Post op care for bunnies

I'm currently fostering 2 bunnies who are going in to be neutered tomorrow and I wanted some advice about caring for them afterwards, it's been a while since I had to care for bunnies post op! I have bought some carefresh bedding to use in the hutch - how long should I use it for before going back to hay and straw? Also will they be ok in the cold outside? I assume the outside/inside rule still applies and I can't bring them in overnight? I do have a couple of snugglesafes I can give them. Is there anything else I have forgotten? Will stock up on favourite foods to encourage eating

Thank you!

Buns really need to be kept indoors post op as they have difficulty regulating their temperature. Pebbles was so cold after his last op, he spent all night in bed with me under the duvet! But if you have them indoors post op, they can't go back outside again.

Some buns respond very slowly after GA, and need to be watched carefully to make sure they are eating, weeing & pooing OK.

Thanks for your reply. So will it not be possible for me to keep them outside? And bringing them in for one night is a big no no? I'm not sure what to do

some may not agree with this but when i had the girls in for their spay i kept them in a cool area-no heating on, gave them a snugglesafe and had them in for 3 nights. they were done november i think. i kept them in a small ish space with a blanket on the floor a newspaper in the litter tray as carefressh might stick t the wound. a bowl for water is better than a bottle while recovering too. when i put them back out i just kept the snugglesafes with them and mad it as cosy as possible.make sure the well protected from the wind and damp etc... perhaps covering with tarp and a thick blanket if not already. i think its weighing up the pros and cons to see whats right for you.

When I had my 2 girls done I brought them indoors on the advice of the vet (in my utility with the radiator off) for a full 10 days and this was in November 2011. When they went back outside I ensured they had lots of straw in their bed and they had a snugglesafe each.

I honestly think that they need to be brought in for a few days at least (perhaps 10 was excessive but on saying that neither bunny of mine had any problems whatsoever and bounced back). It's bitterly cold at the moment and apart from that, you need to be able to keep a very, very practically 24/7 eye on them post op. Plus, if they are indoors then they won't be in their hutch and most hutches nowadays are on 2 floors. If a female rabbit tried to get up the ladder during the first 3-4 days of being neutered there is a very high risk her wound will stretch and rip back open. Could be fatal if you don't know.

Bring them in. It's far too cold to have an animal outdoors post op. Sorry. Yes they'll smell. Yes they'll make a mess. But yes, they'll be perfectly fine and make a full recovery and you can clean up the mess within 10 minutes and the smell goes when they go back out.

They may not eat properly for 24 hours; don't panic, but keep an eye on them. If they don't eat within 48 hours whip them back to the vet.

Make sure they can't/don't stretch up i.e. make sure that all 4 paws stay firmly on the ground.

Let them lick their wound if they want to but make sure they're not biting the stitches. Don't have a collar fitted if you can help it.

I took my bunnies' water bottle to them for the first few hours after they came home - and they drank, which showed that they were thirsty but were too uncomfortable to move. Feed them where they lie too.

Let them sleep. Ours slept loads!

That's all I can think of I think. Oh! I confined ours to the puppy cage for a full 24 hours before opening the door and allowing them out and that was only for about 10 minutes, a couple of times a day for about 2 days. After about 4 days they were out and about quite a bit, but i still made sure they didn't stretch up.

Good luck!

They would need to be kept indoors overnight as they'll struggle to regulate their body temperature after the GA. Personally though, I've always kept them mine overnight after a GA (usually for dentals) in a cool-ish room (heating off unless the room is like the arctic) with a snugglesafe and then when they're ready to go back outside (either the next day or day after) I'd open the windows up in that room to acclimatise them to the outdoor temp before popping them back out.

Are they male or female? Males usually bounce back very quickly, but not always. For females, it's a more invasive op and so recovery takes longer and they're likely to need to stay indoors for longer too - in which case you might want to consider whether it would be better to delay the ops a little till the weather warms up a bit so you don't need to worry if they're indoors for longer than expected.

You'd need to avoid hay as bedding for the first 2 or 3 days with males, more like a week I think with females (I can't remember back to when Bubbles was spayed ). Definitely have some of their favourite foods to tempt them to start eating again.

Thanks so much for all your help my OH was reluctant to have them in long term which is why I was hesitant, but I have read him the posts and he has agreed that we definitely have to bring them in for at least a few nights they are both boys so hopefully will recover well! I will feel much more comfortable keeping a close eye on them.

Thanks again!

well all the best for tomorrow! my boy recovered very quickly so hopefully yours will too:wave:

ahh..boys do usually bounce back much more quickly as it is a less invasive op. Just watch out for any swelling/possible infection around the wounds. I think if they are young, fit & healthy, they should recover quicker from the anaesthetic. Maybe make sure you have a stock of their favourite herbs or foods to tempt them to eat as the may be rather groggy post GA. As someone else said, they may not want to eat for a while so keep a close eye on them.

Good luck for tomorrow. :wave:

Hopefully they'll be back to normal before you know it; it's a much simpler op for boys. Alfie was sleepy that night and was back up to his normal mischief the next morning. :roll::lol:

they are both little monkeys so i'm sure they'll be up to trouble in no time! i wish i could keep them in permanently