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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Post Spay:Nutsy or Normal?

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    • Dobbythesocklessbun
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        So, due to Dobby’s age and recent irratic behavior, I bit the bullet and had her spayed. Now all of her cute behaviors are gone. Instantaneously.

        Before the nip and tuck, she was littered trained with jut a few scattered poo accidents, ate a variety of greens, and was a cuddle bun. She has a bedroom that she has to share with a wayward college student who shows her self maybe once a month. She has a dig box, toys and a couple of phone books not to mention, a fully equipped (litter box, hay galore, food bowl and fresh water at all times). She has access to the living room for a few hours a day which includes chew toys and a small cottage. She went into her room every night at the same time when I told her it was night night time. She would go right to her crate and have her dinner, a drink the sprawl out. Every morning she’s at her gate to say good morning , get morning snuggles and have breakfast before I leave for work. She would even chew or rattle the gate to make sure I was up or didn’t forget about her.

        Now she has gone through the surgical change! -She has all but remained crouched in a corner under a shelf She has chewed the covers of all the books on that shelf!. I go near,  she growls and has lunged a few times. She has even turned down her favorite banana treat. She’s maybe eaten a quarter cup of pellets if that. She has stopped at her dig boz and has eaten the newspaper and phone book pages. She’s drunk very little. She has ventured out of her room once today and has laid under a desk in the corner . Again, not wanting to be bothered. I’ve noticed she is shedding a lot and just in a few days, has become more streamlined and less round. And the corners she has been stationed in are now  bare of the carpet that once was.

        When should I be concerned with her not eating? Isn’t the digging supposed to end? It was getting concerning before and one of the reasons for the nip tuck. Will my cuddly binkying Dobby return? When?


      • LBJ10
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          When was she spayed? You can expect her to act crazy for 4 to 6 weeks after the surgery, until her hormones have leveled out.


        • Megabunny
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            Sorry to hear that. Someone else had just this problem recently with a male. I’ve put out word and maybe she will get back to us and give hope


          • JackRabbit
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              Her appetite may be less than normal for a few days after spay but she should at least be eating salads and some hay, if not, you should check in with your vet ASAP. Is she on pain meds?


            • Megabunny
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                Oh and the shedding could be stress. Is she eating today?


              • Tedster
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                  Thank Megabunny for sending me an email to get me here. I did have Teddy neutered just about 3-4 weeks ago. When I bought him home, he was exactly like your bunny. He picked a corner in his play pen and just sits there and dig for the majority of his time. He didn’t pay attention to me and he even ignored me when it was treat/veggies time (which was a shocked). If your bunny is under the shelf, just let her be because her behaviors now are only temporary, so do not worry, because I panicked for a whole week. However, do try to approach her and if she’s getting frustrated, just sit near her and doing something. Don’t completely ignore her.

                  Regard eating, as long as your bunny is eating, it is fine. Since you got her spayed, it might take up to about 2-3 weeks before her eating habits are back to normal. Teddy is eating now, but it wasn’t like before so I don’t think that all rabbit will go back to their regular eating habit (some might) but as for Teddy, he’s eating pellets, but not as much as he was before, however, he is eating a lot more hay and veggies, but he’s still eating at a healthy amount (so that’s all that matters) So don’t worry if she’s eating something less or more, it should go back to normal in about a month max and if not, just make sure that what she’s eating is at a healthy amount like if she’s not eating pellets at a healthy amount, try not giving her veggies for the day and see if hunger will strike her and she will begin to eat pellets (one day only and see if it’ll work).

                  Behaviors wise, when I got Teddy home, 4 days later, he was running around and all energetic again, but he has developed nipping instead of nudging us out of his way. He doesn’t bite hard, but he does nip a lot and he’s chewing a lot more than he was before. He chewed several big holes through his fleece blanket and pillow…As of right now, he is back to normal. He’s still nipping but that can be changed by teaching him that it’s not good to nip and chewing can be changed as well, I just have to get him a toy that he would prefer to chew on, rather than the blankets and pillows. But other than that, he’s back to his normal energetic self. One thing that changed is that he’s a lot calmer now and he seems to love pets a lot (before he couldn’t stand even a second of it). I could just lay there and pet him for hours and he wouldn’t move so that’s good. You should give Dobby roughly a month or 2 in order for her behaviors to return back to normal and if you want, keep an eye out on her because you will see her behaviors start to change week after week and it’s kind of cool and funny because it makes them look like they are bipolar, but yea, time will do the trick, so don’t worry about her behaviors being like this. She just needs time.

                  The digging isn’t suppose to end. It is a habit for them. The Teddy after surgery is beginning to dig more than he used to so I’m going to have to make him a digging box soon so he doesn’t dig at his fleece blankets. Digging should be getting less as time goes on though, so make sure to keep an eye out on that. Teddy was digging so excessively the 3rd day after surgery that he got a spasm attack from exhaustion and this went on for like 3 days and now he’s not digging much at all, but it’s still good to have a dig box for them for entertainment.

                  About the nipping, I can not say for sure because Teddy is nipping as well, but that can be taught to make them quit. Try tapping their nose, letting out a squeal, or clap and say “no” to let them know that it’s not right to nip. I am in the process of doing so with Teddy, so I will tell you how it will go. He doesn’t seem to nip unless we are in his way or if he’s licking me and then he just gives a little nip and it doesn’t hurt at all but it’s still should be prevented.

