Spay Advice

[Brambino]

Hi everyone 

Bramble is going in for her spay on Friday. I am so nervous! Just wondered if anyone could offer advice on a few concerns?

1. We have hard wood floors which usually she is fine on. Will i need to restrict her to carpet post spay to prevent ‘Bambi on ice’? I will put her in her cage for 3 days post spay (which i’m sure she will completely understand is for her own benefit ). I was thinking more for recovery? I don’t want her to be out of the way in the second bedroom but I don’t want to pick her up whilst she’s sore to move her upstairs onto carpet. 

2. She has a high sided litter tray, will i need to offer her an alternative during recovery?

3. Excuse my ignorance, but what is a a pellet mash? Do i literally put a bit of water on the pellets and squish them? I have bought a syringe in case she needs feeding. Monday is a bank holiday here. We have the emergency vet but the practice wont be open until Tuesday so trying to prepare for the worst. 

And on a little side note… In the sunshine i put bramble in a large outside run with a mini hutch. Whilst it is very secure my vet recommended she is micro-chipped whilst under. Are there any downsides to this?  Do you know if rescues check for microchips in rabbits?  

Thank you in advance for any comments! Sorry i ramble on a bit 

[Bam]

If she’s fine on hardwood, I think it’ll be ok, what you don’t want is her running around doing binkies or jumping on top of things. You could put newspaper on the floor to make her a “trail” she can walk along in case she feels insecure about the hardwood, but she probably won’t. After 3 days post spay she really shouldn’t be wobbly (but she’s not to be regarded as healed until at least 2 weeks after the procedure). 

I don’t know about the litter tray, and I don’t know about the micro-chipping either. But pellet mash I do know  It’s exactly what you think it is, pellets + water and squish it into a slurry. You can add in some baby fruit or veg puree for tastiness, but you don’t have to. The thickness depends on the size of your syringe and a little bit on what you find easiest to feed her. Hydration is important , so you can make the mix runny if you like. Count on getting quite a lot on yourself and on her breast, wear protective clothing. 

If you have to syringe-feed her and feel insecure or run into sth else that troubles you, don’t hesitate to ask.There’s almost always someone online here. It’s a bit scary when you can’t easily reach your own vet,but I’m glad there’s an ER vet available if you absolutely need one. Make sure she gets a painkiller that lasts well until your vet open again, Metacam is the most common one and spayed girl buns should always get pain meds. But I’m guessing that in the UK, vets are very up to date regarding that. 

Safe spay-vibes ((((((Bramble))))))

[Brambino]

Thanks, Bam  I will keep her downstairs with us then. I think she will be happier in our company too, i was just worried about her stitches if she does the splits! Thank you so much for the advice. I know i’m probably overthinking things but very nervous! First bun spay! 

[Azerane]

Best of luck with her spay

I agree that the hardwood floors should be fine, depending on how she goes she may need a couple more days confined in her cage, just to be sure. You really don’t want her doing binkies and jumping on furniture.

For the pellet mash, I just thought I’d add that you don’t have to crush the pellets, if you add a bit of water, it takes about 15 minutes + and the pellets will swell and soften right up so you can just stir them together rather than going to the trouble of crushing pellets.

In terms of microchipping, I had Bandit chipped when he went in for his neuter. When chipping pets over here, there’s also an optional ear tattoo as an extra measure to let rescues know to check for chips, although if that’s not common practice where you are it probably won’t help much. Commonly rabbits aren’t chipped, but I think it’s worth doing anyway, especially if your bunn spends some time outside. In my opinion, all vets and rescues should be scanning any newly found pet whenever it first comes in. To the best of my knowledge there’s no downside, perhaps some local irritation for a day or so. But being often free-range in the house, I didn’t want Bandit ever accidentally slipping out the door. My other thought on the microchip is that often with rabbits, vets only like to chip under anesthetic, so if you don’t get it done now and change your mind later, they may want to wait until she has to go under for something else, or put her partially under specifically for it.

[Bam]

Azerane is right about the pellets of course, let them soak as much as they will for about 15 minutes, then crush if you need to. F ex Oxbow pellets will dissolve into a nice slurry without any crushing. Don’t mix more than you need for 1-2 feedings at a time, the mix will keep for a few hours in the fridge if you cover it with a saucer or aluminum foil or sth.

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