-
Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
-
Please Note - Medical Advice
Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.
You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.
We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.
Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.
Anaesthetic and rabbits?
- Thread starter tanya_306
- Start date
parsnipbun
Wise Old Thumper
However as rabbit digestion relies on a constant source of material going through the system - and as most buns will not eat for a while after the operation as they are still sleepy it makes sense to feed right up until the 'op.
Also I suspect there may be liver issues with GA absorption which someone like Jacks Jane will come on and explain in a minute!!
parsnipbun
Wise Old Thumper
Loosy
Warren Veteran
Santa
Wise Old Thumper
The Harcourt-Brown 'textbook of rabbit medicine' does confirm that rabbits cannot vomit. As already said, the reason for starving animals overnight before surgery is to avoid them from vomiting while they are under anaesthesia, where there is a huge risk of the vomit entering the lungs. As rabbits cannot do this, they do not need to be starved.
Also, a rabbit which has not eaten for 12 hours is at huge risk of going into stasis (if it isn't already!) The unfamiliar environment, surgery and anaesthesia itself are all stressful in itself for a bunny so the last thing you want is for them to have an enforced gut slowdown because they have not been fed - it's an absolute recipe for creating a seriously ill bunny.
Edit: here ya go with a link (hope this works, it's a book preview)
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...m=2&sqi=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
If you scroll down hopefully in section 5, anasthesia, you will see in box 5.1 it says "anaesthetic safety can be improved by providing food until a few hours before anaesthesia. Rabbits do not need to be fasted. They cannot vomit".
