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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Bramble’s Spay

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    • Brambino
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        Hi all

        Bramble has come back from her spay and all went well. She is completely out of it though, bless her.

        I got her home and she did a little binky on realising she was safe, then flopped and has slept since. 

        The vet has been giving her critical care since a couple of hours after the surgery. It’s 4pm here and her surgery was at 10am. She has given me CC to take home and asked me to feed her every two hours. I would rather give her an evening without the stress of force feeding as she’s just been sleeping since we got home. When do I need to start force feeding? Can I give her some more time first? 

        I’d really appreciate any advice. She looks so sorry for herself! Thank you x


      • Gina.Jenny
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          I’m not sure about how soon you would need to start force feeding, but please make sure you keep her warm! I would let her sleep a little longer, then see if she will eat herself. Wet greens are good to keep the gut moving and her hydrated.


        • Brambino
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            Thanks, Gina 

            She is next to the radiator so I hope she’s warm enough. I put a snugglesafe in with her but she’s ignored it and just flopped in the litter tray  xx


          • Bam
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              I’d too let her sleep a bit more, then try to entice her to eat sth on her own. Parsley, mint, cilantro or something else she really likes. I’d try to get some CC in her before (human) bedtime, She needs calories and nutrients to keep warm and heal quickly and she needs fibre for the tummy.


            • Brambino
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                Thanks, Bam. I’ll give her more time then and feed her before bed if she hasn’t eaten. I thought it was a bit soon to start force feeding her as she just seems to want to sleep. Is it usual for vets to give cc so soon? 


              • Bam
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                  Vets want the bun to eat asap after the surgery, they told me to stock up on favorite-foods and try to get my buns to eat as soon as I got them home. I don’t think most vets give CC after surgery routinely. But I do think it’s a good thing since buns need to have food in their tummies all the time. I don’t think I’d let her sleep through the night without food, but I have only have boys neutered, they bounce back faster because it’s a much less invasive procedure.

                  Here’s some info on post op care by Dana Krempels: Post op care Scroll to post-operative care. 

                  24 hours is way too long to wait if a bunny doesn’t eat, according to British rabbit vet Molly Varga. She says maximum 12 hours. 


                • Gina.Jenny
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                    Has she woke and eaten anything yet?


                  • jerseygirl
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                      So glad your little munchkin has the surgery over with. Feel better soon Brambles!!


                    • Bam
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                        Oh, I forgot to say that, sending her many appetite-and-recovery-vibes (((((Bramble)))))


                      • Brambino
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                          Hey Thanks for all the messages. No sign of her waking up. I tried offering her pellet mash, mint, basil and fresh grass. She is not remotely interested. I tried to give her a little CC but she fought me and I had to give up. She’s back to sleep now. Her ears felt a little cold so I gave her another heat pad. Don’t really know what else to do other than wait and see. I’ll give her some more CC before bed and see how she is in the morning Thank you for all the support xx


                        • Brambino
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                          • Gina.Jenny
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                              I would have thought she should be awake by now, and if the op was 10 hrs ago, she really needs some food in her tum asap.

                              Healing vibes little (((Bramble)))


                            • jerseygirl
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                                Pop some water near her. She’ll be thirsty I expect.
                                Did they send home some pain meds also?


                              • Brambino
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                                  We’ve decided to take her to the emergency vet. We tried syringe feeding her but she wouldn’t swallow. She’s had no water or food. We put her back in her cage after feeding and she just flopped out with really fast breathing. Worried she may be in shock?


                                • Brambino
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                                    We took her to the vets who were really good. Her temperature was way too low. We had her against the radiator and she had a heated bed but this obviously wasn’t enough the vet has sent us home. We’ve wrapped her in blankets now, cranked the heating up to 25c, put in 2 snuggle safes and given her ears a massage.

                                    The vet also gave her a gut stimulant injection and some cc whilst she was there. I think our syringe was maybe too big for her tiny mouth. We have 2ml syringes now.

                                    We got back and bramble’s temperature must have made a huge difference. She’s has been drinking chamomile water for about 5 minutes straight

                                    The vets didn’t give us any pain meds to go home with. They instead asked that we bring her back in 24 hours after the op for another metacam injection. She’s scheduled for 9am tomorrow.

                                    Thanks everyone. Gina, you were so right! I thought we were keeping her warm but clearly she needed more. So glad we identified the problem this evening though rather than her getting colder over night when the heating cuts out! xx


                                  • Mikey
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                                      She may be in shock or just in too much pain. Its very hard on female bunnies, she may not be taking to the pain very well Hopefully the emergency vet has her on some ivs ((((healing vibes)))) Please keep us updated!

                                      EDIT

                                      Glad to hear she is doing better now! But did i read right, that her normal vet and the emergency vet didnt send her home with any pain meds? That might be part of the problem as well


                                    • Brambino
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                                        Thanks, Mikey. The vet gave her a 24 hour painkiller after the op. They asked us to bring her back in the next morning for another 24 hour painkiller injection. I think this is injectable metacam. Then see how they get on after the 48 hours whether they need oral metacam.

