Little-Bit’s Spay is on Tuesday!

[Binkles]

...IknowIknowIknow I shouldn’t worry!!  Spaying is a routine thing, I have a wonderful vet, and Little-Bit is a strong, healthy bunny now. But I mean…you knoww...I can’t help but to worry and be a nervous bunny mommy.  ><;

 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Little-Bit, her story can be found:

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=1&postid=25751&view=topic&tpage=1

and

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=1&postid=32898&view=topic

 

For an update, she has now fully recovered from her ear infection. She does have some permenant residual, slow (and not all the time) lateral head movement left over from the infection -most likely from scarring in the inner-ear. Poor baby…but it doesn’t seem to affect her. At all. I don’t think she even knows. She has excellent balance and has no problem coordinating hopping onto (or over..xD) things. So…in the end, I think comparitively a small price to pay.

Anyway..

I’m just worried. I guess given that she’s only 6 months old and has already had such a medical history -and since I had her on Baytril for so long-, I have this fear that she may be like…weak in some way. That maybe she might have a compromised immune system or something. Though outwardly, she SEEMS to be a very strong bunny. I spoke with the vet about my concerns as I made the appointment the other day -this is the same vet that did an excellent job spaying Binkles this time last year, has a 0% bunny mortality rate directly associated with the spay/ neuter surgery (I believe there was one bunny who had a reaction to the anesthesia). She said that the only problem that the longterm usage of medicine could have caused would be perhaps a weakened liver.

So we’re having all the typical pre-surgical bloodwork done to make sure her liver is functioning right and such. I also spoke with her about my concerns of possible E. Cunniculi, and she agreed to gend off her blood for a titer. I don’t -THINK- that was the cause of her ear infection, but since her blood is being drawn anyway, it will at least satisfy my curiosity. The results for that (obviously) won’t be back until long after the surgery.

Eehhh, I’m sure she’ll be alright, right?

(Come on, guys! Re-assure me! xD)

Also, do you guys have any tips for the car ride? It is an hour away and I want her to be as comfortable/ safe as possible. Last time, I was able to have somebody drive me for Binkles’ spay so I could hold her still. But no such luck this time. =(

I just bought her this luxury cat travel carrier tonight that I saw in PetSmart that SCREAMS ‘bunny’:

…doesn’t it? I mean…LOOK at that! Note the kitten-to-carrier size ratio -bunny sized! And…my gosh! Round! Like a bunny! It has two entry ways -the front, which you see, and the top opens up too. The front there is mesh, the black band where the logo is placed is mesh, and the top is mesh. So the window is small enough to be able to see outside but reduce stress, and I can easilly look down on her to see how she’s doing as I’m driving. Just PERFECT, in my humble opinion.

[Beka27]

is she old enough to be spayed ALREADY!? it seems like you just got her… time sure flies, huh? she will be fine. i would hope that if the vet had concerns about her health, or her ability to make it thru okay, he would not do the surgery right now… so breathe… ;o)

i have a question about your carrier. is the only ventilation thru the one side then? is there mesh on top too? i’m concerned b/c i know the plastic carriers (while also being much easier to clean and disinfect) have slats on all sides. you also want to watch to make sure she does not chew on the mesh or the inside lining. aside from holes, she could chew off a piece and swallow it, causing a bunch more problems. that’s one thing that dogs and cats don’t do so much… chew on everything they see. what kind of plastic carriers did the store have?

i got a new carrier last week b/c i needed a larger one for two buns… it’s the Marchioro “Clipper Aran”… i love it… it has a door on top and side… it’s plenty big for two buns to hop around some.  i got the medium, it also comes in a small size.  this is “wine” color… mine is a dark green…

oh another cool thing… there are other accessories you can get thru Marchioro… like wheels and a handle for pushing around airports or something.  a carrying strap can attach to the top… not to mention fans, food dishes, etc.

