Honey had an op, shes in an indoor cage but she wont poo

Hi all
This is my first post on here, but I have been on another rabbit site.
Heres a quick rundown of things.
Honey - 2 years old - rescue Lion Head Tri Colour - had her for about 6 weeks - had lump on her side - lives with my cousin down road.
Today we took her to have her lump removed, she recovered well, and came home, has been eating and drinking and has done a wee, she came home at 4 and when I text my cousin at 8 she still hadnt pood, so I walked down to hers with the carry box, and gnetly pushed Honey into it and took her out to her cage, within 10 mins she had pood and done a wee, so we took her inside again and took the poos with us to put in her cage to try and convince her she did them earlier in there.
Honey is very reluctant to poo outside her hutch at the best of times, and she took ages to even wee in her run.

My question is this, I know she has a fresh wound on her side with stitches in and all the fur missing, but what is best for her, if she doesnt poo in her cage and is left inside will we need to keep taking her out to have a poo, which is the current plan, or leave her out in her cage to stop having to keep disturbing her, I know we have a better chance of keeping her clean and free from infection inside, but what about her going into stasis through not pooing, what are the chances of that happening?
I am weighing up the chances of an infection versus the complications of stasis?

Hi and welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy it here, it's very friendly!!

Did Honey have her op today?, some bunnies do not like change and get very stressed, she has been through quite an ordeal and you have done well with her to get her eating and weeing and you did exactly the right thing to get her poo'ing, and I would keep doing that so long as she is happy doing it, if she is used to being outside and feel more content being outside then I would leave her out there after about 48 hours but I would regularly check her wound site for infection etc.

Hope this helps,

Yes she went in at 8.30 this morning and came home at 4, and was eating from what I gather before she even came home.
She was definatly more comfy in the cage outside, but I just wasnt sure if keep taking her outside was going to stress her more.
We have to take her back to the vet on Friday for a check up so will probably put her outside then if the vets say shes ok, but every one is worried about infection, but we wont have an infection to worry about if she goes into stasis from not pooing.

Tinytoez wrote:Yes she went in at 8.30 this morning and came home at 4, and was eating from what I gather before she even came home.
She was definatly more comfy in the cage outside, but I just wasnt sure if keep taking her outside was going to stress her more.
We have to take her back to the vet on Friday for a check up so will probably put her outside then if the vets say shes ok, but every one is worried about infection, but we wont have an infection to worry about if she goes into stasis from not pooing.

You are doing the right thing and I would keep her inside and keep taking her out until you see the vet on Friday and ask them if they think she will be OK to go outside then, personally I think she would be fine, like you say you don't want her going into stasis

Good luck

Snowy wrote:

Tinytoez wrote:Yes she went in at 8.30 this morning and came home at 4, and was eating from what I gather before she even came home.
She was definatly more comfy in the cage outside, but I just wasnt sure if keep taking her outside was going to stress her more.
We have to take her back to the vet on Friday for a check up so will probably put her outside then if the vets say shes ok, but every one is worried about infection, but we wont have an infection to worry about if she goes into stasis from not pooing.

You are doing the right thing and I would keep her inside and keep taking her out until you see the vet on Friday and ask them if they think she will be OK to go outside then, personally I think she would be fine, like you say you don't want her going into stasis

Good luck

Thanks Snowy, its good to know I am doing the right thing, as I am relativly new to rabbits, I did think I was mad going down to take her into her cage at gone 8 in the evening, but it worked!
She knew where she was immediatly and started running about, so we blocked the top half off and just had clean paper in it.
We have been so worried this lump may be more serious as we rescued her from a really nasty house, and we wanted so much to give her a chance to enjoy more of her new life.
But now its gone all we have to do it get her through this recovery period and all will be right with the world again.

The fact she is already pooing is a really positive sign, it means her GI motility is still working and hopefully on it's way back up to speed again, so the risk of stasis is greatly reduced.

Adding probioics to her water for a fews days post-op (or longer if she is on antibiotics) is a good way to help restore any damaged gut flora and will also help combat any negative affect post-op stress might have too, minimising further GI disturbance.

Welcome to HH BTW

Tinytoez wrote:

Snowy wrote:

Tinytoez wrote:Yes she went in at 8.30 this morning and came home at 4, and was eating from what I gather before she even came home.
She was definatly more comfy in the cage outside, but I just wasnt sure if keep taking her outside was going to stress her more.
We have to take her back to the vet on Friday for a check up so will probably put her outside then if the vets say shes ok, but every one is worried about infection, but we wont have an infection to worry about if she goes into stasis from not pooing.

