is just a few tiny, hardened poops, but it made me breathe a sigh of relief. I am still going to give her another day on the critical care (which sucks, because she fights it so hard, it is traumatic to us both) and of course the metacam (she gets 2ccs every 24 hours).

I woke up to check on her early this morning and I heard what can only be described as the as the most welcome tummy rumbles from her ever! Like little bubbles rumbling around in there! But I even saw her munch a single piece of hay. I think she is going to pull through as long as we keep going in this direction.


----------



## Imbrium (Oct 17, 2012)

hooray for poop!

what flavor of critical care did you get? I'm going through the same thing you are - both my babies got spayed early yesterday afternoon and have barely eaten. I got the anise flavor and they LOATHE it! I even got a warning nip on the thumb from Nala when she realized I was about to try to force some of that stuff on her. I tried mixing in some of their favorite flavor of baby food (apple/blueberry) but it didn't help so I finally gave in and let them have 3/4 tsp of straight baby food to get some breakfast in their tummies.


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 17, 2012)

I'm not sure the flavor it is. I can't see it on the packet, and my vet gave it to me for free. Doesn't smell delicious though, and I thoroughly smell like it and rabbit pee. Very funny, stinky buns, making momma stinky too! I speculate it is the anise flavoring. I am gonna have to give in and go for baby food mixed in with it probably. I have a deep bruise on my hand from last nights feeding, and I can't be sure that she ate even as much as we were wearing. And she was grunting and trying to get away. And I was worried about her pulling a stitch. And she would jerk her head one way or another really hard, and I was worried about her hurting her neck if I tried to hold her too tightly.

So basically we were sitting in the floor, her swaddled in a red fleece blanket and both of us covered in stinky critical care. But after we exhausted herself, I put her back in the Recovery Tank (as I call the store-bought cage we have) and she gave herself a bath. So I am hoping that means she got some more of it down.

I tell you, there is such a horrible feeling when I tiny animal is trying to get away from you, and you just keep getting it again and forcing it to eat goo when it clearly doesn't want to. Even though I am doing it for her own good, it makes me feel bad because I know she is scared and angry.


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 17, 2012)

Just had another tiny hard poop when I went up there, looked like a cecal because it was like three stuck together, but it was regular poop, and it was coated in a think layer of mucus. Weird. I can't remember reading whether that was kinda normal or not. Anyone know?


----------



## bri13194 (Oct 17, 2012)

My rabbit loves the critical care. All I have to do is put the syringe by her mouth and she licks it all up. Not sure what flavor I have either. It smells like herbs and seasoning or something. 

I hope your bun gets better soon


----------



## Imbrium (Oct 17, 2012)

*rpuckett wrote: *


> Just had another tiny hard poop when I went up there, looked like a cecal because it was like three stuck together, but it was regular poop, and it was coated in a think layer of mucus. Weird. I can't remember reading whether that was kinda normal or not. Anyone know?


it's normal for a day or two, but according to http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/opcare.html you should contact your vet if there's mucus in the stool more than a couple days after the spay.


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 18, 2012)

Update: No more mucus but still hard, tiny poos and not very many at all. Not nearly enough for me to think she is back to normal, but I am starting to breath a bit easier.


----------



## Imbrium (Oct 18, 2012)

excellent! by the way, when you're syringe-feeding, have you tried using a bunny-burrito? I was completely unable to syringe pedialyte to my bunnies until I tried wrapping them in a towel and holding them in my lap/left arm to syringe it.

I put the towel across my lap and encouraged the bunny to climb onto it themselves, then wrapped them up and lifted them into my arm. (I was sitting on the floor with them)

here's a good video on syringe feeding - around 2 1/2 mins in, she demonstrates a bunny burrito.


----------



## Nancy McClelland (Oct 18, 2012)

We also give them a small bit of alfalfa to get them started--to ours it's just like "crack cocaine".