[Nicci607]

Posted By Beka27 on 06/22/2008 5:22 AM

is she old enough to be spayed ALREADY!? it seems like you just got her… time sure flies, huh? she will be fine. i would hope that if the vet had concerns about her health, or her ability to make it thru okay, he would not do the surgery right now… so breathe… ;o)

i have a question about your carrier. is the only ventilation thru the one side then? is there mesh on top too? i’m concerned b/c i know the plastic carriers (while also being much easier to clean and disinfect) have slats on all sides. you also want to watch to make sure she does not chew on the mesh or the inside lining. aside from holes, she could chew off a piece and swallow it, causing a bunch more problems. that’s one thing that dogs and cats don’t do so much… chew on everything they see. what kind of plastic carriers did the store have?

i got a new carrier last week b/c i needed a larger one for two buns… it’s the Marchioro “Clipper Aran”… i love it… it has a door on top and side… it’s plenty big for two buns to hop around some.  i got the medium, it also comes in a small size.  this is “wine” color… mine is a dark green…

oh another cool thing… there are other accessories you can get thru Marchioro… like wheels and a handle for pushing around airports or something.  a carrying strap can attach to the top… not to mention fans, food dishes, etc.

hi there 

yes, I have the same question about that carrier, as Beka. It looks like, the ventilation is only through the front?

and lots of mesh, bunnies just LOVE to chew…yum…

I’m concerned about the heat also, that can build up quickly in those kind of carriers, and bunnies can suffer a heat stroke really quick.

the sun doesn’t even have to shine directly on it… also, I have noticed, that this carrier seems to be difficult to restrain. I always like to restrain my carriers with the car seatbelt, JUST in case, you’ll get into an accident, or you have to go on the brakes suddenly. that way the carrier can’t go anywhere.

I just LOVE Beka’s carrier!!!!! WOW!!!!!

that carrier IS perfect!! very sturdy, good ventilation all the way around, easy to clean/disinfect. and the door on the top is really a plus. I don’t like the idea of zippers on a “bunny” carrier at all…

anyway…I wish little bit

((((((GOOD LUCK))))))

with the spay on Tuesday!! I’ll be thinking of her!! 

 

xx

 

 

[Nicci607]

oops!!

I forgot!! this might also be helpful for you [link to HRS spay/neuter pages]:

 

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html

 

 

also, regarding little bits’ age and health history, I too agree what Beka is saying!!

 

[Binkles]

T-T Yeah, my sweet Baby Bit is 6 months old already…

And as for ventillation..

The front there is mesh, the black band where the logo is placed is mesh, and the top is mesh.

><;

xD

Yes, the entire top is mesh, so I can look down in on her.

Anyway.

It comes with a built-in seatbelt safety strap. But I could (and probably will) still belt it in the traditional way I’ve done my carriers before -because regardless of what it LOOKS like, it actually is a pretty sturdy little tote.

Here is the web article about the thing -http://www.sturdiproducts.com/4111/xcart/product.php?productid=10&cat=1&page=1

As per the mesh-chew factor, neither of my bunnies have ever been too big on chewing mesh. But even if they were, I kind of doubt that my poor sweetie will feel much like chewing ANYTHING while she’s in the post-isofluorine ‘hangover’. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, if she DOES want to chew anything at that point, I’d take that as a good sign.

I bought this carrier specifically for this surgery. Not necessarily for regular travel. I didn’t want a hard carrier because 1) I want her surroundings to be as soft and padded as possible while she’s on the bouncy car ride. Hard carriers are notoriously hard to line (and KEEP lined) with proper padding for a sensitive tummy incision, and 2) Hard carriers tend to allow for too much maneuverability. I want to restrict her movement during the ride as much as I can without suffocating her.

[Binkles]

Actually I’m beginning to have second thoughts about the carrier I bought if not just because it’s going to be AWFULY hard to get her in and out in her delicate state…hmm..

=/

I’m just a sad, confused, nervous person! T_T

[Binkles]

Oh oh! One more thing!

Reading that House Rabbit article you posted, I noted one thing that I don’t remember seeing before when I had Binkles spayed:

” Give the rabbit acidophilus for a couple of days prior to surgery, just to be certain that the digestive system is functioning in fine form.”

Ehh?? I’ve never even heard of acidophilus. =S

Somebody help?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think there is a post on that recently…We decided it’s good but not necessary if you can’t get it…i’ll try to find the post and link it here!

[Binkles]

Okay…what exactly does it do? I’ve heard something about aiding the digestive tract, but…isn’t that what pedialyte does?

[Binkles]

Alright. After some internal debate about the carrier, I decided to go ahead and buy another one.

The new one is very similar to Beka’s, but is made a little cheaper probably. Heh. But it works. It was the only top/ front loading carrier I could find. It has something like 26 oblong ventillation holes in addiition to the metal top and front-loaders.