You are doing the right thing and I would keep her inside and keep taking her out until you see the vet on Friday and ask them if they think she will be OK to go outside then, personally I think she would be fine, like you say you don't want her going into stasis

Good luck

Thanks Snowy, its good to know I am doing the right thing, as I am relativly new to rabbits, I did think I was mad going down to take her into her cage at gone 8 in the evening, but it worked!
She knew where she was immediatly and started running about, so we blocked the top half off and just had clean paper in it.
We have been so worried this lump may be more serious as we rescued her from a really nasty house, and we wanted so much to give her a chance to enjoy more of her new life.
But now its gone all we have to do it get her through this recovery period and all will be right with the world again.

That's OK, pleased I could offer some kind of help, I am sure she will be fine, just check her wound and make sure it's clen, I have bunnies havin all sorts of ops and they all cope very well, sopleased you rescued her and got her treatment, she will now know what love and care are, well done

Sooz wrote:The fact she is already pooing is a really positive sign, it means her GI motility is still working and hopefully on it's way back up to speed again, so the risk of stasis is greatly reduced.

Adding probioics to her water for a fews days post-op (or longer if she is on antibiotics) is a good way to help restore any damaged gut flora and will also help combat any negative affect post-op stress might have too, minimising further GI disturbance.

Welcome to HH BTW

Hey Thanks Sooz I hit the ground running a bit didnt I? Can I just get the standard pro biotics from a certain shop for her because I was given nothing for her not even pain killers, which did suprise me a bit.

Snowy, She will be well cared for and checked, even though she is my bunny she lives with my cousin so in effect we share her, I took her to the vets today and she lives with them, she is one spoiled bunny.

It never even dawned on me to get a bunny before her, I found out about her because my BFs mum was looking after her whilst her owner was away, but they didnt want her, and I was so angry with the state she was in I went and got nail clippers and a brush and sorted her out even before I took her on, then once the owner came home my BFs mum asked her if she still wanted her and it all went from there, I havent ever met this lady and I dont think I want to, and what makes it worse is that I recently found out that Honey did have a friend, but it died of FLYSTRIKE, she came out one morning and it was dead, I just see red every time I think about that baby suffering like that, and I wonder how on earth miss Honey Bunny was spared It makes me so so angry.

Now that I have got Honey, BFs mums friend keeps asking her how shes doing, firstly she asked why we had changed her name to Honey - that was mostly becasue we didnt know what her name was when we were looking after her and - new start new name.
She said she thinks she was spayed a "few years ago".
She also asked why we are BOTHERING with the operation on such an old rabbit, as she is 5, but we have been told she is only about 2.
I think she should shut her mouth if she doesnt want me to report her to the RSPCA, and as for admitting that she let a rabbit die from flystrike, what can I say, I would be too ashamed, but she just told her "friends" as if it was nothing.

Hey Ho shes with us now - thank goodness

How brilliant that Honey is safe and sound with you now.

I hope that she doing well this morning.

Welcome to HH and I will need to see a piccie of Honey, having six lionhead/lionhead crosses I think you can say I have a bit of a weakness for them. Honey sounds gorgeous.

Hi Tinytoez and welcome to HH Glad Honey is with you, and that you're here

Some people are unbelievable in the way they treat animals, that poor bunny dying like that, but at least you have got Honey now and you have taken really good care of her, as a matter of interest what was her lump?, hope it was nothing too serious.

Keep us posted on how she is doing, would love to see a picture, I have a soft spot for lionheads too

Welcome to HH.

Glad that Honey is feeling better and making a good recovery. I have a Lionhead Cross and they are fabulous buns.

Hi all, thanks for the welcomes and good wishes.
Her lump was "fatty tissue", I feel guilty about putting her through the surgery just for fatty tissue, bit we werent to know what it was until it came off.
Ive had phone call updates all day about Honey at work
As soon as I got home from work I went to see her, she was sitting in her indoor cage in the office, I took the top off and she came to the edge to see me but I left her in the cage and just stroked her.
I took a good look at her wound and it seems very clean but longer than I was expecting, and looks like it wasnt 100% neatly joined together but it looks good - I was just suprised about how much fur was taken off.
In herself she seems ok, Im quite pleased at how well she looks, she did scare the living daylights out of me when she flopped down a bit hard with her wound side up, but she was fine - I was told she jumped back in the cage when she was cleaned out and she wouldnt do that if she was in pain, she seems to be eating and drinking very well - she demolished a carrot this morning!
She has had a few runny poos today - she has had a few before but seems to have stopped until now, Im guessing it might just be to do with the operation. Oh and shes pooing in her cage as well now.

