Super nervous for neuter

[cottonballbun]

My baby is going to be neutered on the 26th of june, and I’m just so scared of it. The vet did a pre-surgery check up and said everything’s ok, I made sure the vet is experienced (he neuters all the bunnies from the local SPCA), and so far, Einstein is eating normally, his poops are normal, he’s binkying and flopping and all. But I’m so scared. There’s a 1% chance that something bad can happen, and that 1% is just eating at me. Whenever I express this to my friends, they laugh and say I’m worrying too much, but I’m seriously losing sleep over this.

I just want to hear someone tell me it’ll be ok, without laughing at me. Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, or if it’s too dark.

[jerseygirl]

It is completely understandable! You’re in good company here, we all wig out a bit with upcoming surgeries. I think I get more nervous now even though I had to have rabbits undergo procedures many times. It just a sign of how attached we are to them.

It does sound like he will be in excellent hands. Neuter is a pretty straight forward surgery as it not invasive and he shouldn’t have to be under anaesthetic as long, so that’s always good.

[cottonballbun]

Thank you so much for the reassuring words! It seriously helped me, when no one else would listen!!
I’m just nervous because I chose not to have bloodwork done on him before the the surgery, because it was optional and really expensive. For this reason, I’ve become paranoid that he may have some underlying thing that’ll be fatal during the surgery. However, I read some other threads on here, and people are saying that bloodwork is not too important, especially on a rabbit as young as mine.

Maybe I’m overreacting because I’m a new bunny mom! But again, thank you jerseygirl for replying!!!

[Louiethebunny]

being a new bunny mom, I’m always super worried and paranoid as well. It’s completely normal to be concerned for your bun, and everyone goes through it, we just love ’em so much! Because your vet performs this surgery seemingly often, I think your bun is in good hands.

[cottonballbun]

I sure hope so, he seemed to be the best around, I was reccomended by him from another vet who couldn’t take bunnies.
Thank you for being so calming, I really needed these kinds of words right now…!

[jerseygirl]

Just make sure he is not fasted beforehand. Sometimes a well-meaning staff member might give you pre-surgery instructions that are for other animals. Rabbits should not fast. They might even allow you to send in some hay with him on the day.

[cottonballbun]

Yup! The vet told me to feed him up until the surgery, I’m even preparing a little container of hay, pellets, and herbs for the doctor to give him as soon as he wakes up (a website advised this, I thought it sounded like a good idea).

It’s like you read my mind though! The receptionist sent me a note telling me to make sure he doesn’t eat after 10 PM the night before the surgery, and my research + the vet’s words contradicted this, so I emailed her to correct her, jic for future bunny appointments, haha! Hopefully I’m not being annoying.

[Louiethebunny]

Even if it seems like an annoyance, helping people by informing them what’s correct, in a nice way, is always a good thing. There’s a lot of false bunny info out there, and help prevent it is great. 🙂

[jerseygirl]

That was a good move. They need to be really careful about what info they provide. Not every owner is going to know about that in advance.  I think it would be good practice for all clinics to put in their standard pre-op printed info “(unless it’s a rabbit)” or something like that. So if cat/dog info gets handed over at least the exception is in there.

[Bam]

I agree with what everyone has said, and I do sympathise with you. It’s always scary when your bun is having any sort of procedure. I dont think the risk of sth really bad happening during a neuter of a young bun is as high as 1% tbh. It’s still scary though, just because we love them so much 💗

 

[FluffyBunny]

Neutering isn’t so bad! 🙂 When I got mine neutered, he was about 4 months old. It took about 4 hours. The surgery itself only took around a half hour, then they kept him in a kennel for a few hours. He was a bit groggy and stumbled a bit when I got him back, and it took him around a half day to get back to normal. He was eating veggies by the end of the evening. Other than that, the whole thing went off without a hitch. That 1% of bad outcomes is mostly in rabbits who are sickly or have pre-existing heart/lung issues, which they would have picked up in the pre-surgery exam. That actually happened with one of my males – they discovered a severe heart murmur during the checkup, and they referred us to an animal cardiologist. A good vet won’t put an animal under anesthesia if they think it will be dangerous.

If it makes you feel better, I saw hundreds of rabbits get neutered and spayed in the time I volunteered with the HRS. I can’t remember a single case of a healthy rabbit dying during surgery. The most likely “bad outcome” would be an infection or GI stasis, and both of those are very treatable. Just make sure they send him home with 2-3 days of pain meds, and keep an eye on his eating habits for the first couple days.

[cottonballbun]

Thank you for the tips! Your words actually did make me feel better! 4 hours isn’t too bad, I think the vet gave me a similar time span. I’ll be sure to watch him closely afterwards… only 10 days left until the surgery!!! Ahhh

[Peanutthebunny]

einstein is going to be fine he sounds like such a healthy boy I understand the nerves (even though I’ve never had a bunny) I keep trying to plan it out in my head if I got a baby bun I’m like oh no oh no oh no but I’m sure he’s going to be fine do not stress

by the way such a cute name

[cottonballbun]

Thank you!! Posting here relieved my stress so much, I’m so glad there are people willing to listen. Also, if you ever invest in a bun, at least you know where to turn to (here)!
+ heheh I named him Einstein because he’s a lionhead. His wild hair reminded me of the scientists heheheh. He’s also a smart little guy!

[cottonballbun]

UPDATE: Einstein was just neutered today, and everything went smoothly! He even ate while on the car ride home (and he usually hates doing anything in a car lol). Feeding him his medication is a bit rough, and he is licking excessively at his surgical site, but I can afford to pull a few all nighters for him. I tried putting a cone on him but he slides right out of it everytime. Hopefully, with me constantly pushing his head away from his private parts, he’ll stop bothering his incisions in 3 days. I’m just happy he’s alive and home!

[LBJ10]

Yay! Happy to hear everything went well. 🙂

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