I’m just going to stick a bunch of towels and a small pet bed in there so I can bring her out easilly.

[Binkles]

D: Oh my gosh…I’m so scared..

I’m going to try to go get some sleep before the morning now.

[Binkles]

Well…I got three hours of sleep in. xD Guess I’m doing good..

[Beka27]

((((((((((((LITTLE-BIT!!!))))))))))))))

feel better little sweetie!

Binkles…. breathe! lol.

what you might want to do when you bring her home is just open the door of the carrier and let her relax for a little bit before taking her out. you’ll want to take out the litterbox probably. she can actually use the carrier tray for a litterbox if it has a lower side but she might not for a day or two. if she has access to multiple levels, i’d try and block them off so she cannot jump to anywhere for at least a few days, even up to a week.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Keep us posted! I want to hear when she comes home today!! *HUGS*

[Binkles]

Thanks for everyone’s support!

><; Well, made the hour long drive and she's in pre-op now. Sitting here at my dad's house which is luckilly 3 blocks away.

Anyway.

T-T I know she’ll be fine…I just…I’m a bunny mommy! That’s all that needs to be said, I think.

The carrier thing isn’t a bad idea, Beka. Though I think her cage might be a little cramped. I do, however, have a pet bed inside the carrier that I think I will leave in the cage so she can get out of it at her own speed.

I’ll just pop the top off the carrier and lift her in the pet bed into her cage.

[Binkles]

Ah! Hi again everyone! Sorry for the late post, but I HAD to get some rest. D:

Little-Bit’s surgery went great! Her blood work was all positive, she had no problems with the anesthesia, and everything went textbook. In fact, when I came to pick her up, I was surprised to find that she was even more lucid and hop-around-y than Binkles was after her spay! The entire car ride home, she was digging in the towels and pet bed in her carrier.

Don’t get me wrong, of course; she does NOT feel well. She’s just alert. =/ She may have been active the whole car ride, but when we got home, she just wanted to retreat into her hutch and rest. Which is where she has been ever since.

I have NOTHING to give but the highest praises to this vet. Not only does she have a sturdy foundation of bunny knowledge, but when she doesn’t know something, she admits it and encourages me to find people who do that she can consult with. The only complaint that I have is that the she wouldn’t give me any pain medications to give to her because she was worried that they’d mess with her GI tract. =/

She was more than willing to comply with my wishes for the E. Cunniculi test. But she had no idea where to find a lab or anything, so I had her contact the main vet for Alabama EARS -whom I’ve spoken with before and has a lot of experience with E.C.- and I guess they found a lab.

She also checked her ears and teeth and such while she was under. Her teeth look great and her ears don’t show any sign of infection. She did say that there was some gunk in the left ear -her problem ear- but that it was not infected. It was just…ear gunk. So she cleaned it out.

She hasn’t eaten anything yet, which means she will have gone without food since early this morning. I realize that this is a common occurrence in spays, but I’m still keeping an eye on it. I think she’s hungry, and she knows she’s hungry -she just doesn’t feel like eating. Frankly, I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t either. When we first got home and she hopped into her cage (I tried to just place the pet bed she was in into her cage so she wouldn’t have to move, but she decided that she wouldn’t have any of it and almost instantly hopped out into her cage by herself as if to say ‘Mommy, don’t baby me! I can do this on my own and you know it.’ ><), she briefly hopped over to her food bowl and sniffed the fresh pellets I had just put in but passed it up in destination for her hutch. The same thing happens when I offer her a piece of hay. She sniffs it and acts interested in it, but declines it. So she's interested but I guess just doesn't feel good enough to actually chew and swallow.

She has been drinking though. After a few hours of being home I took her water bottle off the side and lifted it to her lips. She seemed more than pleased to take a few licks at it, but stopped after that. Having had much the same experience with Binkles (who is now a permanently crock-watered bunny without wet dewlap) I decided to fill a small crock with water and offered it to her. Boy, she gulped that down! I’m not even sure that she was licking the water so much as she was sucking it!

So at least we’re having success on the hydration front, which also means that if push comes to shove, I can most likely give her Pedialyte or baby food and she will ‘eat’ it.

Hehe..

It’s kind of funny. xD

This is kind of my graduation present.

