Post-Surgery Care & What to expect

[SunnyD23]

So! Bugsy’s neutering appointment is on the 7th. I decided to go with this vet. I talked to her ( she is NOT the one who will be doing the operation) and she said that the guy doing it, has had 25 years experience with exotic animals and have done numerous neuters/spays on bunnies. She also said that the procedure itself isn’t the problem, it’s the anesthesia. When I went to leave, the lady told me what to do to prepare for pre-op, and if she said don’t feed him for 6 hours, I wasn’t going to go there, but she said let him eat his normal diet up until he comes in the door

 

I know that he has to have his food and water close to him, he will have pain medicine for a few days, I know that it needs to be quiet so he doesn’t get startled, and that he should be eating within a few hours of the surgery, if he isnt he needs to be brought back in. I got him a nice soft ”bed” for him to lay on… what else should I do/could I do?? I’m not sure what to expect. He bites all the time when you do something he doesn’t like or if he tries to get busy with your arm or foot.. he’s VERY territorial and likes to boss us around with his thumping… I’m hoping eventually that will go away. We were told that ‘he’s never bit anyone before’ when we got him, but I’m having a hard time believing that.

Anyways, what should I watch out for, what should I do, what can I do, how long should I watch for problems from the surgery, how long will it take to heal, I’m sorry I’m asking so many questions- at the sametime I’m trying to be aware If there is any articles on here about all of that, a link would also be much appreciated. I dont have much time to be on here, and look around with school, work, and everything else.. and I realize alot of you don’t have much time either, but I know this is important. I’m pretty excited to do what’s right- I’m pretty worried at the same time that something will happen with putting him to sleep. My friend’s mini-lop passed away, he never woke up after his surgery… they think he might have had a breathing problem.

 

Anyways, sorry it’s so long!

Thank you!

[Beka27]

First off, healing vibes for Bugsy!

what should I watch out for:

Not eating within 24 hours of surgery, redness/swelling at the incision site, lethargic behavior

what should I do:

You could try a low-side litterbox if he has problems hopping. Buns out of surgery tend to prefer hard, cool surfaces, so he may not use the bed you got. If that’s the case, remove the bed and let him lay where he wants. Check his incision site (some people do this by holding a treat just out of reach and having the bun stand. Otherwise you’ll have to hold him to look.) Confine him for at least a few days, up to a week depending on how he is acting. Make sure he is not chewing/scratching the area; if he does, he could split open the incision.

how long should I watch for problems from the surgery:

The first week is the most critical, but issues can arise for the first few weeks as infection takes time to set in. Watch for anything abnormal: redness, swelling, discharge (“pus”), and if he is having difficulty moving around.

how long will it take to heal:

It’ll take a few weeks/month to fully heal. I’m not sure what your plans may include, but keep in mind that freshly neutered buns may still have viable sperm a month (maybe longer) after surgery. So that means no unaltered females in his reach for at least one month following surgery.

There is a risk with surgery, but as you mentioned with your friend’s bunny, if something happens, it’s more likely it was a deeper medical issue. In general, boys do extremely well with neuters and they bounce back quick!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Wishing Bugsy a quick and uneventful neuter.

A good idea is to super clean and wash his cage (or wherever he will be staying) while he’s at the vet. You can use a vinegar/water mix. It’s important to keep his area very clean while he’s healing and change his litter box frequently to avoid infection.

Keep an eye on him when he gets home to make sure he is not digging at/aggressively licking the incision area. My Mini-Rex had to have a cone fitted because he was opening up the wound but my vet told me that’s pretty rare for them to do it to that extent. But it’s a good idea to keep an eye on him.

Most likely when he gets home he will have some weird, mushy-type poos which can be due to stress and the anasthetic but they should go back to normal once he’s home for a few hours.

[Stickerbunny]

From my experience with my female, expect him to be very dopey. She didn’t want to eat out of any bowls or anything, so I had to hand feed her to get her to eat because she was just so exhausted from the meds still. She preferred a very cold, hard spot (the A/C vent to be exact) for the first two days. First thing she did was come home and lay in her litterbox, so agree with washing everything out VERY well.

