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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Post spay care/substrate

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    • OverthinkingBun
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        I’ve scheduled my 6 month old bunny, Polly Oliver, to be spayed in a little over a week from now, and I’m already stressed about the follow-up care.  I was thinking about changing her normal enclosure for a little bit to help her recover and reduce the chances of injury or infection around the incision.  

        Her current setup:  She lives in a cage on the ground, 4’x2′, which connects to an exercise pen.  The whole front of the cage folds down like a ramp, and the pen was included with the cage and designed to connect to it.  This gives approximately 4’x4′ more space.  Her cage has a deep plastic tray bottom with paper litter.  Her litterbox and food are normally in the cage.  She has supervised time out of the pen each day.

        I am planning to confine her to the cage after surgery, since some pets can reopen their incisions with too much exercise.  What do you think a safe substrate would be while she is recovering?  The bare floor is a little slippery, and she has a bad habit of eating most things that are left with her.  I use a linoleum remnant to cover the floor of her pen and give her a little traction, but would it be safe if she had access to the edges of a similar remnant, and ate some?  (right now, she can only get to the edges of the linoleum when out of her pen, and I haven’t seen her try to chew them, but she might if she gets bored or frustrated)

        Any advice would be welcome!  I’m also worried about how I will give her the pain medication, since I don’t normally confine her while handling or pick her up much.


      • Sirius&Luna
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          You could put down a fleece or blanket, so she has something soft to lie on?

          I don’t think it would be safe for a bunny to chew lino, so I wouldn’t give her that option.

          After my bunny’s spay I gave her a fleece to lie on, and she was actually outraged and rearranged so she could just lie on the wooden floor it depends on the bun.

          My bunnies have all loved their pain medications, so hopefully yours does too. I would just go over with the syringe and offer it, and they would lick up from the syringe while sat on the floor, I didn’t need to pick them up at all. Some people do struggle though, and that’s when you can try the bunny burrito, wrapping her up in a towel.


        • OverthinkingBun
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            That sounds nice. What if they eat part of the fleece? Can it just be a cut of fleece fabric from a craft store, or does it have to be a finished blanket?

            I hope very much that my bunny loves the pain medication she’s a handful and I haven’t really tried very hard to get her used to being restrained. I mean, she’s very friendly, but basically does what she wants, lol. The last time she was at a vet, they couldn’t get her in a burrito, since she was having none of it.


          • Sirius&Luna
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              I think fleece is generally recommended because it doesn’t fray like other fabrics, meaning they’re less likely to injest it. If she’s a chew-y bunny though you’ll have to watch out and remove it if she does look like she might be eating it.

              It might be worth asking the vet to show you how they’ve been administering her pain meds when you pick her up, if you think she might be difficult!


            • OverthinkingBun
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                Thanks! I got a big piece of fleece, and cut it to make a couple of cage liners for her. She started binkying on them before I even finished making them, and bounced up and down on the one I put in today after cleaning her cage

                I’m really nervous about her surgery tomorrow, but I’m going to pack lots of snacks for them to give her afterwards.


              • Bam
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                  I’m glad she liked the fleece!

                  Stuff you may need when she comes home is a hot water bottle or hand warmers to keep her warm, some favorite fragrant herbs to get her to start eating, a feeding syringe and Critical Care (if that’s not available, pellet mush will do).

                  Don’t go to bed the night she comes home until she has eaten something -voluntarily or by syringe. And ask all questions you come up with as you go along, there are people here practically around the clock who gladly will try to help.


                • OverthinkingBun
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                    Thanks! As it turns out, I will have plenty of time to get those things, since she wasn’t spayed today. The clinic where I took her does two checks before the surgery, for health and maturity, and said that they think it’s best to wait longer for her and that they wouldn’t do the spay today.

