Rabbit newly spayed

[Arson]

My rabbit Hazel got spayed yesterday and it turned out pretty well. When I got her home, she was pretty out of it so i let her sleep a bit. This morning, I tried to encourage her to eat by offering her hay, pellets, a piece of carrot, a small slice of apple, she wouldn’t touch it. Worried she may have a bacterial upset, i bought “Bene-bac” for rabbits that come in individual white tubes.

Trying to give her the medicine didn’t turn out so well so I had to slip her onto a bunny blanket and slipped the tube in her mouth to swallow. Only problem was that she managed to bite off part of the tip in the process. I’m pretty concerned about that and her not eatting. She isn’t in any pain, i don’t think, because she isn’t grinding her teeth together, and she tends to sleep on top of a cotton pillow since she got home, but I do want to get her to start eatting soon. I managed to slip a small piece of hay into her mouth, which she chewed and swallowed, but what else could i do for her?

Should I buy Critical Carefrom Oxbow and force feed her with a syringe? I’m not entirely comfortable with that idea but if it’s the only solution, then I will. Or i could attempt to feed her by slipping a piece of hay in her mouth every few  hours to get her to eat some of that. Here are pictures of her and where she sleeps before the spay.

 

Edit: I removed her litterbox yesterday and replaced it with several layers of towels. This morning, I found a few poops so i know she is making some.

 

[Sarita]

This is very normal for spays – in my experience, it can take up to 3 full days for them to really recover from this.

Usually the first thing they will eat are fresh greens – do you have some to entice her with? Pellets are always the last thing they usually eat.

At this point it may not have even been a full 24 hours from the procedure too.

Critical Care certainly won’t hurt if you feel confident enough to syringe feed her.

I find that the females are usually very quite for the first few days right after their spay.

I wouldn’t give her Benebac at this point – the less you do to stress her out the better. She is probably sore and still recovering.

[Sarita]

Also, I would not remove the litter box – this is just going to confuse her – try to keep her environment as normal as it was before the spay as possible. She may not use it but she might also find comfort in the litter box.

[Arson]

Indeed. I will get her a bowl of fresh cilantro for her to nibble on. I picked her up from the vet yesterday afternoon at around 4pm so it may indeed may not be 24 hours yet. She likely is pretty sore so I won’t stress her out further by giving her the benebac. I will return her litterbox to it’s proper place.

[Arson]

I see. I understand.

[Sarita]

Recovery vibes to Hazel and welcome to you.

Keep us updated on her condition – spaying is as stressful for us worrywart slaves as it is for the bunny.

[Arson]

I will indeed. Thank you for the replies. :]

[Monkeybun]

Did the vet give you any pain meds for her? Those would help too Both my girls had them, and bounced back nicely.

[Lintini]

My girls Bun & Bumblebee didn’t eat until the next day. I stocked up on goodies for both of them to get them eating. Luckily Bee – she is my pig bunny; fresh veggies and alfalfa hay did the trick!! I believe it was cilantro too! I hope she is feeling better soon, I was a worried mess too! {{{{spay vibes}}}}

[Arson]

The vet gave her long lasting pain medcine and couldn’t give pain meds to take home because she had recieved the maximum safe dose.

 

[Sarita]

That is usually fine for the surgery but usually for a few days after the surgery they are still sore.

Many vets give metacam to give them for a few days afterwards. I would recommend you call and see if they can give this to you to give to her. Metacam is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory.

What is the medication that the vet did give you?

[Arson]

The vet didn’t give me medicine for Hazel. Before i picked her up yesterday afternoon, she was given an injection of buprenex i think. The vet told me because they gave her such a high dose of pain killers (again, not sure it was buprenex, it might have been something else), that it wouldn’t be recomended to give her anymore pain killers so soon.

Here is what the statement, the vet gave me says:

Spay Rabbit
Buprenex Injection per ml                       (Quantity: 0.11)
Ketaset 10ml                                             (Quantity: 0.96)
Yobine Injection 2mg                               (Quantity: 0.32)
Baytril 100mg/ml Injectable                    (Quantity: 0.32)

Do you think i should give them a call tomarrow morning and ask for metacam? The vet told me if she is in any pain after the second day, I can take her back in to be checked.