Round total, I got about $400 from all my relatives, and the surgery together with the E.C. test cost $388.

I guess, some graduates go on road trips, some throw parties, and others go on shopping sprees. Me? I’d like to have my bunny spayed, thanks!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL The things we spend our money on hey?? Great news about little bit!!

[Binkles]

xP Hehehe! Hay is a good thing to spend it on too!

-insert overly used pun here-

So I slept next to her on the floor last night. Under the cover of nightfall, I heard her come out of her hutch multiple times and chomp away on either hay or pellets or both. We’ve been drinking some water -not the prodigious amount that she normally consumes- but some, anyway. Had some success on the baby food front too. She loves her gerber pear and pineapple.

I’ve not seen any pee yet. That’s not to say that it hasn’t soaked down through the woodchips to the bottom, though. She HAS been in her litterbox. Just started to see a few small, misshapen poopies this morning. D’: And she missed a cecal..

The only thing that’s really worrying me is that she does this weird hunch thing where while she’s sitting, she brings up her shoulders like a vulture and cuurrrlls her toes under. She doesn’t really act like she’s in pain while she’s doing this, though. No teeth grinding or anything. Maybe it’s just a discomfort thing..?

But she does feel well enough to groom herself fully and stick her legs waaayy out in front of her to clean her toesies.

[Sarita]

Glad she is doing well. She may be posturing that way because her meds are wearing off or have not worn off yet. They do give some strong pain meds for the surgery plus the effect of the anesthesia. A little old fashioned about the pain meds but you could always bring her back in for a pain shot if that’s what the vet prefers and she needs it.

[Binkles]

So you think she’s doing that because she’s in pain then? Do you think that she needs the pain shot? The vet is an hour away and she wouldn’t prescribe me any medication to administer at home. D:

Edit: She said that pain meds can mess with their GI tract..?

[Beka27]

well i’m glad she’s doing okay! i would have still (strongly) asked for some back-up pain meds, just in case, seeing as you are sort of long distance. try to give her some fresh herbs, that might entice her to eat some more.

[Binkles]

I know…I really wish I could have convinced the vet to give me some pain meds, but like I said, she was concerned that they would mess with her GI tract. Anybody else have a take on this?

Anyway, Little-Bit seems to be eating fairly well now. She is also alert and VERY congenial. (My baby forgives me. ) She’s steadilly eating her hay and pellets and she’s beginning to leave me more misshapen presents in her litterbox. Though she isn’t drinking as much water as I’d like her to be…could this be due to the fluids they administered during her op? Like…maybe she’s just already inundated? She’s peed at least 3 times (MAYBE 4) since her surgery -once in her cage at the vet, once in her travel carrier, and once (or twice) in her litterbox at home.

Any tips? Should I give her some pineapple juice and/ or simethicone and/ or Pedialyte?

[Beka27]

try some very wet veggies… did you give her the water crock or the water bottle? might be unconfortable to drink out of the bottle for now…

[Sarita]

Yes, I’ve had some vets say this too but my current vet does not and I’m certain that many pain meds do interfere with the gi tract. I wonder if this vet is familiar with metacam…

I agree just wet her veggies. She’ll drink if she’s thirsty too.

[Sarita]

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx

Here is a good article on pain medication for rabbits from a vet – worth reading and maybe will help you discuss this with your vet in the future.

[Sarita]

It is funny too that they recommend pain meds when a rabbit goes into stasis….hmmm, so what’s up with that :~)

[Binkles]

Lol I don’t know.

Yes she has a crock.

I’ve been giving her some gerber pineapple and pear here and there. She inhales that. Gave her some straight pineapple juice last night for the first time. It was so cute to see her reaction. You could tell that she wanted to like it sooo bad. But in the end she decided it was too strong. Next time I’ll delude it.

You guys think wet veggies are better than wet fruit?

[Sarita]

Yes, veggies are better than fruit – the sugar and carbs aren’t the best for getting her anyway. I’m sure she would not agree with that though :~)

[Binkles]

xD Hehehe. I’m sure too.

So..erm…hmm. What kind of watery veggies do you recommend?

[Beka27]

well… just her regular veggies, whatever she gets daily in her 2 cups, but when you wash them, leave some excess water on them.

[Binkles]

Gotcha. Sounds good to me.

[Author]

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