Rabbit Neuter Soon?

[pinknfwuffy]

Hi everyone, my new boy Olaf has an appointment to be neutered next week and while I’ve read almost every article and post on the subject, I can’t help but be a little worried. He is 5-6 months old (the shelter wasn’t 100% sure) and I’m still learning about his personality and favorite things. I realize a neuter is less invasive than a spay but we’re just getting to know one another and I want to make sure he is as comfortable as possible. I did, however, make sure my vet is familiar with buns first.

I’ve read that rabbits do not need to fast pre-surgery so I want to be sure that I should keep him on his regular diet both before and after, making sure he tries to eat/drink a bit after coming home? I plan to bring a baggie of hay/pellets to the appointment so it can be offered to him afterwards, if needed.

He is not a fan of being picked up (understandably) so I was thinking about putting his carrier in his cage beforehand so he can get used to it. I’m hoping a blanket and some hay will entice him inside so I can close the door and be on our way. Any tips/tricks for transporting rabbits with a new carrier?

It’s funny, before I adopted this little guy I would have been much more practical about the whole thing (he’ll be fine!) but now that I have him there is just so much worry involved. Cuckoo!  Any advice is appreciated.

[kirstyol]

I let Bramble play with his carrier for a day or two when we first got him, he started going inside it a lot and seen it as a safe place. Then I started picking him up and putting him in the carrier then transporting him to a different room for playtime so he associated it with good things. He is not a huge fan of it now that he knows that going in it usually means going to the vets but he tolerates it.

Take him a packed lunch of hay, pellets and veggies and give it to the vet. They should make sure he is eating before they let you pick him up and you often find that post-surgery buns are extra picky and will only eat certain things so give as much variety of things you know he likes as possible. Definitely keep him eating before hand, give him an extra salad a while before you leave for the appointment or something like that. Bunnies tummies should never be empty and its unlikely he will eat straight away after the surgery so try to fill him up a little.

As for when you get home, have lots of his favourites on hand. even if all he will eat are things you wouldn’t normally give him much of its better than him not eating anything, Bramble seems to have a passion for apples when he is post anaesthetic (he has regular dentals) and my vet always says that its better he gets too much sugar for a day than eats nothing for a day so I usually offer him a few pieces along with lots of salad. wet veggies are another good idea to keep him hydrated if he cant be bothered drinking which can sometimes happen post-surgery.

Boys tend to bounce back reasonably quickly but keeping them eating is important.

[Bam]

You have gotten excellent advice from kirstyol, so there’s not much to add =) If you normally use a water bottle, give him a water bowl too when he comes home, in case a bottle is too much work for him to bother with. You can provide him with a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel in case he’s cold, bunnies can get hypothermic after surgery and that’s dangerous – but he must have enough space so he can move away from it when he wants to.

Check the incision area daily to see so there’s no excess redness, swelling or leakage.

Some boys barely show any signs of having had anything done to them. My Yohio was about the same age as your bun when he was neutered, he started eating the minute he came home and was up and about like nothing ever happened. My other male bun was very dizzy and confused and snuggled up against his hot water-bottle, and wouldn’t eat for 12 hours so I had to syringe-feed him – but he was much older (I’d had him for a year and he was already fully adult when I got him.)

So hopefully your boy will bounce right back. If you encounter any type of problems when he’s back home with you, please just ask away and we’ll try to help.

[pinknfwuffy]

Thank you both so much! I feel so much better with some of these new tips and reassurance. I will definitely make sure he has a warm spot if he needs it and plenty of food/fresh water in a bowl. I’ve heard all good things about young rabbits being pretty resilient so I have more confidence he’ll be alright. His litter training has been spotless until a few accidents recently so I really think it is the best time to do it so he can really grasp the concept and be a tidy bun. Thanks again!

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