• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Bolt got castrated, 4 days and still not eating properly help!

Bolt

Bolt

Young Bun
Hi,

Our Bolt got castrated on sat, he seems fine, was sleepy on the day but he seems ok, next day he was better and moving around, we didnt want to let him out the cage to runaround as his wounds might not be healed up properly yet. Currently we are using a towel and hay for his bedding, avoiding sawdust for the minute.

On Monday we got a relative to take Bolt ot the vets for a check up, he hasnt been eating much, bit of hay, just started to nibble on a few pieces of pellet, he doesnt even batter his eyelids for his fav treats of rabbit chocolate!

Last night and today he started to eat his chocolates but we dont want to feed him too much on that, he is being syringe fed, vet gave him an injection to speedup his guts.

We worried as he isnt pooing the usual 'nesquik' sized poo he normally does :(

Today is the 4th day, we have vet appointment tomorrow incase he isnt eating better today. Is there something we can do to tempt him to eat? He drinks a little water every few hours but he is not back to himself, i hear people say theirs are back in 2 days!
 
Bolt said:
Hi,

Our Bolt got castrated on sat, he seems fine, was sleepy on the day but he seems ok, next day he was better and moving around, we didnt want to let him out the cage to runaround as his wounds might not be healed up properly yet. Currently we are using a towel and hay for his bedding, avoiding sawdust for the minute.

On Monday we got a relative to take Bolt ot the vets for a check up, he hasnt been eating much, bit of hay, just started to nibble on a few pieces of pellet, he doesnt even batter his eyelids for his fav treats of rabbit chocolate!

Last night and today he started to eat his chocolates but we dont want to feed him too much on that, he is being syringe fed, vet gave him an injection to speedup his guts.

We worried as he isnt pooing the usual 'nesquik' sized poo he normally does :(

Today is the 4th day, we have vet appointment tomorrow incase he isnt eating better today. Is there something we can do to tempt him to eat? He drinks a little water every few hours but he is not back to himself, i hear people say theirs are back in 2 days!
Click to expand...

Do you have any banana / pineapple in at all? Banana seems to be a fave. Did he have any pain killers at all, and did you get to take any home? Sounds like he could be in pain perhaps.
 
Personally I would be back to the vets today to get more painkillers, gut stimulants and anything else the vets can give him..
 
they gave us painkillers for him but that only lasted 2 days, they gave us more yesterday. Also they gave us this speed recovery packet which we syringe feed him too.

He doesnt look like he is pain, looks fine to us, he doesnt grunt so i suppose the painkillers are working.

we've never fed him banana or pineapple before, would this be fresh pineapple juice? i dont think he drinks anything unless its from his bottle.

PS: they gave him a injection of gut stimulant yesterday
 
we didnt want to let him out the cage to runaround as his wounds might not be healed up properly yet.
Click to expand...

Have you let him have any exercise yet? This can often help stimulate the guts and get things moving.
 
I'd let him out to have a little mooch around and give him something else to think about. Also I'd keep shoving dandelion leaves or pieces of grass or hay under his nose, do you have any plantain in your garden? I've always found they seem to get so fed up of you keep waving little bits in front of them they eventually start to at it nibble to get it out of their way.

Hope he picks up soon.
 
my OH currently is looking after Bolt, we're scared he might get an infection so havent let him out. The day we took him home, we let him out but he just hopped to his cage and waited for us to open it.

Hes seems alot better than before, but i'll try and get him to get his pellets, he loves the chocs again but we cant keep feeding him that!

he nibbles on hay every now and then, hopefully within a week he will be back to himself again.
 
:wave: I just had a young male "done" on Friday, and he would have nothing to do with his pellets at the beginning either. All he would eat was freshly picked grass, mint, apple leaves, basil, and roses off my OH's favourite rose bush :lol:. I rinsed them under water first as he wasn't drinking too good.

I know this doesn't help to get bolt to eat his pellets, but at least he would be eating something. Sometimes when they've had something they realise they are starving and eat everything :lol:
 
my OH currently is looking after Bolt, we're scared he might get an infection so havent let him out.
Click to expand...

Exercise really does help get things moving along. A little supervised run around really wont do him any harm, four days post op he should be healing nicely now so unlikely to get an infection.
 
If he is nibbling on hay, he's on the way to recovery I think. It would be much more worrying if he ate nothing on his own. But I've never seen a bunny refuse a dandelion treat...
 
I agree some exercise would be very beneficial with regards to getting his guts moving :wave:
keep tempting him with tasty food. I found that my boy responded really well to strong smelling herbs like parsley and coriander
keep an eye on his poos. If he still hasnt produced any by this evening an urgent vet visit is required.
Good luck xxxx
 
Bolt loves brocoli but he wouldnt touch any, i'll try some of the stuff mentioned here, mainly get him out and running around so i can tempt him some food tonight.

coriander is another fav of his, will get some tonight!

thanks for the advice, will report back tonight.