[Arson]

Just a quick update.

She doesn’t seem to be stationary for that long as she seems to move around at her own pace. She’s used her litterbox so I know that and she’s been groomed by her bonded mate, and I have done my best to show her much affection without violating too much of her space.

[Arson]

Another brief update

I just caught Hazel nibbling on some oat hay. I am very excited about it.

[Michelle&Lolli]

Like the other said, it’ll probably just take her some time. Especially if they didn’t give you any pain meds for her. Geesh. lol But it’s VERY good that she’s starting to eat some and is using the litter box.

I was going to say that Lollipop wasn’t down for very long with her spay, but I remembered I got pain medication to give her. lol By the end of the day, she was up moving around like normal and like nothing was wrong. So I kept her confined to her pen. My friend’s rabbit ended up doing a binky after her spay and ripped the sutures. So while it’s hard since she’s in pain, maybe it’s a good thing they didn’t give you pain meds. But you can always call and see if they can give you some.

[Arson]

Indeed it is. I’m very happy about it. Just now, i cut a small piece of carrot for both to eat and after sniffing it, she ate it right away. She’s also managed to drink water from a bowl. I’m overjoyed.

[Arson]

Quick update.

Hazel’s still using her litterbox and she’s nibbling on oat hay once and a while. Still no pellets but i am not concerned. She’s still using a bowl to drink water from so she isn’t quite normal yet but she seems to be making some progress. I don’t think she’s in any pain because she’s shown no signs of it, i just suspect she’s still a little sore.

[jerseygirl]

Pellets are often the last thing they come back onto. Sounds like she’s progressing well and in safe hands with you.

[BinkyBunny]

Thefact she is nibbling on hay, drinking and still urinating and pooping are all good signs. Like the others have said, spays take a little longer to heal from than neuters. Sounds like she’s on the right track and you are monitoring her closely. It’s nerve-racking I know but you are doing a great job watching out for her and she seems to be coming along.

I’m sending continued healing vibes!

[Arson]

Yeah. I’m pretty much a nervous wreck. Hazel was my first bunny since my childhood and I’ve grown quite fond of her. I can’t technically say she was my first bunny but she’s the first bunny I was ever responsible for that I could say I owned. She doesn’t drink AS much water as she used to but she has managed to drink some from a bowl. I will feel more comfortable once she’s drinking allot. She continues to make progress with eating her oat hay. Just now, i caught her eating some of her pellets finally.

She’s moving freely on her own but doesn’t binky. She chews on organic untreated apple twigs and toilet paper rolls. I don’t see any of her cecotropes so I am happy. No runny poops. Chip (Male bunny, her bonded mate) continues to groom her whenever she is close enough to his cage for him to reach. Although she’s been lounging around allot. She sleeps allot more in the open. She still hasn’t touched her water bottle yet. I have seen no signs that would concern me but I am still quite nervous for her.

Although she’s getting close to being a year old, she is still my first baby. Early next month, Chip will get neutered so I am worried about that. I truly are a rabbit lover. :b

[KatnipCrzy]

Boy bunnies bounce back much quicker from a neuter- Griffin was already eating greens and a few treats at the vet clinic before I picked him up.  He still went home with some Metacam for pain though.

Buprinex is a narcotic and is excellent for surgery and other pain management.  Metacam is a NSAID and can be used in conjunction with Buprinex usually since they work differently. Buprinex is pain only- Metacam is anti-inflammatory with also helps with pain.

[Arson]

Fantastic update!

Oddly, Hazel decided to put two wooden toy blocks in her bowl of water. BUT. She’s finally started to drink from her bottle.

[BinkyBunny]

That’s great! Sounds like she’s healing well and even gettin’ feisty about the whole thing…”You can take these toy blocks and shove ’em in the water bowl!” LOL.

[Arson]

I am very happy to see the progress she’s made.

[Arson]

Final update!

It seems that Hazel has returned to normal. She’s eating regularly now and drinking from her bottle like normal. She eats her hay and pellets without issue and she uses her litterbox just fine. She’s mad at me I think (By taking her to be spayed) since she doesn’t give me lickings.

[Monkeybun]

Glad she’s feeling better!

[Author]

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