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Oh no, Friday is the dreaded castration day :( help needed!

Persie

Warren Scout
My baby bunny is going to the vets on Friday to be neutered :( I am absolutely dreading it, he will be so frightened & I will be stressed all day thinking of him ahhh!

We have been advised to drop him in at 8.30 and we should be able to collect him by 5.30ish. The receptionist told us to keep him eating as normal the day/night before and to bring a small amount of his usual treats for during the day.

I plan to send hay, a funigreek crunchie and some spring greens – what I’m unsure about is his nuggets… his current routine is, I go down at 6.30am each morning, clean up his cage and give him fresh water, hay, nuggets and veggies. He never eats the nuggets right away, he usually makes them last throughout the whole day. So should I bring them too or should I let him eat what he does before we leave and disregard the rest? Also do I need to bring his water bowl or should they provide that?

Also aftercare – I have read that he should be kept in his cage for 24/48 hours. He is not going to be happy with me doing that at all as he is used to full free range, in fact his cage door has been removed so will have to fit that back on. Any ideas here would be helpful :D

A worried bunny mummy x
 
Hi, when I had mine done I sent a lot of different foods to tempt him to eat after his op so a few pellets as well will be ok, you will prob find he wont be that hungry for a while after so its good to send what he likes with him to encourage him to eat. When Alfie came home from his op he was very quiet for an hour or two so if you can keep an eye on him then he should be fine to free range as long as hes not racing about and jumping up on things. Also keep a watch for him messing with the wounds. When I had Buster done I didn't know a lot about it just made sure his wound was ok and didn't think about it as much as I did with Alfie, he was free range too and was fine.
 
I'd take in a few of his nuggets too, & a little bit of everything he'll eat.
I think that the important thing is to tell the vet he's very nervous, and ask forcibly for a little analgesia to give him at home when the vet drugs wear off. Most buns adore metacam.
It's fine to free range them but make sure he doesn't try stairs for the 1st 24 hours, & watch he doesn't nibble his stiches. I think they're more likely to nibble stiches if caged - no stimulation to take their mind off thimgs.

Also, if he doesn't eat at the vets, but he's poohed, & they want to keep him overnight, ask how much, if any, supervision he'll get overnight. If he won't get much, ask if you can take him home, & phone in the next morning to inform them how he is.
My Benjie is incredibly nervous & won't eat at the vets but always eats immediately when he gets home.;) He's scared, because he can smell cats & dogs all around him.

Having said that, most buns sail through neutering without probs as did my Benjie.:D
So don't worry, I'm sure that all will go well. I'm just giving a few tips to help you both.
 
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Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it :D

He is only 6 months old, we have had him from he was only 6 weeks when he really shouldn't even have been away from his Mum so he is very close with me and my partner. He is an indoor bunny, never been outdoors so the least little noise i.e. cars, dogs barking frightens him. We don't have children either so he is only used to me, my boyfriend and a few other close family members.

I know he will be so frightened when we leave him there, I actually tear up even thinking about it :oops:

I'm hoping after the op when we get him home he will be sleepy so I can close him in a fresh warm cage maybe even over night or as long as I possibly can before he starts to get stressed as he is a happy little chap and binky's constantly.

That's a very good point, I can see him not eating in the vets because he won't feel safe but I'm sure as soon as we get him home he will eat without any problems, arghh if only it were easier :(
 
Persie you make a very good point about warmth after an anaesthetic.
I always turn up the heat in the room where they'll be.
 
Hi, I just wanted to say this sounds like the same situation I was in with Ludo, who is very terrfied of the vets.

He was absolutely fine, the only person who got stressed and upset was me!

From personal experience, Ludo didn't need cage rest for 48 hours afterwards. He was just a bit quieter than normal for 24 hours, didn't want to jump up and down etc, but the second day he was as normal.

About eating, I thought Ludo would be stressed at the vets too. Well, no, he was eating fairly normally and got sent home early!! A lovely gentle nurse had looked after him.

One thing you could do to help is write very clear instructions on his needs. So if he hates being picked up then say so, and perhaps say the positions he feels safest in. You can list his favourite foods in order etc. It all helps, they can pin it on his cage.

If pain relief is a problem, then see if they can inject some metacam before he leaves, that way he can be left in peace for a while without being pestered with oral pain relief.

But, overall, my message is don't worry too much. I lost sleep and cried loads about Ludo and he was absolutely fine! :lol:
 
I would be careful with him jumping in and out of his cage for the first few days. Maybe you could sort out a little ramp for him, if it has high sides? Don't want him knocking himself on the way in or out.

And pack pellets, treats, hay and anything else he likes to eat to take with him. But keep some goodies for at home with him, because he will probably not want to eat much at the vets.

Hope it all goes well.
 
This may seem a bit odd coming from an experienced rabbit person - but is he actually needing castration?

Are you wanting to bond him with a friend? or is he showing behavioural issues to make you think he is frustrated? or spraying or biting?

I have had entire males in the past who had no issues at all and if he is a very very nervous bun and you are not thinking of getting him a fried etc etc then you may simply want to leave it. There is a very very slight risk of testicular cancer but nothing like the cancer risk with female rabbits who are unnuetered.

