New Bunny owner--I don't know if I should worry or not.

Hi.

I just got two new bunnies from the pound. One is a dwarf female (Mexitli) and the other is a very small dutch male (Coney). They were both fixed day before yesterday.

I know that this time must be very stressful for them, as they just had surgery and just came to a new home. Add to that the fact that I am a new bunny owner, and I don't know what sorts of behavoir are normal.

Mexitli is in her cage, and isn't eating much (although she ate a lot yesterday, and had some poos last night--not a ton, but some). She seems a bit nervous to come out, even when I leave her door open. She just looks sleepy, eyes half-closed in the corner of her cage.

Coney meanwhile is hopping around and around in hyperactive circles. Yesterday he kept trying to mount my feet and hands (he doesn't know he's been fixed yet, I guess, or the hormones aren't out of his system). He is also making wierd oinking-type noises.

I don't know how much of their behavior to attribute to stress, or whether I should worry about the little girl. Could she have complications from her surgery? From a change in diet? I don't know what they've been feeding her at the pound. I've been giving Romaine, Cilantro, timothy hay and timothy pellets (but I don't think she's touched the pellets).

Does anyone have any advice about how long it takes a rabbit to relax in a new enviornment? To recover from surgery? Does all this sound like normal rabbit behavior to you?

Thanks,

Lauren

I think your little girl's just going to take more time than your boy. Remember that the speying op is a lot more intense than the castrating op!

It'll take up to six weeks for the hormones to get out of a newly neutered male's system, so you've still got some time to wait!

As for diet, make sure they've got constant access to hay. All day, every day, put out new hay often. It'll keep their teeth in good condition. They also need a good concentrated pellet mix. I've personally never encountered timothy hay pellets, so maybe someone else can tell you more about them, but I always advice owners at work to feed a single concentrated pellet feed (instead of those mixed muesli feeds you can get), to avoid selective feeding, and to ensure they're getting all their nutrients. Did the pound tell you what they were feeding them?

Veggies should be introduced slowly if they've not eaten them before, as it can give upset tummies and diarrhoea. Diarrhoea in rabbits can be fatal (coz they're soooo tiny!!!), so keep an eye on their poos!

Don't worry too much yet. As long as they're producing poos and they're peeing, they're fine. Like you said, it's really stressful going through an operation and then moving into a new environment, so your little girl will need some time to get adjusted!

Welcome to the forum, and welcome to the happy world of bunny owning!!!!

Females can take a couple of days to get back to normal after surgery! If she does not resume eating tomorrow, take her to the vet. In the meantime, try to temp her with herbs, alfalfa hay - anything she might love and eat...

Both the op and the move are very stressful for your bunnies. Hopefully they will recover soon.

Also remember not to let the buns out together for a few weeks yet if they've not been together before. The male will try and mount the female and she'll be sore for some time. Did the vet give you metacam to give to her?

The vet didn't give me anything! What's metacam?

And, yes, I kave them in separate cages for now, I hope to bond them later.

Metacam is a painkiller which is relatively safe to give to buns. As a spay is quite a big op for a bun, our vet usually recommends that we give a couple of drops per day for as long as required if she seems in pain. As you're new to bunkeeping, you probably wont be familiar with signs of pain in a bun. Usual ones are not eating, loud grinding of teeth, sitting hunched up, a distracted look in their eyes. She probably ate quite alot yesterday cos the painkiller was still in her system, it'll have worn off by now. If she's not eating by tomorrow, get in touch with the vet and tell them she's not eating, this is really important. You can also get Supreme Rabbit Recovery mix which has an appetite stimulant in it and there's another called Critical Care.

Hello there

Just to let you know we had our rabbit, davina spayed last tuesday, she was quite quiet but now is back to normal. We have had problems though with her feeding. She has really been off her pellets since then, thing is though she is drinking and also been eating hay. We have tried everything and like you came on the forum and everyone is so helpful.

Changed her feed tonight though and she has had some pellets which is good, she is also eating cabbage and on poo watch each evening and everything is ok.

Keep on checking her and take her to the vets as we also had to try her on powdered food for a day - if they give you that, put a tiny bit on her lip and let her lick it off, it worked with Davina.

Hope yours gets better.

Out of curiosity are you from America? Just the reference to the pound and also timothy pellets which I believe are a common pellet used in America.

Makes it a bit more difficult to advise as obviously the medications used are different to the ones here.

My girls didn't get painkiller after their ops - just the dose they had at the vets so don't worry too much about getting some unless she appears to be in obvious pain.

Probably best to give the pound a call and find out what she was eating there then you can change her slowly over to the food you want!


Caz

Yes, I am American.

She _is_ grinding her teeth and hunched up. It didn't occur to me that it would be a problem of the pain killer wearing off. I was thinking that I had managed to give her horrible GI troubles in just 24 hours!

Maybe I will phone the pound then, thanks for the advice.

Arrrgggh. Can't get through to the pound. How annoying.

You might want to try phoning your vet (I assume you've found one?) and explain what the situation is, and he might be able to give you some painkillers for her. Or at least give you some over-the-phone advice!