                                        Ive given her lots of greens and herbs so hoping she will eat overnight!! We’re back at the vets in the morning for a check over and her next round of metacam. Thanks for all the well wishes xx


                                      • Bam
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                                          So glad you took her to the vet. It’d not have been good at all if you’d waited. That she’s drinking is excellent. You do need to make sure now that she doesn’t get overheated. Bunnies are sensitive to heat. It will be a long night for you, but that’s just how it is when you have a poorly baby.

                                          (((((Bramble)))))


                                        • Azerane
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                                            It’s so good to read that she’s started drinking and feeling better. Well done for taking her back to the vet when you did, the excessive sleeping was very concerning to me.

                                            A bit different because he’s a boy, but I remember when I got Bandit neutered, I was really nervous about it all day after I dropped him off. When I picked him up later that day, the vet told me that Bandit was really happy to eat and drink as soon as he could after surgery. And when I first brought him home, the first thing he did was nibble a piece of hay. So I guess I lucked out in that department.


                                          • jerseygirl
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                                              {{{Bramble}}}

                                              I’m surprised if they didn’t give her more pain meds when you took her back in.

                                              When Jersey (my first rabbit) was spayed, I didn’t get take home meds and never knew to even ask about them. Luckily, she didn’t seem to need them.  I don’t think it is standard for them to be given to take home. But we now know rabbits can handle a lot more metacam then previously thought and how adequate pain management aids their recovery.


                                            • Gina.Jenny
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                                                Any news on (((Bramble))) ?


                                              • Brambino
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                                                  Hi everyone, Bramble is much brighter today, thank you!

                                                  I don’t know whether it was the gut stimulant or warming her up but she started to nibble grass about 4 am!! I gave her a little more Cc at 6am.

                                                  We went to the vets at 9 and she got her second pain killer injection. This really perked her up and she is more awake now. Last night was really awful she was so out of it and wasn’t aware of what was going on around her just flopped. It’s such a relief to see her brighter.

                                                  She’s nibbling grass still and even had a little basil. Might have to keep supplementing with CC but definitely on the up The vet has given us oral metacam as well to start giving her tomorrow so we should have no pain problems.

                                                  Thank you for all the help and support. It’s so upsetting and scary to see her unwell and not know what to do! I felt so guilty having taken her for the spay but know it’s best in the long run! Such a relief she’s on the mend


                                                • Gina.Jenny
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                                                    Jenny had a similar problem with keeping warm after her spay too, so I can fully relate to how upsetting it is. It took Jenny over a week before she was completely able to maintain her own body temp, hopefully Bramble will manage better, but just be aware it can take a while.


                                                  • Brambino
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                                                      Thanks, Gina. We don’t have a thermometer so we’re just using her ears now. If they feed cold, we’re adding more blankets and hot water bottles. We’ve cranked the heating up so it’s like Club Tropicana! Is there a more accurate way of measuring without a thermometer? Or if I buy one, it will have to be tiny and would I also need KY? (eww)

                                                      Were finding hot water bottles better than the snugglesafe vet heat pads because she’s cuddling up to them more as they’re soft.


                                                    • jerseygirl
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                                                        Im glad to hear she’s perked up and eating some.

                                                        Check out this link for your questions about taking temperature/.
                                                        http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sickbun.html


                                                      • Gina.Jenny
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                                                          I didn’t use a thermometer, I just kept monitoring her much as you are doing. I would think the kind of thermometer you are thinking of would be highly stressful anyway. If she feels comfy cuddling into you, your body temp is a good way to keeps hers warm, but not too warm. Sadly, Jenny was still half feral when her spay was done, and that wasn’t an option for her. So I spent a week pretty much without sleep, warming blankets and wrapping her in a newly warmed up one every half hour or so. It did have the plus side of taming her quite a bit over the week!

                                                          Jenny is sending lots of sympathetic vibes to Bramble.


                                                        • Brambino
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                                                            Thanks, JerseyGirl. Interesting article.  I will definitely invest in a thermometer for future. I didn’t know what normal was for a bun. By the time we got to the vets yesterday she was 33c so very glad we called the vet out, despite the fees! Just can’t believe how cold she was when we had 2 heat pads, and a light scarf on her we will know now in case of future anaesthetics too though!


                                                          • Brambino
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                                                              Thanks, Gina. I see what you mean. It would be pretty stressful but maybe useful to have in an emergency? I haven’t tried to snuggle with her actually as I’m scared to pick her up and hurt or disturb her. She’s just alternating between sleeping and drinking and hasn’t tried to leave her cage (dog crate) so I’ve just kind of left her to it. I might try and snuggle with her later


                                                            • Azerane
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                                                                I’m so very glad to hear that she’s doing much better. It’s scary how something as simple as being too cold can be so dangerous. It sounds that things are progressing well with her eating on her own. She’s one very lucky bunny to have such a dedicated owner looking out for her.

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                                                            Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Bramble’s Spay