Post Neuter - not eating enough

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Tweetiepy

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Peaches got neutered today. It took him a while at the vets to eat anything, but he did eventually, so they let him out. I was told to leave him in his small cage instead of his 2 level condo - but he has no room to move in there and he seems squished. I tried to feed him critical care (which I got from the vets) but he tries to dash away when I try to give him some. He drank water and had a few nibbles of hay and I got him to eat a dandelion leaf or two but he isn't really chowing down on anything. After trying to get some critical care into him, he ran into his condo and I thought he might be better in there for now - I hope I made the right choice by letting him back into his familiar cage (too many unknowns for him right now) he did nibble a stem of hay. I want to leave him quiet but Ican't be with him all night to see what he's doing and if he's eating. I hope being back into his home he'll eat again - I hate having to force feed him that stuff (smells like black licorice - yuck!) because I have trouble doing so. could it be just the anaesthetic?

I have an appointment tomorrow around lunch and I may have to go back to the vets to force feed him.

Will he be okay for the night if he's taken a bit of food? Please say yes!
 
Our two boys went in for their neuter...when they came home that night they were still looking punky and out of it.

We let them eat what they would and just let them be for the night...by about midmorning the next day they were showing signs of being perkier! I guess they were just under the weather!

As long as he is drinking I would let him just rest quietly for tonight.
If he is still out of it tomorrow then I would call the vet...but as long as he has had some nibbles I would let him rest for now! It was a lot to take in...surgery, being away from home, etc...

I would def restrict his ability to jump for now...I usually let my guys roam...but def no jumping for at least a few days...our vet says 7...I have never been successful restricting them for that long though!

Danielle :)
 
Well this morning my son and I had to force feed Peaches some Critical Care - he to maybe 2 tablespoons of it swallowed and some was on me and his face - I had to hold him on my shoulder like a baby and hold his head - I felt so sorry for him. I called the vet before I went out and asked what were the next steps. She said that as long as he's munching a bit he should be back to normal soon. But if he didn't eat anything to give him more critical care until the vet could see him Monday.

I came back from my appointment and he ate a bit of his salad and he was munching a bit of hay, he came over for a scratch and he still seems out of it - not super energetic, but maybe its the pain meds making him mellow.

At least he seems to be eating now
 
I just got Gizmo neutered more than a week ago, he was not eating very much for the first few days but was grazing, he is now back to his old self again, just give him time;) I also found that the pain meds actually started making Gizz lethargic after more than 4 days so I took him off and that helped. What pain meds have they got him on? is it Metacam?
 
It sounds like he's doing pretty well, actually. I agree with your vet - as long as he's eating something, he'll continue to improve. I would only worry if he refuses to eat anything and his only food is critical care. Even then, about all you can do is keep force feeding him until he comes around. My Hannah won't eat for 3 solid days after any procedure - there's nothing really wrong with her, she's just fussy about pain. There's nothing the vet can do but give critical care, which you can just do at home.

Here's a method for force feeding that works for me:
I get down on my knees, and position the bunny between my knees, head facing the same direction as me. With my feet together, the bunny can't back up, because he's being held by my legs - you don't have to squeeze hard, just keep the bunny in place. Use one hand (I use my left) to press down on the shoulders, so they can't move forward (it helps to do this facing a wall or a pen, so the bunny is even less tempted to dart forward). Use your other hand to stick the syringe in the bunny's mouth and feed the critical care. All done! My bunnies hate to be held, so I find this way is much less stressful for them because I don't have to pick them up and wrestle with them. Plus, it's super easy to do yourself since it leaves one hand free for the medicine/critical care and you use your legs to do the holding.
 
I had Peaches over my shoulder and my son force fed him - yucky mess - he's eating very well now on hiw own, the critical care jump started him I guess. He's on metacam and I just put the syringe near his mouth and he'll take it on his own. I'm glad because he's really skittish if I try to pick him up now - maybe he thinks I'll force feed him again. He's laying down for scratching now and he's content. I was scared that his privates were swelling up but I called the vet and they say it,s normal for them to go to their previous size for a bit as air fills the "pocket" temporarily but as long as it's not red & angry looking, they'll deflate on their own gradually.

He's binkying around when he can and I can't stop him from jumping in his cage, but he seems to be climbing down more gently now
 

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