Spay care questions!

[Rain]

Hey everybun! It’s been quite a while since I’ve logged on here and posted, haha! Rain’s kept me very busy, along with school. But now it’s summer, yay! 

Anyways, I have some questions about spay care because Rain is very soon going to get fixed. Should she be eating before her surgery? What should I do to make her a little more prepared? Is it alright if her carrier is a fabric one, and a little bit small? I don’t want her to feel stressed in it, but then again, she’s kind of used to being in it from her vet trips, so it shouldn’t be too stressful, right? Is it important to keep her in a quiet location, even if it’s different from her usual area? Will it stress her out to be in a new location during her time of pain? What do I do if she doesn’t eat after her surgery, I know they usually don’t until the next day, but what if she doesn’t eat after eight or more hours still? I don’t have an emergency rabbit vet in my city. It’s just one rabbit vet clinic. And also, should an experienced rabbit vet be sealing her wound with glue or stitches? 

Sorry about all these questions,I’m very nervous, and some of the articles and videos don’t go as in depth as I need them to. 

[Wick & Fable]

How exciting and nerve-wracking I’m sure. It’s been a pleasure seeing you and Rain bond together, and it’s great her spay is coming up. It’ll be very beneficial in the long run for both of you.

Wick is male, and neuters are more simple than spays, but I can provide some general information.

1) Do not fast your rabbit. If the vet tells you this or a vet tech does, be wary and point out that that’s not correct. If the vet tells you that specifically, I recommend going to another vet because that one is clearly not experienced with rabbit spays/neuters, therefore, is not appropriate. Sometimes vet techs and secretaries say it out of habit, so in those cases, clarify where they heard that from and figure out if it was a mistaken instruction or if the operating vet truly advised that instruction. Rabbits should definitely not fast before a spay/neuter. They need their gut moving constantly. It’s key for preparation and recovery!

2) Schedule a post-op check up a week out if possible. It’s good to have a checkpoint set so you can get a professional opinion that things are going well. Wick’s vet did not even give me an option and said “you’re coming in next week. When are you available?”. Also, if something happens before then, you can obviously push the appointment up. But having one is good.

3) Restrict climbing and excessive running/jumping. Even if she feels fine, Rain should be restricted to completely flat free-roam area, and one is not too tempting to dash around. Movement of her lower body can tear the incision site, causing bleeding and infection, so restrict her space and what’s in it for at least a week to ensure the site has time to heal properly. She has a pretty high-walled litter box. See if you can get a book or something to be a mid-way step between the floor and the litter box so she can more gently climb into the box, rather than jump in and out.

4) Encourage hay consumption. If this means replacing hay more times in a day than usual, do it! You can just recycled the hay for later when she’s better, but eating hay is really important, so if refreshing it from hay right from the bag helps, do it!

5) Pokies. Make sure her litter box is relatively smooth and the hay is pretty tame inside. You want to make sure she doesn’t irritate the surgical site with hay proding and such. Start pushing all the hay to one side of her litter box to help with this.

6) Get familiar with the site. Check the site every day to monitor how it’s doing. Take a look at it with the vet when you pick her up and I’d ask the vet what to expect to see occur if it heals smoohly versus not (will swelling occur, what are signs it’s not doing well?). If you can’t really see the incision, hold a treat high up and take a peek that way. Obviously this is an example of physical activity she shouldn’t be doing very often, but a once a day check is important to do.

… And then I’ve always heard people advise to keep female rabbits warm after a spay. I think you mention she’s in the coldest part of your house, so maybe line the tile with some clothes to help insulate and give her some blankets or some spare shirts of yours so she has that.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[sarahthegemini]

Definitely make sure Rain eats prior to surgery. Feed her as normal before you leave and take hay and anything else she normally eats in her carrier. Then she can eat whilst she’s at the vets.

Her normal carrier should be fine

For afterwards, she should be in a quiet stress free area so I guess it’s a judgement call. I’d probably keep her where she normally is so she’s comfortable in her surroundings but so you can also keep an eye on her. Just ask everyone to be a little quieter/calmer and she should be okay.

She absolutely must eat so if she doesn’t eat on her own, you’ll need to syringe feed her. You can try and entice her with her favourite greens, treats etc but if she doesn’t eat, you must force. Will you have someone to help you? You can feed critical care or make a pellet mash.

I’m not sure about glue vs stitches. Buttercup had internal sutures and glue on the outside but some do stitches on the outside.

You didn’t ask about this but I thought I’d mention it – definitely get pain meds. A lot of vets don’t automatically give pain relief so you might need to specifically ask. I gave metacam for 5 days.

If your vet is experienced, the chances of something going wrong are very small so try not to fret!

[Rain]

Thank you so much guys!!! This pretty much answers anything that was particularly worrisome for me. I will be sure to follow all this advice! Thank you.

[RabbitPam]

One tip: when you hold up the treat to check the incision site, set a hand mirror on the floor so you can see her underside reflected as she stands.

[sarahthegemini]

Ooh me and Wick posted at the same time!

I just wanted to add to what Wick said about the litter tray – I can’t remember what substrate you use in the litter box, was it carefresh? If so, that’s absolutely fine. You want something soft and smooth that isn’t going to cause irritation. Of course it also needs to be extra clean to prevent infection, but as I said, carefresh is perfect for this.

[Rain]

Yes! Luckily I have some Carefresh on hand. I was using pine pellets for a while,but that didn’t really work out because her sensitive little bunny butt didn’t like it, lol. Understandable, as those pellets are very pokey. She loves carefresh though.

[Author]

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