                    Is it normal for rabbits to get take-home pain meds after surgery? They said that they don’t normally send those for rabbits, but could if I insisted. It seems kind of cruel to not give her anything for the pain after something that invasive. What do you think? (I took her to a high-volume spay/neuter clinic that sees a lot of rabbits, rather than her normal vet’s office for the procedure. Prices of everything in my area are high, and her normal vet actually advised against me bringing her to them to be spayed due to cost, without me even asking)


                  • Bam
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                      Please do insist on painmeds! Nowadays it is considered important for girl buns to get pain relief for 5-7 days post spay. Pain can make them refuse food, and that’s just about the last thing you want. Metacam is well tolerated by rabbits and has in a study been shown to have fewer GI side effects in newly spayed does than buprenorphin.

                      Hig-volume spay/neuter clinics are as a rule very good, because the vets there get lots and lots of spaying experience.


                    • OverthinkingBun
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                        Thanks! I will call them about that. Metacam was the brand they were talking about. Maybe if it doesn’t work out at the regular clinic, I can talk to her regular vet about prescribing it?

                        I was impressed with how well the vet nurses handled my bunny, and this clinic does hundreds of spay/neuters on rabbits each year, so I feel good about it I wouldn’t take her somewhere questionable just to save money.


                      • OverthinkingBun
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                          Update time: I’ve rescheduled a spay appointment for Polly Oliver now that she has recovered from the gum problem she was having. I’m really really worried about how I am going to check her stitches and give her medication after her surgery. Overall, she is an extremely sweet pet, but it’s so hard to get medication down her. (I know I’m inexperienced, but the vet said too that she’s a lot more fiesty than the average rabbit when it comes to being restrained) Before, I had to throw a blanket over her and scoop her up as a bundle to give her medication, because she won’t stand still to be wrapped up. Can she be picked up like this with stitches? And how am I supposed to have a look at the stitches?

                          Do you think I have time to train her to let me pick up her front paws? Is this a situation where it’s acceptable to trance her? (I’ve never tranced her before)


                        • OverthinkingBun
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                            Sorry about the double post.


                          • OverthinkingBun
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                              She’s finally been spayed! I have a question, though. Is it okay to pick up a female bunny recovering from spay surgery in order to give her medications? The only way I can really get my bunny to take a dose of medication is by covering her with a blanket and picking up the whole bundle. She fights wildly if not fully pressed against my chest, even now after her surgery.

                              I’ve gotten two doses of Metacam down her, with the next not due until tonight. Is this okay, or am I doing more harm than good by picking her up?
                              I have her trained to stand up for a treat, so I can check her stitches without even touching her The incision looks fine and she is nibbling and pooping. She seems to welcome gentle petting on the head.


                            • Nutmeg
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                                Thank you so much for asking this question. I am not able to help, but my little one is going to be going for her spay soon and this was one question I did not think of asking – as she also doesn’t like to be picked up / handled and I’ve never tried to give her medication as of yet.
                                Hoping my comment gives your post a boost so that someone can answer
                                Glad she’s eating and pooping!


                              • OverthinkingBun
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                                  I called the vet’s office, and they said it was fine to pick her up for the medicine. She’s gotten all the doses and has even become pretty good about taking them. She’s eating more now, and she seems like her normal self now. She even played a bit! I’m very happy with her recovery.

                                  @Nutmeg, you could try giving your rabbit plain water or fruit juice if you have a syringe handy, for practice. I wish I had thought of that before my rabbit needed medicine, but apparently the first thing I tried to give her by syringe tasted terrible. I know a lot of people don’t need to pick up their rabbit to give them medicine, but mine thrashes violently if still on the ground. I hope your cute little bun does well!


                                • Nutmeg
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                                    Good idea “overthinkingBun”
                                    My previous bunny HATED being handled and given medication by syringe. And even when trying to bunny burito her she would trash around. BUT the first think I syringed her tasted bad – So I’m liking your idea of trying to syringe feed this new bunny something that tastes yummy (or not bad like water) to get it her more used to it and have it start off on a better note than my last bunny.

                                    Glad yours is doing better already

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                                Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Post spay care/substrate