Post-Neuter Care

[Mr.Pickles]

Hey guys,

Pickles just got neutered yesterday (he’s 2.5 years old) and he was a little groggy and ate a little when I took him home, he pooped and peed, which was good.  The vet instructed me to give him Metacam this morning, which I did, and he ate all his veggies (it took him the entire day, usually they`re gone within the hour) which was good and chewed on some hay and on his cardboard and log.  I put a carpet square (just a small one) right outside the entrance of his pen so that he could stretch a little because he`s supposed to be caged for the next 10 days.  He really liked that he could come out to stretch [with all his stuff in the pen, he doesn`t have a a whole lot of space to move around (it`s about 36 inches; I live in a small apartment so I don`t have much room, usually he`s free reign during the day when I`m around to supervise him in the evening after my classes – I`m a university student; and when I`m not home, he`s usually in the pen] I sat by it the entire night and he climbed on me so I could pet him and as I was petting him he was purring which made me really happy He gets up every now and then to eat his food and goes to his litterbox to do his business which is a good sign he`s recovering

But now.. he`s sitting in his pen hunched over and I think he`s grinding his teeth :/ .. I`m worried now.. His surgery was done using laser, so he didn`t get stitches and instead they used the glue to close the wound.  He`s been cleaning himself as normal and I was worried he would excessively groom the area, I was also worried that maybe it`ll get infected.. but I check it every other hour just to make sure it`s not swollen but it`s difficult for me to see everything, I`m scared to touch it because I don`t want to infect it or hurt him.  So far, it just looks like skin, and I can see a small scar.  From what I can see (I can`t seem to take a close up look at it) when I lift him up, he seems ok.. just a normal pink.  He just put his two front paws on his log to lift himself up a little but he still seems like he`s in pain.. 

The vet recommended that if I was really worried about him excessively licking that I get him the soft E-collars, he won`t love it but it`ll prevent him from infecting it or re-opening the incision .. However, I went to the pet store to see if they have any soft ones and they only have the plastic hard collars and ordering them would take a while for them to ship it over.  So, I just decided to monitor him.. Does anyone have any tips as to how to prevent him from excessively licking the area ? and what I could do to help him feel a little more comfortable when he`s tooth grinding and in pain ? He`s only allowed the Metacam once a day in the morning (3 days post-neuter)

Also, what were your experiences with your recently neutered buns in terms of caring for them post-neuter ? 

Sorry for the long message! I just wanted to make sure I give enough detail so I can get the help that I need for my baby :'(

Thanks!

New Bunny Mama

Mommy.. don`t ever take me back there to chop off my bunny jewels ever again…!

[Deleted User]

Awwwww! that’s all I got to say!

No, just joking, the pic is just soooo cute, I almost forgot the question you were asking! Hey, everyone has different experiences, but I let my boy out to roam after 24 hours (a free range bun in a clean environment – 10 days is a long time?). I felt my boy was stressing being locked in, and maybe if Mr.Pickles can be let out he will be more distracted from his wound? Some will agree, and some won’t. But at the end of the day, take note of your vet’s advice, he is the expert after all (why we pay them a lot of money….). If you do let him out, keep an eye on your jewellery, he may claim it his? lol…  Wishing Mr. Pickles the best for his recovery. Cheers, Henry’s mum.

[Bam]

I let mine roam after about 24-48 hours. No jumping or climbing though. One of them snuggled up to a hot water bottle after surgery and didn’t look one bit happy, the other one acted like nothing had even happened. If you have a hot water-bottle you could see if he wants it, wrapped in a towel or fleece-blanket, and of course not boiling-hot water in it, but don’t leave it in the cage if there’s not enough room for him to move away from it.

If he’s eating and pooping and drinking and peeing, all you really can do is monitor him. It’s good that he lets you pet him. If he’s getting worse or if he’s no better tomorrow you should probably call your vet. Maybe they can up the metacam a little.

[Mr.Pickles]

Hey guys,

Pickles just had his last dose of Metacam this morning.. he’s still sitting up hunched over and tooth grinding at night.. However, the vet hospital is closed on Sunday.. He’s still eating and pooping an behaving as normal except for that one thing at night. I tried to check his incision today and he was really uncomfortable with it.. the skin appeared dry (I don`t know whether it`s normal or not) and there seem to be a little bit of yellow on the bottom of the incision .. I’m worried it might be the start of an infection. Keep in mind, he does not have stitches.. I’m worried I don’t know what to do. I really want for his regular vet to see him, he was originally booked for a vet appointment this coming Thursday. Do you think I could just monitor him for Sunday and bring him in on Monday morning???

Thanks for your advice in advance,

Worried Bunny Mama

[Deleted User]

Hey, I’m just replying based totally on what I would do in your position given what you have just described. Yes, I would wait till Monday. It sounds like getting a vet on Sunday would be hard and expensive and your guy, Mr Pickles is eating and pooping, (what’s important). Have you let him out yet to free roam? And the drying, I’m no expert but I’m sure that is the start of the shrivelling process for his leftover bits to disappear. To save the cost of a vet visit, I would even call first and describe the concern you have with Mr Pickles, see what they have to say and if they deem it necessary make an appointment to have a check up. Cheers Mr Pickles mum.

[Roberta]

Having had 3 boys go through this in the last 2 yrs (two of them in the last 6 months) the best advice I can give is “Let him rest” if he is eating and pooping/peeing and not bothering the wounds then just let him have some space to recalibrate.
Picking him up frequently to check on the wound is probably causing more distress than the actual surgery… I know how anxious you are and you worry for him but truly all he probably wants now is to sit quietly and heal…
It will probably be about 2-3 Full days before he really starts to eat and move about normally… It can take a full week for the anesthetic to leave their systems and for them to feel comfortable and a full month for the hormones to subside…
So just give him gentle nose rubs and lots of fresh food and water and a quiet space to recover.

[Mr.Pickles]

Thanks for your advice guys I’m always nervous checking the wound cause the vet told me to try to check it every now and then just to make sure it`s not swelling or infected but he seems pretty comfortable during the day. I just get worried at night when he starts tooth grinding :/ but I’ll keep an eye on him and give the vet a call tomorrow morning just to ask for sure

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