Welcome here! I am really sorry to hear about Peter. I can definitely understand your concerns. Being put under anesthesia is risky, for humans and animals alike. There is always the possibility that something might go wrong. Do you know what happened during the teeth surgery? Was it an error on your vet’s part, or did you have no explanation? Another thing to keep in mind is age. The older a bunny is, the more risky the surgery might be. Usually with young bunnies, they can be put under and recover easily. If Peter was older, he may have had something else wrong with him that you and the vet were not aware of and he could not handle anesthesia. If you are very concerned, or if your girl is over two years old, I’d recommend you do blood work before the surgery to make sure there are no underlying health issues.

Are you confident with your vet’s ability? Is this the same one who saw and operated on Peter? It’s very important that you see a rabbit-savvy vet for rabbit care. A dog and cat vet may agree to see your rabbit, but unless they are experienced with a high success rate, I would not allow them to operate. Anesthetizing rabbits is different from cats and dogs. If you are not sure, go ahead and cancel the appointment and do some research in your area for another vet. The House Rabbit Society has a list of questions you can ask to determine the “rabbit-savviness” of a vet.

Spaying is a necessary surgery. It is not only for the behavioral benefits. Females have a very high risk (80% approximately) of developing uterine cancer by the age of 3 if not spayed. Their bodies are designed to make lots of babies in a very short time frame. Because of this, cancer develops very quickly. A surgery to remove cancer will be riskier (and more expensive!) than a “preventative” surgery to spay.

As far as your other concern, medicating after the surgery, she will be groggy for at least the first 24 hours, and in most cases, they are relatively “low-key” for the first 3-5 days. Is there someone who can help you give her meds? What works for us is my husband will hold her back-end still, while I open her mouth and administer the meds. Sometimes it’s easier with a helping hand.

Welcome! I’m sorry to hear about Peter. Like Beka said-spaying is really necessary-for health and behavior! Medication is actually fairly easy to give after the spay, for a hard to handle bunny you can wrap them up in a towel so there is minimal struggling. You just poke the syringe in their cheek and push the stopper. They are such clean animals that even if a bit is on their lips they’ll lick it up. You could actually get a syringe from a pharmacy and some baby food and practice prior to the surgery to feel more confident too! Baby food in pumpkin or banana etc. would work well and maybe she’ll enjoy it so much she’ll eat readily out of it by the time it’s medicine time!

Oh good! Feel better! Keep us posted how she does!

When I had to give Dexter his pain meds after his neuter I put a little bit at a time on a piece of banana and he gobbled up with no problems. I am glad the surgery went well. I was a nervous wreck as well when he had his surgery but it was for the best.

I’m so glad everything worked out! let us know how she recovers! I always get nervous when I take my fur kids in for surgeries!!!…they are just like my humane kiddo’s to me!!!

Oh that’s great you took days off. How sweet and caring and especially with spays, it’s important to keep a close eye. She sure is lucky to have you.
Here is a great link to pre-post care from the House Rabbit Society – http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html#pre-post-care
(scroll down for post care)

She should be at least nibbling on something now, and I am sending vibes for a speedy recovery and peace vibes for you! I know this can make us very anxious. Believe me we all here understand!

Keep us updated

Yeah! I am glad she is healing well. It will take a month to six weeks fo her hormones to die down, though some buns will always be a bit diva-ish.

Keep us updated.

She should definitely be getting back to her normal self around this time! If you have any other pics you’d like to share, we would love to see them!