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 18, 2012)

We have been seeing more poops in her cage today, still the hard, tiny kind, but I can tell they are getting healthier as the day has gone on. It's still not perfect but she is starting to nibble more hay (haven't really got her to eat any pellets or any tiny pieces of veggie so far, but I don't know that she ever had any before, so I am not really fretting on that)

Still I would like to see some poo from her neighbor (he has always been a pretty awesome pooper, I have to say) showing up on her side. 

The thing I am worried about right now is when should I stop using the syringe? I don't want to stress her and I already feel like I am hurting the bond we could build right now, even though it is necessary. She's not eating enough on her own, but while I am supplementing her with critical care, I imagine that she isn't going to be as hungry. And while I don't want to take a step backwards or let her gut slow down again, I don't really know what the protocol is on that.


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 19, 2012)

I noticed today on her daily tummy check her fur is already starting to grow back in in some places, but where it isn't is raw and hard and red like she has been over grooming it. I don't want her to open herself up to infections, and there is no cuts or pus or anything. Probably just worrying over nothing, but I can't think of anything to soothe her skin that won't irritate her or cause her to lick more. Probably should just leave it alone.


----------



## Imbrium (Oct 19, 2012)

I would keep syringing her - you'll be able to tell when she's got her appetite back for real. they're grazers, used to eating throughout the day, and if she's recovering from a spay in a small cage she won't have much to do but munch on stuff - whether you're syringe feeding or not, you'll see a noticeable increase in hay munching.

as for the tummy, any chance you can get ahold of some vet wrap (no chew bandage stuff that sticks to itself)? you can put a gauze pad over her tummy (so the vet wrap doesn't irritate it) and wrap some vet wrap around her a couple times (it's tricky with all the wiggling around, but doable). my little Nala was licking constantly at first and the area was getting red, so I bandaged her up for about a day. (I called the vet to confirm that it was ok and was told yes, as long as I was still checking on the wound once a day)


----------



## rpuckett (Oct 22, 2012)

The fur is growing in well and she doesn't have her full appetite back yet, but she is eating unassisted and pooping enough for me to live with, but isn't quite back to herself yet. Her stomach is now got more fur around where the stitches were and under that towards her bum, but about it to about her rib cage is covered in the crusty yellow skin that is hard to the touch (and quite gross, though I would never tell her that o.0). It isn't pus, it is like a thick sheet of crusty skin. She is trying to peel it off, and the skin underneath is pink and healthy looking with no holes or scabs, though it looks like it needs the air. My questions;
1. Should I (gently) help her peel it off with warm water on the pieces that are ready to come off? Should I just let her do it?
2. I haven't ever seen yellow crusty skin before, and I don't know what else it could be?
3. I haven't had a rabbit that has kept me posting in infirmary this long since the pretty little lionhead I had with head tilt, am I freaking out over nothing and should I just let the fur grow in under the crust? 

Imbrium, I haven't seen this vet wrap, but it sounds like a good idea. I will contact my vet as soon as I hear back from her about the tummy crust (I already called and left a message, but I guess since she is a shelter vet she keeps weird hours).


----------



## JBun (Oct 22, 2012)

I don't know about the crusty skin. With the decreased appetite and pooping, sometimes when a rabbit has had GI problems, they benefit from reducing or eliminating the pellets in their diet, and giving unlimited hay and some green leafy veggies. Hay is really the best thing to get their digestion back to normal. If the poops aren't the normal round ones, irregular or too small or too big, probiotic gel might help. You could ask your vet about it.


----------



## Imbrium (Oct 23, 2012)

I got my vet wrap from http://www.leithpetwerks.com/prodpage.cfm?prod_code=GR541 along with critical care, probiotics, etc. for my first aid kit... getting it from the vet's probably cheaper, though, as shipping is pretty brutal from that site if you only place a very small order. I'm not sure whether or not it should be wrapped with the way the skin is right now, so it's probably a good idea to get your vet's opinion on it.


----------