Hope everything goes well and he’s back on his feet soon.

[RabbitPam]

This may be the link to the info. Beka already gave you, but if not, check out this page of the Bunny Info. section from the green banner at the top of the page. It’s in the section called Bunny Gone Nutty. Scroll down for a complete list of answers to your questions:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/BunnyGoneNutty/tabid/191/Default.aspx

[SunnyD23]

Thank you all!! I’ll take his bed out and then maybe put an ice pack or something down where he usually lays to cool the spot before he gets home… This was all really helpful information Thank you!! Anything else anyone wants to add feel free! haha

[osprey]

{{{ Bugsy }}}

 

You have gotten some excellent advice so far.  I will just add one small trick that may come in handy for you.  I have done post op on dozens of spays over the years, and one thing that can really help is a supply of long stemmed veggies like italian parsley or cilantro.  If a bunny is hesitant to eat coming out of the anestesia, you can slip the stem of a sprig between the front and back teeth.  Once they feel that in their mouths, it is almost a reflex for them to chew and once they taste the herb they usually take some of it.  Something to try if your bunny doesn’t eat right away.

 

Good Luck!

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh I don’t think I could anything except don’t feel guilty when he gives you the ‘I want out’ look Best to ignore that look and keep him quiet for at least 48 hours.
Oh and ask your vet for his phone number after hours or who you should call if there is an emergency. They should provide a number/clinic but bug them if they don’t Rule of nature-if you plan for an eventuality it’s less likely to occur

[SunnyD23]

Osprey, Thank you.. that will come in handy, I’m sure. He’s stubborn as is, he’ll probably be really mad at me afterwards… but it’s for his safety as well, he gets so stressed when he gets territorial I’d hate for him to stress too much more. and Kokaneeandkahlua, I will do that

[SunnyD23]

So they prescribed him Torb/Val, and he does NOT like it, I tried to put it in middle of a piece of banana and he wanted nothing to do with it at all after he tasted it… we had to take him down and put it in his cheek but, I felt SOOOO bad, he was kickin his legs and his legs would shake from how much pain he was in… I need a new plan. I feel SO bad that he’s in so much pain from all of this, because I did it to him… poor Bugs

[Eva_M]

SunnyD23, here is my experience with female spay if you can take anything helpful out of it – in my country it’s somewhat different as to the procedure but pain is still pain my Eva came home about 3 hours after the surgery and had a collar on – this was terrible for me because she could not reach for anything (food, hay) and I took it off. Her tummy was shaved and she had a large bandage on. At first she hardly moved and what I think could be important for you is that I realized she would only take water from my hand- she licked my fingers. That was the only water intake for about 24 hours. Then she started moving slowly and walking around – normally trying to tear off her stitches. So I took one of my knee socks, cut off the ends, made holes for her front and left legs and made her a little t-shirt it looked ridiculous but it worked for us (crime against nature ). I really tried leaving her without it but the sutures were sticking out and she would grab a hold of them open the wound completely in a matter of minutes. I’m lucky that Eva has no problem with lying on her back in my lap so I took the sock of once daily and sprayed her tummy with a very mild wound disinfectant on her so she healed very quickly and we had no problems. It’s called Octenisept and is used not only for surface, skin wounds but also for treating mucosa (sorry if the word is wrong). Maybe you should use something like that you know is safe for rabbits.

[SunnyD23]

That’s not a bad idea, he’s been really good about messing with his stitches for now but I’ll have to keep one on hand just in case

[Stickerbunny]

What I did for pain meds was I held my female against my chest while my boyfriend stuck the syringe in her mouth and slowly pushed it in, she had to swallow. She couldn’t squirm and hurt herself because I was holding her firmly, being careful not to put pressure on the incision. My female didn’t touch her wound so I didn’t have to worry about the stitches.

[Eva_M]

If you’ll be using the sock make sure to cut out a semicircle from behind so that there’e no problem with pee. I took it off once daily to “ventilate” but keeping a close eye at her. She looked funny but had no problems moving.

Here’s how it looked on Eva:

 

 

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