Please don’t worry! Vets have been doing this for so long, it’s routine by now. I was worried too when we got Remy neutered, but he was just fine : )

If Monkey can make it, so can your baby The little ones do tend to make us worry, don’t they?

He’ll be fine, just make sure to have plenty of his fav foods so he is eager to get eating after

Good luck and early healing vibes! I’m sure everything will be fine.

Um… don’t take his food away. Bunnies have to eat, right up til surgery. If the vet told you otherwise… go to a different one.

Bunnies are very different from cats and dogs. They don’t need to fast like they do. A bunny can’t vomit, so there is no need to worry about aspiration.

Well, rabbits can’t vomit so you don’t have to worry about that. He should have hay available to him at all times.

Y’know what might have happened… the lady might have been a nurse who didn’t really know the difference, but the doctor (hopefully) does.

Definitely keep fresh hay and water out, since those should be provided at all times, and then call in the morning and double check to see what the DOCTOR says about this, not just the nurse or receptionist to whom you spoke. If you have to reschedule, at least you’ll err on the side of caution.

If, in fact, the doctor thinks that the rabbit should be fasting, well… you might want to check around and see if there are more rabbit savvy vets available for the neuter. Bunnies should really not have to fast. As Helenor and MonkeyBun mentioned, bunnies lack the ability to vomit, and a doctor requiring them to fast is a bit of a red flag.

Our vet, who is a vet for a local rabbit rescue, and office staff said DO NOT take his food away. He could eat any time he wanted to. Sometimes the front office staff are not as knowledgable as the vet and are so used to dealing with dogs and cats they do not check with the vet about rabbits. Be sure to check with the vet about pain meds when you take him home. When he gets home he should be on a single level so he cannot jump around and activity should be limited for a few days. Our rabbit got home at 4 pm. He was a little out of it. He just sat in his bed. We put some of his greens in a dish close to him and about 10 pm he started to nibble. By the next afternoon he was almost back to normal, but we kept his activities limited.

That’s what I did when we took ours to get fixed… brought bags of hay and pellets and gave them to the vet for after the surgery. I think it’s a good idea : )

hay should be sufficient overnight. Just call in the morning, and ask to speak to the vet that is doing the surgery and ask about it. If he says no food should be allowed… then well… he ain’t much of a rabbit vet.

This happened to me as well when stu was going in. the vet nurse told me not to feed after 8pm, but them called me back to correct what she had said. Cats and dogs etc have to be fasted. Rabbits are different

It is fine for him to eat. Rabbits aren’t supposed to fast before getting fixed

I’m happy that you are getting the neuter done I am sure he will be okay. Please keep us posted

My vet teaches exotic medicine at the vet university here, and he says to make sure they keep eating, right up til surgery.

Your bun will be fine

The HRS states this also.

does the veterinarian require withholding of food and water prior to surgery in rabbits? (It is better not to do this–rabbits can’t vomit, so there is no risk of that during surgery, and rabbits should never be allowed to get empty digestive tracts) http://www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

I repeat the others advice^^. Don’t fast him and in the morning ring ahead and have this cleared up. You can always reschedule if needed.

(((calmness vibes)))

I don’t trust receptionists with that sort of thing. Rabbits must not be fasted and I’m sorry you had to deal with that lady.

I hope little man pulls through. How old is he? I have no experience with boys, but I hope he’s fine and dandy

Oh hon, please don’t fell bad. You followed directions well, you waited until he was old enough, and this kind of thing doesn’t happen often. It isn’t your fault. I know it’s so easy to blame yourself and feel awful, but you did everything you were supposed to.

I’m sure he’s going to be just fine. He may have a larger incision and a bit of a longer recovery, but he’ll feel so much better when he gets home to you. Plus, you’ll be so relieved that the procedure is over and done with, and you will never have to worry about it again!!

Also… if the vet couldn’t tell that both hadn’t dropped before starting the surgery, how in the world were you supposed to know?!

It’s not like we’ve seen a bunch of them…

Unless the scrotum was palpated to check to see if both testicles had dropped- there would be no way to tell. It would LOOK like both had dropped since you would see the scrotum.

If his surgery was a bit more involved, do request pain meds if they don’t provide any.

Rabbits can pull their testes back up into the canal they descend from. That could have been another possibility. I hope they were successful in the end.
(((Vibes))) for you baby boybun.

The procedure for a boy is usually much simpler for a girl bunny, so with the complication that he had I’m sure an experienced vet was still able to handle it just fine. It will probably be a recovery that’s similar to that of a girl bunny, that’s all. bigger incision, maybe slightly longer recovery time. A bit more care in keeping him from jumping around for a few days. I am guessing that he stayed overnight tonight to be watched in his recovery? If he’s not home yet, be sure to request pain meds to come home with you, and instructions on how to administer it (usually it’s metacam inserted by syringe into the side of your bunny’s mouth. Usually it tastes good to them, too.) so if he is in any discomfort you have it ready. That may not even be needed if they’ve kept him to be sure he’s fine. Just remove any platforms temporarily to keep him on the lowest level in his habitat for a couple of days to a week. You can check his surgical site by holding a treat above his nose so he stands up for it, then put a hand mirror on the ground to see his underbelly’s reflection. It’s so you can check for redness or swelling in the area.

I bet he will be glad to see you and home again! {{{{{{{{{{{Healing vibes}}}}}}}}}}}

{{{{{{{{{{Healing vibes}}}}}}}}}

I’m sure he’ll be okay. He’s probably just a little out of it. Can you give him a treat to get him eating?

It’s not at all unusual for them to have very little appetite the first day, so I wouldn’t worry. Plus, he will have discomfort since she had to go deeper with the incision. So just make him comfortable, maybe give him a soft dry blankie if you have one, but he will be trying to find a good position to rest and it may be hard. He will nibble the softest, easiest foods first, so probably the lettuce or treats, like banana, and then he’ll regain interest in hay and pellets, probably tomorrow or even the next day depending on the pain meds and his discomfort. Plenty of water handy for him is important. Get some rest yourself tonight.

OH, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Rabbit love to rip fabric, but he probably won’t swallow it. Our buns LOVE blankets!

blankies are a fav here too. moose does nibble at his, but he always drops the bits. hay is much tastier in his mind

oops, just realized the thread was way ahead of where I thought it was lol

Hope that your bunny is okay post-surgery. I’m sure it’ll go fine!

Oh, one piece of post-surgery advice though. My vet said I should limit his ability to jump around for the first couple of days post-surgery (2 or 3) by keeping him in pen (or in your case cage). This prevents him trying to jump up on couches or chairs and pulling his stitches.

His neuter will be more like a spay since they had to do an abdominal sugery to finding the “hiding” testicle. He probably won’t bounce back as quick as boys usually do- but his recovery should be similiar to a spay- so don’t worry too much if that is what you notice.

How’s Wooly doing?

That’s quite normal, and it all sounds good. It’s nice that they miss each other too. A week will go by quickly, and your bunny who is sweet to begin with will certainly not be worse now. (Unless he becomes a treat addict!)

Maybe he was trying to mail himself to her.
You stopped him.
He’s mad, and calling Fed Ex for a pick up as we speak.

Oh, that wasn’t hard to find once he dumped out the litter….