neutered

Hi all,
This is my first post as i only became a member last night after looking for some advice i stumbled across this lovely forum full of caring bunny owners !! Niko (my bunny) has just been neutered (friday) and he isn't eating his pellets, i have been giving him his favourite dandelion leaves which he has eaten but his stools are still quite small. I have since been back to the vet (about an hour ago) and she has given him another gut stimulant and a painkiller, he is very happy in himself but i just wondered if any ones elses bunny went off their food and for how long?? What are other bunnies favourite things to eat that i could try?
Thanks for you help,
Nikos mummy :wave:

Do you have a lawn you can put him out on? I wasn't going to put my doe out for a few days but the vet told me I should, as eating the grass would prevent gut stasis.

I put her in her run as normal the day after her op and she started eating the grass straight away. She was right as rain and you would never have known from looking at her that she'd just had major surgery.

Nikosmummy said:

Hi all,
This is my first post as i only became a member last night after looking for some advice i stumbled across this lovely forum full of caring bunny owners !! Niko (my bunny) has just been neutered (friday) and he isn't eating his pellets, i have been giving him his favourite dandelion leaves which he has eaten but his stools are still quite small. I have since been back to the vet (about an hour ago) and she has given him another gut stimulant and a painkiller, he is very happy in himself but i just wondered if any ones elses bunny went off their food and for how long?? What are other bunnies favourite things to eat that i could try?
Thanks for you help,
Nikos mummy :wave:

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Hi there, pain puts bunnies off their food. Castration is of course painful but not as big or deep an Op as a spay in females and for this reason males do tend to bounce back quicker, although it depends on the bunny and the level of post-op pain relief and after-care. I would expect him to be quiet for a day or so after his Op but not much longer than this. Hopefully his new dose of pain killers and gut motility drugs will start to kick in today, it is possible his tummy was starting to slow before this, thank god your vet did the right things this morning and well done for taking him back
I find with buns in pain that they respond best to strongly scented fresh herbs and new things they have not tried before. Fresh basil, mint, parsley, thyme, rosemary, coriander etc all work well here when my buns are in pain. Also watercress, radish leaves -peppery things!
Another thing that makes bunnies feel unwell and unwilling to eat is dehydration. Is your bun drinking himself? If you have not seen him drink at all then he will either need syringing gently some cooled boiled water/herbal tea OR a trip back to the vet for some sub-cutaneous fluids. If he is still not eating himself today then you will also need to start syringe feeding in order to stimulate his gut. It all depends on how well he appears, and how much he is eating/drinking and pooing himself? If all of these are non-existent or minimal then he will need syringe feeding/fluids until he feels well enough to do it himself. 12 hours without food is risky, 24 hours without food bun will likely be in stasis. How is he now?

niko how is he now...

He appears a little better, i put him in his hutch after a good run around the garden this morning, he is very alert in himself and i spotted him eating some hay when he returned to his hutch which made me feel a lot better. I have put 2 water bottles to his wire 1 upstairs and 1 downstairs and a bowl of water in case he can't be bothered with the bottles..... he is much pampered but he deserves it.... the vet mentioned giving him some baby fruit or carrot puree food which i did try but he hates being force fed, i hate it too as he dis-trusts me now, but i am prepared to do it to make him better. Still not eating the pellets but he is eating some leaves i give him (like you said strong scented herbs, i even gave him some lavender last night... to calm him) i'll keep you posted and thank you very much for your help !!
Nikosmummy