Recovery after neutering

Hello friends,

We are planning on neutering or boy, but he is definitely that type who wouldn't leave his stitches alone... Of course, we were waiting for a time when at least one of us can stay at home with him until he recovers fully... But I just don't know how long it is.

What is your experience with this? How long does it take for them to recover, and the "cut" to heal?
All info is greatly appreciated...

cheers!

With a male rabbit the first two days are the crucial ones - I have had lots of boys neutered and not one has had a problem. Good luck with him.

My boy was back to normal within a day and didn't give his stiches any attention, not that they were very visible anyway. As long as you have a decent experienced vet you shouldn't have much to worry about.

Try not to worry too much about it and keep busy, I really scared myself by reading about the risks of surgery, he's better of neutered so don't do this!!!
Hope everything goes smoothly

Charlie was my problem child when it came to neutering. The vets said, "Most rabbits get neutered, and they're fine, they heal up nicely..." but then there are naughty rabbits like Charlie. He chewed his surgical site into a dark scabby mess, even though he was on pain relief and didn't actually seem that bothered by his surgical site 90% of the time. It was just at the crack of dawn, when he was bored and incredibly active that seemed to result in excess licking and chewing. I wrote a little mini-review about the Medical Pet Shirt that saved him from having to go under anaesthetic again to repair the damage he caused himself. http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...native-to-an-e-collar-(recommendation-review)

I think in future in regards to bunnies I'll always have a Medical Pet Shirt ready to go, just because, even though most neuters heal up without a hitch, I can tell when they don't it's incredibly stressful.

Good luck!

I don't know if it would help but you could ask the vet to glue the site rather than stitch it, that's what they did for Stephen as the incisions are so tiny.

thank you all very much for sharing your personal experience

one question though - the stitches they get disappear, and it is not the kind we need to go back for removing, right?

They should use glue so there should be no stitches to chew, hopefully.

Most vets will use dissolvable sutures in rabbits, and sometimes they will be under the skin so you can't see them at all. Skin glue is used by some vets instead of or as well as skin sutures. It normally depends on the preference of the vet.

Hi All,

I'm a newbie to the site, so apologies if this has been covered before

I have two young rabbits one male (bought believing to be female) the other definitely female. They are now living separately since they have began circling. The male is due to be neutered next week which I'm sure he will take in his stride, he's a really laid back and happy bunny! He is pining for his friend but I won't re-introduce them until we are certain there will be no accidental litters.

I've recently changed vets to a more experienced rabbit vet. My old vet advised me not to spay the female as long as the male is neutered. He claims females are at greater risk under anaesthetic than males. I have of read lots of information on the health & behavioural benefits of spaying your female and I believe this to be the best choice. However, the vet has scared me and I'd like to know if anyone has experienced the loss of a beloved pet through spaying?

My female is a Netherlands dwarf and she is so tiny and shy (16 weeks and possibly too early to spay yet) She found her vaccinations an extremely traumatic experience. I want to do the best for her, but I don't want to put her a risk by not spaying her, if the risk is actually low.

Any advice? Thanks!

Hi, and welcome to the forum. :wave: You'll find a lot of really experienced Rabbit keepers on here :0) I'm not one of them, but can tell you about my situation, which is similar.

You clearly care a lot about your bunny. There is always a risk with surgery and going under GA. However, the risk of not neutering a female bunny is really high. Something like 80% of unneutered females which do not have regular litters will develop cancer of the uterus

I share your fears regarding surgery though. I have a tiny mini lop girl (5 months old and 900g) who is getting spayed on thursday. I'm really worried for her, but decided its the best for her well being in the long term, especially as unneutered rabbits can't be vonded easily and they really thrive on company. The advice i had regarding age is to wait for girls to reach 5-6 months to ensure their bones and bodies are properly developed.

I'm sure others will be able to give you more detailed information though.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that all goes well for you and your buns.

Hello everyone...

I would like to thank you all for all the encouraging words and positive vibes, we had our neutering session this Friday, and after a sleepy Saturday, we are back to normal. We are eating, drinking, pooping and peeing well,... happy as can be... So it went down well. Thank you all very much! (just for the record: we got glue, the vet was really nice and professional..)

Daisy&Poppy - I totally get your anxiety, I really do... I really advise you to start a thread with your question, the people around here are all lovely and helpful, and they all know the buns very well