PS: He has a vet appointment tomorrow for check up, if he is eating again tonight then vet said i can cancel it.
 
Hi, if Bolt isn't eating today then he will need to see the vet tonight and not tomorrow. How are his droppings today?

Exercise, strong-smelling herbs, leaves, anything you can tempt him with really, but I would avoid 'choccies' these are no good for rabbits full stop even if you are struggling to get bunny to eat as the sugar in them will exacerbate any unbalanced caecal flora - a huge trigger for ileus - which is what he appears to be in at the moment. I would be encouraging him with fresh leafy greens soaked in water and offered wet to increase his hydration and keep putting out fresh hay and a few pellets. Have you got an apple tree or an allotment/countryside near by? Apple leaves, willow tree leaves, dandelions, bramble leaves etc - all great for getting that tummy moving.

If his droppings are non-existant or very small and he is still only nibbling today then he needs to see a vet sooner rather than later for more pain relief, possibly fluids and most probably a course of gut motility drugs such as maxolon and zantac. Hope Bolt feels better soon x
 
heres an update:

Bolt was out of his cage and playing i guess as he usually does so that seems normal. I went to tesco specifically to get him some fresh veg (brocoli, coriander and basil). Washed them all up and tried to feed him, he doesnt seem too interested but soon i have to put it near his mouth and he chomps away.

He has so far had about 8 thin storks of coriander about 6cm long, 2 basil leafs, 1 carrot treat (twice the size of a human thumb nail). Though to me its not enough, i changed his pellet bowl and cleaned it, put some new pellets in and put the bowl near where he was relaxing, he then started dipping his head into the bowl to eat, probably dipped about 6-10 times.

So i am happier he has had some food, i think he had some syringe food but he didnt really take any in as my OH said.

I'll give it another 2 hours then i will try feed him some more. Also he is nibbling on the hay every now and then and between when we was feeding him, hes not drinking as much water as he usual does though so a little concerned there.
 
Bolt just went to his food bowl and took a few more nibbles on his pellets!

i think he is on his way to recover, so my next question is:

we still have some Metoclopromide syrup, i think this is to help his stomach, should we give some to him tonight? Shall we continue it twice a day as asked by the vet, i think its only enough for another day or 2?
 
Bolt said:
Bolt just went to his food bowl and took a few more nibbles on his pellets!

i think he is on his way to recover, so my next question is:

we still have some Metoclopromide syrup, i think this is to help his stomach, should we give some to him tonight? Shall we continue it twice a day as asked by the vet, i think its only enough for another day or 2?
Click to expand...

Yes this is maxolon and it is a gut motility agent for the foregut. If your vet has advised you to give it to him 2x a day then I would continue to do so for the next few days - it should help to knock the ileus on the head.
As long as he keeps nibbling this is good - keep him eating throughout the night every few hours if you can. He may not be drinking as much if you are feeding wet leaves, or lack of activity may mean he is less thirsty - but keep the fresh water on offer at all times. If he's still only nibbling tomorrow then I would want him reassessed and possibly some more pain relief. You could also ask your vet for some zantac (ranitidine) syrup (works on lower gut) which can also be given 2x a day at the same time as the metclopramide. If you can encourage Bolt to eat some hay this will really help him, or some freshly picked grass if his tummy is used to grass :)
 
before bed last night, we saw him eat his veg, pellets and hay all on his own so i guess he is doing better.

still, i'm going to encourage him with coriander and basil and thats what seems to kick start his eating. His poo is getting more and bigger but i'd say about 80% what they are normally.

PS: Thanks for all the help so far! Once Bolt is better he will be taking a self-portrait and put here lol
 
Bolt said:
before bed last night, we saw him eat his veg, pellets and hay all on his own so i guess he is doing better.

still, i'm going to encourage him with coriander and basil and thats what seems to kick start his eating. His poo is getting more and bigger but i'd say about 80% what they are normally.

PS: Thanks for all the help so far! Once Bolt is better he will be taking a self-portrait and put here lol
Click to expand...

So glad i'm not the only one who had a slow recovering male!

I'm so glad bolt is getting back towards being his normal nomming self! :)
 
That's great he is doing so much better.

I would keep going with the metclopramide and really try to encourage the hay eating - the more hay he eats the faster his tummy will move and the larger his droppings will become as they stretch the bowel wall and really get that motility back on form, it will also rebalance his caecum again nicely. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Zigzag
Struggling with Zigzag- not eating hay
Replies
18
Views
513
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
T
Please help. Poor rabbit is desperately ill
Replies
9
Views
567
dex179
dex179
bunny momma
Raven needs vibes, falling, circling update March 11
8 9 10
Replies
192
Views
5K
a reader of books
a reader of books
Back
Top