                  Shedding is normal as well because for the first week, Teddy was shedding like crazy and because of that, he looks a lot smaller than before but that should be decreasing as the days go by, so that shouldn’t be a major problem unless it lasts longer than a month or the shedding keeps increasing. Make sure to groom her if she’s shedding because you don’t want her to clean herself and ingest so much hair.

                  They just went through a very scary and life changing process, so they probably won’t want to be bothered by you for awhile. It depends on the rabbit for how long because for all of these issues, different rabbits are different from each other, but for Teddy, he didn’t want to be bothered for like a week, then after that, he started to pay attention to me. I still hang out and sit in the room with him like the usual.

                  Anyways, that was my experience. Every problems that you have listed can either be fixed or it’s only temporary so please don’t worry about it. Give Dobby a month and if she’s still not back to normal or something is odd about her, let me know and I will try to help you. Anyways good luck and keep us updated on Dobby!


                • Dobbythesocklessbun
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                    Spoke with vet. It could be a combination of the anesthesia and hormone imbalance. He is concerned over her sudden affection for carpet destruction and the possibility of a blockage due to the carpet affection but, she seems to be pooping anywhere and everywhere. He said to watch her diet over the next 2 days and if it doesn’t improve he wants to see her.

                    She went into her room for the night after a longer visit out in my real world and went right for her crate and her basket of hay! She then crawled toward her food bowl, nibbled and came out toward me and sat up like she does every night. it melted my heart. It was all about her missing nightly banana slice! I retrieved one, sat on the floor and she snuggled up to me and all was well in her world.

                    Still anxiously awaiting my Dobby to fully return but, realize she’s now a work in  progress. Now to retackle the litter box and that chewing thing. . .and I thought my daughters were tough!





                  • Megabunny
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                      Thanks, Tedster. Hoping to hear an update on Dobby


                    • Cottontail
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                        From her behaviour I wonder if she’s not in pain still? Did you get pain killers sent home with you from the vet?
                        As for the not eating, I would be concerned about that bare carpet… If she’s been eating carpet she may not want to eat her food. When Pete tore up the carpet where his nest is now (granted it wasn’t much damage), he ate a little less for a day or so and I found the carpet fibers in his poo. Excessive amounts of fur shed seem to effect Pete’s appetite as well. I have been giving him a little simethicone whenever I notice and increase of fur in his poos, and it seems to improve his appetite… probably because you don’t feel like eating much if you’re uncomfortable.

                        And I second Tedster on the nipping. Pete is very expressive with his moods, and right after neuter he nipped my so hard he gave me a blood blister on my ankle. It took some patience, but just yelping and pulling back–but not leaving–slowly taught him how hard he could use his teeth before he caused pain. I’d pull back and stay there a minute or two, sitting still. This gave him time to come inspect me and whatever damage he inflicted, which usually resulted in either a lick or a couple nudges before he took off… but he did learn how forceful he could be.. it just took patience. Now he’ll still lunge and grab with his teeth when he’s angry, but he’s learned to be gentle with his teeth, so I don’t have to worry when I see his teeth coming for my finger.. I know he’ll just use them to move my hand.

                        I hope that she’s feeling better. How is she doing, this morning?


                      • Dobbythesocklessbun
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                          Vet called to check on Miss Dobby this a.m. I’m loving this vet! She is becoming a chewing nightmare to the baseboards and corners. She has slowed down on the carpet thanks to the handy spray water bottle and the chew deterrent the vet suggested.
                          She was not sent home with any pet meds. She was just given something right before I picked her up. She has begun to eat just about everything I put down for her except her favorite treat. She is still resistant to her litter box but, I cleaned her crate out and set it up as I did during her earlier training.
                          The nipping has stopped for the moment and she’s now hopping towards me for attention and even onto my lap for snuggles and petting. This a.m. my day off mind you, she was chewing and rattling her gate at 4:30 a.m. thinking I forgot her!
                          She is still shedding but again, the vet said it’s normal. She’s starting to stretch out again and yawn but, stops herself at a certain point because of her stiches. She’s come out of the corners and now chills in her dig box. I believe my Dobby is on her way back!


                        • Megabunny
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                            That sounds great. She’s a tough bunny, especially with no pain relief??
                            I’m thinking that there’s been a lot of mention of fur lately, and mine is shedding like crazy, so yours may just be going through a routine shed, too


                          • Flopsie
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                              I think in general, getting a rabbit spayed is the best thing to do. But since each bunny is an individual, it is hard to predict the actual outcome. I think based on a large sample size, we can say the net result is positive, but of course, there is always exceptions to the rule.

                              Using my bunny as an example

                              Chewing: before spay, prominent, after spay, same
                              Nipping: before spay, occasionally; after spay, very few incidents, less than before
                              Being picked up: before spay, often (but not for a long time), after spay, rarely
                              Cuddling: before occasionally, after spay, rarely
                              Bunny kisses: before often, after: much more often
                              Petting: before often, after much much more often
                              Accidents: before common, after: virtually nonexistent

                              So you can see, the overall net change for me was worth it. She would be more cuddly and allow me to pick her up more before the spay, and now that is gone. However, as a trade off, she allows for more pets by far. Also, bunny kisses have not deceased by has even increased. More importantly, she is not having any accidents. And for that, It is more worth it. So there might be some changes that are undesired, but I feel like overall, the end was definitely more desirable. Again, just in my situation

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                          Forum BEHAVIOR Post Spay:Nutsy or Normal?