Worried after neutering -Is this normal

Sooty and Sweep were neutered today at our local vets after we were told they were both ready for the op. When we initially rung at 2 we were told the ops went okay and they were both awake but hadn't eaten . We were told to ring back at 3:30 to see when they could come home. We did this and were told Sweep was eating but Sooty wasn't but was drinking and were told to pick them up at 6:30.

At 6:30 we went to the vet only to be told that Sooty "sucked up his testicles inside of himself" so the vet had to go further inside him. However apparently he has started to eat again. We've been given Baytril for Sooty and Fibreplex for both of them. I asked about painkillers and was told they were both given a pain killer via injection.

We got home and they were both huddled together, looking very dishevelled with Sooty looking far worse. However once in their hutch Sweep has really perked up and is acting as though nothing has happened. However Sooty is having little burst of energy but is sitting still shutting his eyes a lot of the time.

As Sweep went straight for the bedding hay and Sooty didn't I decided to tempt him with some Spring Greens which he did eat and as usual ate Sweeps leaf as well . However that is all is is nomming . I have to give them both Fibreplex again tonight but I am not sure how that will go.

How have other people's buns reacted to the op and how long approximately did it take them to recover.

I have neutered 2 buns before at a vet in Wellingborough who gave me nothing for aftercare , so new vet has been better on that front, but both of them were eating away soon after the op.

I could obviously be worrying for no reason but I thought I would seek advice from people who have more experience with these things than I do.

If they have both eaten a little bit then that is good
They don't usually eat much soon after the op.

Just keep an eye on them for now.
The main thing at the moment is that they are eating something so keep tempting them with what ever you can and keep them eating.
Hopefully after a bit of a rest they will both feel a lot better.
Things to look out for are obvious signs of pain, such as loud tooth grinding, sitting in a huddled position or not seeming to be able to get comfortable and the obvious ones are not eating, change in poops (they will probably be a bit smaller than normal for now but just ensure they are still pooping) and make sure they keep themselves hydrated.

Buster came back and was eating fine after his neuter (2weeks ago) but he did sleep alot the day it was done. he tended to hang his head and fall asleep anywhere that day but he was absolutely fine by mid afternoon the day after and was bouncing around as normal

The boys usually bounce back fairly quickly and are back to normal in about 36 hours I'd say from my experiences.

Are they inside, it is advisable for 24 hours after the op as they cannot regulate their temperatures after a GA.

Also they should not have hay, straw, woodshavings etc as bedding as it can irritate the wounds - hay must still be given of course but should be fed from a rack.

Keep offering tasty bits and pieces, you can leave veg wet from washing so they get some extra fluids. Mine enjoy fresh herbs as a first food or some carrot grated on to some shredded greens.

Thank you so much for replying back - feeling much better now- he's eaten some of the pellets I put in and has had some more water. At the moment he is just lying down asleep with Sweep guarding him. Think he over did it as he was standing up trying to figure out why he couldn't go to the top level of his hutch.

Will definately keep watching them and will check tomorrow that they are both going to the loo okay.

I don't like it when an animal is sent home from surgery without pain meds. Of course they are going to be hurting, which doesn't help the appetite. I think they should have sent you home with 2 or 3 days worth of Metacam. Even from minor surgery we humans have a tough time going without pain meds for the first couple of days - why would anyone expect a bunny to?
I am very glad to hear they are eating, though! That is the most important thing right now.

They seem to be a lot better today which I was really pleased to see. However when I took them out to check them I noticed that although Sooty seemed fine, Sweep looked very swollen and like nothing had been removed in fact they were double the size of what they were before the op.

We took him back to the vet this morning who said some bruising and swelling was normal and not to worry. She asked if we had been given painkillers and I said no and was told that they got given a long lasting one anyway. However she then said as Sweep was swollen he probably would be experiencing pain so prescribed Metacam for them which I have to give this afternoon with food.

I know I am probably panicking for no reason :roll:, but I just want to be on the safe side and catch any problems before they become serious.

Swelling is pretty normal and it varies from bun to bun. Some of my lot had hardly any, but Apollos was awful and lasted over a week! I'm a worrier too but I always think its better to air on the side of caution. I'd rather be a bit over zealous than dismiss something too quickly and end up doing more harm because I didn't do anything about it.

miss_t said:

They seem to be a lot better today which I was really pleased to see. However when I took them out to check them I noticed that although Sooty seemed fine, Sweep looked very swollen and like nothing had been removed in fact they were double the size of what they were before the op.
We took him back to the vet this morning who said some bruising and swelling was normal and not to worry. She asked if we had been given painkillers and I said no and was told that they got given a long lasting one anyway. However she then said as Sweep was swollen he probably would be experiencing pain so prescribed Metacam for them which I have to give this afternoon with food.

I know I am probably panicking for no reason :roll:, but I just want to be on the safe side and catch any problems before they become serious.

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Biscuit had this, in our case it was a haematoma (sp?), where the pocket of skin filled with fluid. It went down and was gone after ~2 weeks.

Good that you have some painkillers for bunny