If you are that nervous of the whole thing and he is equally a very nervy bunny (and I note he was separated very early from mother so may be undersized or have other gut issues etc) then you may want to wait for now . . (sorry to add confusion to the situation)
 
Thanks again for all these helpful comments :wave:

I understand what you're saying parnsipbun and as we were advised by the vet that there is no real health risk in leaving bucks entire we decided we wouldn't put him through the procedure unless absolutely necessary but the past lot of weeks he is gradually getting worse towards me, it seems he views me as his girlfriend, he is constantly "oinking" in circles around my feet and has now started attacking my feet, he bites and digs at them. I can't sit at my kitchen table without being attacked :lol: I know it's not his fault at all, he is just feeling "frustrated" I would imagine :oops:
 
Persie's neuter went as well as could be. We got him home an hour earlier than expected. He has been eating, drinking and pooing but a little quieter than usual which is expected. All was well until half hour ago when we noticed him licking his wound and his nose had some blood on it. Phoned emergency vet and he explained this is very normal with rabbits as they are such clean creatures and especially bucks as they are good at getting to thag area. We have to bring him tomorrow so they can check the wound. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience to this and what the vet done?
 
No advice sorry but it's great that he's eating and drinking. Hopefully the vet gave him follow-up painkiller? :wave:
 
Hello! :wave:

I've been through the nuetering with Leo and also just this Wednesday Luna was spayed spay so I feel equipped to help havign recently gone through it and in some ways I still am, with Luna.

Just try and make sure he eats something before you go. I usually send greens, herbs, carrot (whatever their fav veggies are) and a few pellets. Neither of them have touched any of the pellets at the vets so I wouldn't worry too much about sending those. I don't think Luna ate ANYTHING I sent with her but its good to have it there for the nurses to offer. Luna was so dopey she was on and off asleep for hours after she got home. They will probably syringe them critical care formula to get their guts moving, I would ask to check if they do this as it's quite important they eat asap. My vets even sends them home with some and advises to continue during that first night. I would buy a couple of saches in of "Oxbow, Critical Care", in an emergency you can always soak pellets and syringe that.

I'm pretty sure they will provide water, it'd be against the law if they didn't! But maybe when asking about them syringe feeding him you could check that too.

It'll be absolutely fine don't worry! You'll get the call before you know it, and he'll be waking up :) my two's ops were finished by 11 ish.

My vets advised 10-14 days bedrest with access to a SMALL run... I think it's hard but worth preventing any injuries! I would say get a small pen and place it around his cage, one I bought came with a netting to go over the top so he wont be able to jump out. For the first few days he probably wont move much out of his cage anyway.

When he returns put as many of his favourite foods in the cage and keep putting them infront of him, sometimes they get so annoyed with them they just pick them up in their mouths and end up eating them :p I found both of mine nibbled hay very early on, and luna took a drink from a bowl quite early on too but has refused to drink much else until now! You can wash the greens to make sure he gets more moisture.

He probably wont touch pellets for a few days if he's anything like mine and that may explain which they drink less. People recommend putting in a bowl even if they usually use a bottle as they might not feel up to 'working' for the water.

Just offer as many of his favourite foods and treats after the op as poss and giving fresh hay, changing the hay and pellets even if he hasnt eaten them etc (sometimes the fresh stuff spurs them on, smells better I guess). The first 24 hours is the most important, you should have noticed him eating at least a little and droppings by the end of that time. If not, a trip to the vets for something to get the gut moving will be needed.

Do your vets do a one day follow up check up the next day?

(I also highly recommoned the rosewood rabbit snuggle bed for recovery! Luna slept in it all day)
 
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Persie's neuter went as well as could be. We got him home an hour earlier than expected. He has been eating, drinking and pooing but a little quieter than usual which is expected. All was well until half hour ago when we noticed him licking his wound and his nose had some blood on it. Phoned emergency vet and he explained this is very normal with rabbits as they are such clean creatures and especially bucks as they are good at getting to thag area. We have to bring him tomorrow so they can check the wound. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience to this and what the vet done?

Apparently my vet said they could offer a 'medicert' or something, instead of a collar, to stop them licking the wound.. I think it's like a vest type thing especially fitted to them..
 
Apparently my vet said they could offer a 'medicert' or something, instead of a collar, to stop them licking the wound.. I think it's like a vest type thing especially fitted to them..

Aww thanks so much for all your advice :D it's so strange but since he had his little licking episode with his wound he has bounced back to his normal self so much, he is eating lots of hay and munching at a few nuggets, he is also drinking a lot of water I noticed and he has started binking which I'm talking to him like a mad lady saying you can't do that just now sweetheart you will hurt yourself!!! :oops:

We checked his wound & there is no blood in sight any more, he must have licked it clean and as far as I can tell it looks "normal" although I am no expert so I think we will check again in the morning then ring the vet and explain how it looks and see what they recommend. I'm shocked at how quick he has come around and became his hyper happy self again!! :shock:
 
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