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Too fat to spay?

C

ConnieBun's mum

New Kit
Hi everybody... i'm a newbie! I've got an 18 month old doe who my usual vet won't spay because he says she's overweight; he's been saying this since she was 6 months old but we just can't get her weight down even though she pretty much only eats hay and veg. I tried a different vet for a 2nd opinion and he says she is a little overweight but her age is becoming more of a risk factor for the op than her weight, so he advised getting her spayed asap. Any opinions from anyone out there... she's got a great temperament and my only reason for the op is to protect her from uterine cancer which seems really common?
 
Ask the vet what weight they'd ideally like her at, and weigh her. Then you can see if you can reach that target or at least decrease her weight before her op. She isn't that old really, some does can be spayed at 6 years old.
 
any bun over age 2, who hasn't been spray, has a 80% chance of uterus cancer. I'll go w/ your 2nd vet. Age 1.5 is okay, there are other members here who spray their bun over the age of 1.5

If your bun has a diet compose of 90% hay, he can't get fat. And a bun's diet should be 90% hay
 
Do you know if either vet is particularly rabbit savvy?

I'm just wondering if the first vet is making excuses not to do the operation, but that's just my suspicious nature, as some vets would be inexperienced and therefore less willing to spay a rabbit.

It might be worth asking for recommendations for a good vet in your area if you are not sure. We have loads of forum members in the West Midlands area and so I'm sure you would be able to find a good rabbit vet to trust with something this important.
 
I'd probably go with the first vet as I have had some buns come in here that have had to go on massive diets before they can be spayed as the excess weight adds to the complications of a spay. It is true that as buns get older they are more at risk of ovarian cancer but I wouldn't think twice about spaying a doe that was a few years older than yours as long as the vet deemed her fit and well.

ETA - just noticed you are in the WM's - where abouts are you? :)
 
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i think that if she eats a lot of veg that could possibly be contributing to her weight also try and get her excersising more too as this will burn off the calories carrots are high sugar as are apples which will make her gain wieght you are better giving her a small amount of spring greens or corriander to stop her weght increaseing also does she get dried food if so how much. also which hay do you feed ehr if alfalfa or timothy i would change to meadow as i think(tho could be worng) this is better for dieting! how overweight is she if not by much would go with second vet if quite a bit then tryand bring her wieght down. i have had rabbits spayed at various ages and i think uterine cancer tends not to become an issue until around age 3 however the op is less complicated theyounger they are in saying that i have had 4yr olds,3yr olsds, and a 9yr old spayed so it does depend on the rabbit obviosuly the longer you leave it the morechance uterine cancer sets in. x
 
chloaster said:
I'd probably go with the first vet as I have had some buns come in here that have had to go on massive diets before they can be spayed as the excess weight adds to the complications of a spay. It is true that as buns get older they are more at risk of ovarian cancer but I wouldn't think twice about spaying a doe that was a few years older than yours as long as the vet deemed her fit and well.

ETA - just noticed you are in the WM's - where abouts are you? :)
Click to expand...

Based in Worcs area... bunny weighs 2.85kg & she's a dwarf lop/rex cross... they suggested 2.5 as an ideal weight? Cheers
 
Hi ConnieBun's mum, I had our 6 year old bunny spayed last year. Thumper is a large built rabbit and was a little over-weight. We cut right back on her pellets, she had unlimited Timothy hay and her meadow hay, plus veggies twice daily. I also increased her free range time and she lost weight fairly quickly.

Molly Varga from Ashleigh vets in Manchester http://www.vets4exotics.com/ did the op. She left the practice around Christmas time and has I think moved to Liverpool but Aiden Raftery is also an outstanding rabbit vet at Ashleighs.

The only complication Thumper had was afterwards, she started going into stasis, I knew the signs and thankfully with help from the vets, she pulled through.
 
mmmmmm 2.85 doesn't sound massive enough to be "scary" concerned about. Rexes are about 2.7kg to 3.5kg ish and dwarf lops 2 - 2.4kg ish, although it depends on how much other lop they've got in them. If you combine the two together who knows what her ideal weight is.

- Can you feel her ribs without poking?
- Can you feel her spine again without pressing too hard
- Does she have a really arge dewlap?

I'm guessing the vets are going on what she feels like when you pick her up rather than trying to estimate based on her breeds. You could cut her down to hay + one large handful of lower calories veg each day (i.e. no carrots or fruit) and make sure she has plenty of excercise. Rabbits can live on hay alone & be perfectly ok so don't feel that you are depriving her. Bunnies do act half starved most of the time.....you shall have to resist.

18 months is not too old to be spayed. There is a risk of uterine cancer but it would be better for her to be in tip top condition to take the op.
 
ecudc said:
Rabbits can live on hay alone & be perfectly ok so don't feel that you are depriving her. Bunnies do act half starved most of the time.....you shall have to resist.
Click to expand...


Very true, they do act half starved much of the time :)

I forgot to mention, Molly said age isn't always a concern when considering to operate but their general health is.
 
thanks

ok thanks everyone... think I'm going to try and get her weight down to the suggested 2.5kg before we go through the op... I guess a few months isn't too long to wait!
 
Diet is only half the weightloss job, excercise is also important. Things like making her stretch up to get her veggies (hang them up) or jump on/off a box to reach. Things she has to jump over eg a row of bricks across the width of the hutch/run will also up her exercise levels.
 
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