post-neuter care

[magellan1010]

So my two male bunnies were neutered 5 days ago. One of them healed up nicely, only was supposed to be given pain meds for 3 days and seems perky and normal. The other is going a little stir crazy but still has some inflammation (he had a little bit post-op too) and I am supposed to be giving him his meds for a few more days. A couple questions:

The vet told me to keep him caged for a week so he can’t hurt himself. Does this mean don’t even let him out while I’m around, or don’t let him out unsupervised when he can start to race around? He’s getting really mad about being in his cage this long haha.

One of his testicles is still inflammed, when should I contact the vet about this (if it is still puffy in a week, 10 days, etc…) The other isn’t but it still looks a little crusty. Is this just a part of the healing process or should I be a little worried?

Lastly, any recommendations for giving oral syringe medication? Generally I get my boyfriend to help me, but some mornings he isn’t around to help and it’s quite a struggle. I’ve been wrapping him in a towel but he still flicks his head when the syringe gets near his mouth (although he is fine when it’s in). Sorry for the long post, thanks!

[Beka27]

i don’t have any experience with post-neuter buns having problems with inflammation. i’ll go ahead and email the other leaders and see if they can come and chime in on this. having them caged for a week is good to keep them from moving around too much where they might injure themselves. if he’s a very active guy that is a concern. maybe give him a smaller area to play in, do you have an xpen?

fo giving meds by yourself, i’d recommend you put him in a towel on the coffee table, gently lay your upper body over him so he can’t squirm backwards and then hold his head with one hand, with the other slip the syringe behind his front teeth and he should start a licky motion, slowly squirt a little bit at a time until it’s all in.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Magellan.  First about the caging, the vet means yes, in the cage and not out and about roaming around as they can do binkies and jumps and spins which could potentially re-open the sutures.  I am sure he is mad, but try to give him more chewing toy distractions during this time.  Do you know what kind of sutures the vet used?  Was it staples, glue or regular stiches?

I would definately contact the vet ASAP about the inflamed testicle.  Is it red and hot to the touch?  If so it would be a sign of infection.  Is anything oozing out of it? 

As for the syringe feeding, are you trying it with him on his back?  If so, kneel and place your knees slightly apart then touch your ankles together to create a triangle shape, then with your guy in a burrito (I do it without) place your bun in between your knees with your feet/ankle together and kind of squat down but don’t squich your bun and snug him in with your knees with him facing outward and his rear towards your feet.  The concept of this whole bit is for very resistant syringe and/or medication takers.  Generally when you go towards them with the syringe or they don’t like what you are doing they will back up.  But, with your feet/ankles touching, they can’t back up anywhere and have to face what is in front of them.  Load up your syringe and inject into the side of the mouth like Beka was instructing.  I perfected this method with my two heathens who are very resistant bunnies.

Have you tried to get your guy to eat off of a spoon?  Is the medication compounded with a flavor?  Walgreens will generally do this for you (I think Walmart will too) so it is a bit easier for them to swallow.  Have you tried mixing the medication with mashed banana, strawberries, pumpkin or applesauce?

Here are some more tips on medicating your rabbit:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/medicating.html

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’m going to ditto. I think the vet should know asap about the inflammation and maybe see him again to make sure there’s no problem…This did happen to a member a few weeks ago, not a huge problem but I guess what happened was the body filled the empty testicle with fluid? So I’d definitely call and take him in just for a quick check and make sure nothings too wrong! {VIBES}}

[magellan1010]

Thanks for the replies! Yes it’s filled with fluid. The vet knew about it when he was releasing my bunny to me, I just wasn’t sure how long it would was going to stay that way. It is getting smaller slowly, but I’m not sure when it should be completely healed. They used glue sutures, and there is no heat or extreme redness so I’m thinking it’s probably ok, just healing slower than I expected. Still, I will take him for a follow-up this week I think.

Thanks for the feeding suggestions Scarlet Rose, I’ll try the spoon thing tonight. I’ll try to keep him entertained with some new toys in his cage (just bought some this afternoon) but he’s the smartest bun I’ve ever met and gets bored so quickly! Oh well, just a few more days…

[BinkyBunny]

How’s he doing?

[magellan1010]

They’re both doing great, thanks for asking! They’ve healed up nicely and are enjoying sweet freedom haha. Now I’m just waiting another few weeks to start trying to bond them (right now they get separate playtime). I’ve started switching which cage they sleep in each night, so hopefully they’ll be accepting of each other. Wish me luck…

[BinkyBunny]

Oh good news! I am glad to hear healing went well.

Good Luck with bonding!! So far what are they doing when they are in each other’s cage. Do you notice any extra marking or just the same? Any behavior differences when they are switched?

[magellan1010]

Well a little back story: I’ve had Dora (named before we realized he was a boy haha) for about 7 months. I was given Eeyore in the beginning of September. They were both babies when I got them, and both are super sweet to people. Eeyore came from a bad situation and is still a little underweight, so he weighs about half as much as Dora and is a little younger. They both get along with my cat (the most passive animal in the world haha) during supervised play and love to go up and cuddle with him.

I get the feeling that Dora will be the more dominant one because he’s an overall more confident bunny but who knows! Eeyore did more chin rubbing when I switched cages, but both settled in pretty quickly. They can sniff each other through the cages and do seem interested in learning more about each other, and I haven’t noticed any signs of aggression. I’m still a little worried because Dora is quite a bit bigger (5 lbs versus almost 3) but I’m hoping it will go ok!

One question: They both love being pet and will settle in quickly when I stroke their noses. How much should I interfere when trying to bond them? I don’t want to be an overbearing mom, but they are both very people oriented and get reassurance from pets. Thanks, these are my first bunnies and I never realized how much fun they are. One of my favorite parts of the day is making up their big salads and watching them bounce with excitement when they eat it!

[Beka27]

you need to be involved with the bonding. unfortunately, interactions betw/ cages are no indication of how things are going to go face to face. sometimes once those bars are gone, they are whole different bunnies.

this is my favorite bonding article… http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

read it and re-read it! i even printed it out so i could read it over each day, or focus on a different topic… once you’re ready to start bonding, feel free to start a new topic in the bonding forum and we will take you thru the process…

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