These are the pics I took of her before I adopted her, I have loads more but they are on my mobile and I have to put them on my pc before I can show you guys.

We know shes a Tri Coloured Lion Head, "dinky bun" but we think shes mixed with something else too.
Shes nothing like that now, her body language is totally different, her ears are always up and she runs like the clappers, but here she is doing her Guinea Pig impression.

Oh she's beautiful , how is she doing today?, hope everything is still going well, I agree that she needed the op because it could have been something more sinister but at least you know now, well done!

It's not unusual for the GI tract to be upset during an operation and sometimes this manifests with a few odd shaped or slightly sloppy stools for a couple of days, the probiotics can help with this.

If it continues intermittently for more than a couple of weeks then it may be worth examining her diet (and perhaps her teeth if she hasn't had a recent dental check).

Oh she is beautiful - I think she will have to come and live with me

Sixer wrote:Oh she is beautiful - I think she will have to come and live with me

Erm Im afraid not - shes staying here

Hi, glad you've joined us and I'm glad Honey is improving.

She is a lovely bun and she is lucky to have found someone to give her the love and affection she deserves.

Update:
She went back to the vets for her 2 day check today.
I had to take her as the lift that was originally arranged fell through, but I wanted to be there anyway.
We saw the vet that actually operated on her, and she said it looked like it was healing up nicely, I mentioned that it looked a bit lumpy at each end but it was nothing to worry about, she said its not completly healed but its getting there
We told her Honey has been eating and drinking and weeing but her poos have been a bit of an issue, and she said just keep an eye on them and if they start to shrink or she stops going then take her back, she only has small poos anyway, but thats normal for her - if we compare her poos to Peter my brothers dwarf scandinavian hers are tiny and his are huge but they have always been that size.
I was told it was a fatty fibourous lump, but thats all they knew without sending it off for tests, and she said it shouldnt grow anywhere else on her body but may grow back again there, so I asked her if it was worth her going through that again if it was nothing, and I was told if she was still young and it was effecting her then yes, but it she was getting older no.
I asked about when she can go back outside as she feels more comfy and poos more out there and I was told as long as its sunny and dry and we can keep where she is clean and free from germs then she can go outside, but she needs to be checked on a few times a day, but it was best to keep her inside at night for the time being.
So all in all its been a good day

Got more news but that deserves another post.

thumpersmum wrote:Hi, glad you've joined us and I'm glad Honey is improving.

She is a lovely bun and she is lucky to have found someone to give her the love and affection she deserves.

Thanks Thumpersmum

Tinytoez wrote:
. . . . We told her Honey has been eating and drinking and weeing but her poos have been a bit of an issue, and she said just keep an eye on them and if they start to shrink or she stops going then take her back, she only has small poos anyway, but thats normal for her - if we compare her poos to Peter my brothers dwarf scandinavian hers are tiny and his are huge but they have always been that size.

Got more news but that deserves another post.

You've definitely joined the forum now, it never ceases to amaze me how obsessed we rabbit owners become about rabbit poo!!!!!!!!
(It's a good thing though that you know what is normal for your bun, It's usually one of the first signs I get when Thumpers teeth are bothering him, smaller sized poos)

thumpersmum wrote:

Tinytoez wrote:
. . . . We told her Honey has been eating and drinking and weeing but her poos have been a bit of an issue, and she said just keep an eye on them and if they start to shrink or she stops going then take her back, she only has small poos anyway, but thats normal for her - if we compare her poos to Peter my brothers dwarf scandinavian hers are tiny and his are huge but they have always been that size.

Got more news but that deserves another post.

You've definitely joined the forum now, it never ceases to amaze me how obsessed we rabbit owners become about rabbit poo!!!!!!!!
(It's a good thing though that you know what is normal for your bun, It's usually one of the first signs I get when Thumpers teeth are bothering him, smaller sized poos)

Its not just the rabbits poos Im obsessed with, I have a parrot too!!

Well done! sounds like she is well on her way to a very recovery, does she eat lots of hay? or readigrass?,

Thanks, not as much hay as I would like her to eat.
She has Scratch & Newton Camomile and Dandilion hay (my chins eat that too), and she eats lots of garden grass, but hasnt tried readigrass yet.