Nervous about bun spay

After visiting my local rescue for a husband for Lily (my avatar) it was decided that we would get her spayed first. I do have my eye on a lovely lad for her but there are two for her to choose from when the time is right.

I had hoped to spay her but was discouraged by my vets who said 'they hadn't done many of those'. Having used a few vets in the area and finding them lacking in small animal experience I resigned myself to the fact that she would have remain unspayed. However, the rescue assured me that their vet was good. Now she is booked in on Wednesday and I must admit to being rather nervous.

I have had a rat go through a tumour removal and cats go through neuters and spays but am a little nervous with the bun. After all I've read about them going into gut stasis and how important it is to get them eating. I'm very confident with the vets as I phoned around several further afield than my usual area and was impressed by this ones knowledge. They are a companion animal vets unlike most of the vets around here that do farm animals and companion animals as well.

I have read many guides on post operative care but was wondering whether others would mind sharing their experiences and tips to help her through.

Thanks,
Clare and Lily xxx

Hi

my nethie Maisie was spayed on thursday. As i was working at the vets that day i got to watch the operation which is actually very quick...took about twenty minutes from rendering her unconscious to bringing her round from anaesthetic. she has a small incision approx one inch long...it was stitched with the sutures inside and then glued for extra protection:lol:

Maisie was a bit cold and very dopey when i got her home so i put her in her indoor cage on a cushion and covered her with a fleece.I put fresh veg and hay etc right next to her so she didn't have to move too much.

a few hours after getting home she was eating and hopping around as normal and she has continued to do so.....her wound is healing nicely.

i spoke to the vet about giving her metaclopromide after surgery to speed up gut function but as he explained it isn't usually necessary i went with his advice and didn't take any. I also did not worry too much about her not eating for a bit because according to the textbook of rabbit medicine they can stop eating for 12 to 36 hours post surgery so i wasn't bothered about a few hours provided she was bri8ght enough.

my only advice would be try not to worry and if the vet is good and comes highly recommended be guided by them as the really good ones really do know what they're on about.

hth

:wave: i think i would avoid your vets but it is a really good sign that the rescue use that vets and that they are confident in them.

Hi :wave:

Sounds like you have done the right thing by avoiding your vet and using the rescue vets.

All buns are different but your vet will give you post op guidelines, which are generally keep bun warm and quiet and monitor food and poos. My vet gives pain relief and a gut stimulant at a spay and this helps keep my mind at ease if they don't eat for the first few hours.

Get plenty of your buns favourite foods so if she decides not to eat her normal food you can tempt her and i do also have recovery in just in case. Spring greens are usually a good choice.

You may find she is up and about in no time, one of mine Nushka was scoffing and trying to get out of her 'recovery indoor cage' as soon as she got home !! That said i kept her confined for a week to give her chance to heal. This seemed a bit cruel to me at first but I've found it speeds healing.

Good luck !

Hia,

I'm sure lily will be okay, However i know exactly how your feeling. I have had five bunns neutered in the past and my Roxy was only spayed last Friday.

Every single time i've taken them i've felt incredibly guilty despite the fact i know it's for the best i've always got that question lingering in the back of my head, Will s/he be okay.

I've only had one bun have problems, she took quite a while to eat and her recovery took about two weeks to get back to normal.

All i can say is watch them closely and ask lots of questions. If your not sure about something pick up the phone and call the vet. You are right they do take a while to start eating again and you may find that what they normally tuck into doesn't interest them post up.

In my experience the first day they're so dopey that food doesn't really interest them, they might have a little nibble but otherwise not much. Then by the second day although they might not tuck into they're food with such enthusiasm by the time your about to feed them again all their food is gone. Each day they get a little more like themselves. By about a week they should be 95% healed. As in eating normally.

Roxy is having some time out in the garden today, she loves it out there and i like to give them a boost emotionally by trying to keep things the same. Plus the fresh air will do her the world of good. She's already had enough of the indoor cage, she tearing the newspaper up and peeing everywhere in protest. :roll: However she will go back in there in a while so that she has lots of rest and i'm feeling that she eating and pooping normally.

I requested some painkiller's for her (metacam) just to ensure that she's not in too much discomfort. With all the other bunns i've never had any but i do feel that with roxy it's had a good effect, and if i need spay any again i'll do the same. I mean if a person had a big op like that they'd definately take something to ease pain.

I wish you lots of good luck with lily, i know i'm not an expert but i hope i've helped you!

Gem

Thank you all so much for your experiences and advice. I find it invaluable with animal care to have others first hand experiences. I bought some vet bed for her indoor hospital cage. She usually lives in a large section of my big shed in the garden but as advised I've got an indoor bun cage for post op. I'm going to put the cage in the spare room so I can keep the cats from bothering her and turn the heating off in there. Is this right? I've read that its best to keep outdoor rabbit in after an op in an unheated room? So I'll keep her in for a week then, unless she is slow to heal?

The new vets are American, having been practicing here for 9 years. They seem really up to date with small animal care compared to other more local vets. They mentioned neutering chinchillas and other small animals, which gave me great confidence as they are surely more complicated (due to being smaller and more fiddley) than rabbits.

I'm lucky to have the day of the op off work and the following two days so I can keep a close eye on her. I just hope she is ok by then as I'll be at work 7am til 7pm for four days after that. Although I only live about 10 minutes from work so I can pop home at lunch times to check - I'm sure I will!

My local vets are good for my cats and simple things like non-advanced respiratory infections in my rats. With any luck this new practice will be a better replacement *crosses fingers*

Thank you again,
Clare and Lily bun xx

I just wanted to let everyone know that Lily was spayed yesterday and is hopping around nicely today. She was very groggy when I picked her up but soon perked up when I put her in her indoor cage in the spare room. She ate some curly kale last night and there were a few poos, to my delight this morning!

She had a painkiller before she left the surgery, which seems to have been enough. If she starts bothering her stitches then I'm to take her back and they'll see if she needs some more. She does have a few external stitches, which I was a bit concerned about but she hasn't bothered them yet. My rat took hers out in record time when she had a tumour removed. Fortunately it was a small wound and only skin deep so healed without the need for more stitches. Lily on the other hand has three layers of stitches, with disolvable ones inside, so hopefully she won't go at them *fingers crossed*.

I'm hear all day today and tomorrow to keep an eye on her. Then I've got work but can come back and check at lunch time. My Mother doesn't live far so I might see if she can drop by too.

I'm so proud of her. Apparently she was really good at the vets and got lots of fuss. I've got to take her back for a check up next week and then stitches are removed not long after that. I didn't ask if after care, such as, follow ups is included in the price but I doubt its too much more. She's worth it anyway