Before and after a Neuter?

[Pancake]

What am I supposed to do before and after I get Pancake neutered?  I found a place with a good amount of experience on bunny neuters for only $65!!!  But I don’t know what to do before and after the surgery!  I emailed them about if he can eat before it but I don’t really know anything about after it!!  Thanks

[bunnyluvr]

Before his surgery everything should be as normal, feed him pellets & fresh veggies along with fresh water as you would on any day. Rabbits aren’t like other animals and are supposed to eat up until the surgery because of their digestive track. There’s not really anything you need to do different. After the surgery he’s going to be a little groggy and will probably have wet eyes. This is normal and nothing to worry about. He will also be a little uncomfortable and you may want to ask your vet for some pain meds for him but it isn’t always necessary for boys. Have pellets & fresh veggies and of course fresh water available for him but don’t be surprised if he isn’t very interested for awhile. Try to offer him his favorite treat or maybe some parsley to entice him. If he’s not drinking water try wetting down his veggies to get some water into him that way. He’s going to be quite and not have a huge appetite for a day or two but this is normal. It usually took about 2-3 days for my boys to get back to normal. Just be patient and keep an eye on him. Make sure he eats but don’t freak out if it’s not as much as normal. And you can always come here and get advice from all the wonderful people here, their are lots of knowledgeable and caring people on this site so no need to be shy even if you think it’s a silly question. Hope this helped you feel a little better. Keep us posted with how your baby does and give yourself a pat on the back for taking such good care of him!

[Pancake]

Thanks!! That’s alot of help. The vet said that he sould eat and drink normal exept until 9PM the night before the surgury he should stop eating.

[Sarita]

No, that IS NOT CORRECT…you do not fast rabbits the night before.

[xParadise]

Sarita is right, you should speak with the vet. Rabbits NEED to eat right up until the surgery and right after it, if they will.
They do not have systems like cats or dogs. They constantly need food moving through their GI tract. Dogs and cats fast before surgery because the anesthesia can cause nausea, but rabbits cannot vomit.

[KatnipCrzy]

Are you sure that this is a rabbit experienced vet?  The fact that they told you to withhold food after 9pm the night before is scary.  I would ask more questions before considering taking your bunny there for surgery.  Does the $65 include anything else other than the surgery- pain meds? pre-anesthetic bloodwork?

Have you been able to find a local HRS site that has recommended vets?

[BinkyBunny]

Yikes! A double triple ditto regarding the replies so far. A rabbit should not be fasted! A rabbits digestive tract is always on the move and unlike dogs and cats they cannot vomit, which is many times the reason vets have cats and dogs fast. It can be hard enough to get a bunny to get his appetite and get his digestive tract moving again and to fast can make it doubly difficult which can create some serious problems with recovery.

Also, sometimes a vet will know not to fast, but the front desk people may not, so if this information did not come directly from the vet, then you should talk to the vet.   If the vet said this, then I would really rethink using him/her.

Here are some previous discussions too about spaying/neutering

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&view=topic&postid=13556&forumid=6&tpage=2#13954

First-hand advice & assurance: https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=2&tpage=1&view=topic&postid=17164#20010

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