I think males heal faster than females; at least that was my experience. Both my buns were sent home with pain meds. Kahlua was pretty much okay right after surgery. He was eating and pooping like a champ. Chloe was different. She just basically sat in the corner of her cage, not moving. She barely touched her pellets but was eating some hay. Starting to feel alarmed, I went to the supermarket and brought some fresh basil (her favorite herb). I took a sprig and waved it under her nose. I put the sprig down and left the room. I went back a few minutes later and the basil was gone. I think they feel like crap right afterwards (who wouldn’t?) Make them as comfortable as you can and make sure you get them to eat. Chloe bounced back to her old self in about two days, but it was scary.

My little Cole was 3 months old when he was neutered and he was up and attum the next day……….he didn’t need any pain meds, although, neither did my girls……though it did take them a little bit longer.

I made sure they each had a soft bed to lay in and that’s exactly what Cole and Eva both did……I moved their little beds close to their food and water and they just stayed in bed, ate and drank.

Deb~

Cooper was done a few weeks ago and he did so much better than the girls. But he had pain meds and the girlz didnt. He sat in a daze for a few hours and then he just snapped out of it and was fine. Munching hay and eating his food.

You can make sure you have his favorite foods on hand. You may also want to also have a water bowl in addition to his bottle (if he uses a bottle). He may not want to move too much and reach up for his water. I had to squirt his pain meds into a hollowed out raisin to get him to take is meds. I would also make sure he has a cool dry place to lay down. They say no running or jumping for 7 days. I wouldnt let him out that evening. Let him rest in his house. The next day you can go back to normal stuff but limit his running and jumping.

I have not heard about the papaya feeding … Sprinkles was up in about 2 days … it was awful seeing her just lying in her littertray … and the fact that I could not help her was terrible … she did not have any meds but Lily did after her spay. Lily hid in her box for a day but was pretty much good the next day.

You dont have to feed papaya-it doesnt have to do with the surgery. it is a favorite treat to most buns so if they wont eat normal food they will eat their treat food and a lot of people give papaya as a treat. Papaya helps with all the fur the ingest while grooming.

make sure the vet doesn’t allow your bun to get heatstroke!!! If in doubt..take your own supply of frozen water bottles. (see my other post)

I think what Spacehopper was referring to is that at the vets office where she took her bun, there was no AC, and they did not properly cool down her bun afterwards, so he was in danger of getting heatstroke, so you could just ask your vet if they have AC in the room where the bun will be recovering, and if not bring some cold water bottles or something to keep the bunny cool.

When we had bunnies that had a tough time from recovring from surgery, we would offer fresh herbs (cilantro and parsley) and then break the stems so the buns could really smell the herbs, and that helped them get started eating again. You might also be able to ask your vet for some critical care from Oxbow in case your bunny has trouble eating.

I had one girl spayed that was not eating STILL after a couple days, so we had to syringe feed her. What we did was mix pellets with water until there was a soupy mixture. Then we ut it in a syringe, and very slowly and periodically throughout the day would give her some of the mixture. After a day this got her system moving again and she started eating! Also, keep an eye on the water, and make sure your bun is drinking a little water from time to time.

Papaya tablets are used to help with the normal digestion process – (and even that, some studies say it’s nothing more than a yummy treat) but regardless, papaya tablets are not used for post surgery care. 

I am so happy to hear that your are going to get Cookie neutered.  (dad changed his mind…yeah!)

Let us know as it gets closer so we can all send best wishes. 

Also bookmark this link as it will be helpful in knowing about pre and post surgery care. http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html#pre-post-care

Also, do you have a rabbit savvy vet yet?