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My girl is getting spayed next week and I'm worried

xxx_Ra_xxx

xxx_Ra_xxx

Warren Scout
The time has nearly arrived for my baby to have her op. I am so worried. I have never had to look after a rabbit post surgery. Any tips would be great. Do I need remove the straw and just let her sleep on her blankets? I have a snuggle safe so it will help keep her warm. At night she is never caged she sleeps in the back hall in different places including the base of an indoor cage.. Will I have to put the metal bit back on top so she cannot move around too much? Should I move her to a warmer bit of the house? I'm sorry I just am so unsure what I need to do for her. TIA
 
The most important thing is to make sure you are given metacam which is a pain relief to come home with. You need about 5 days worth, this will keep her painfree and eating. Just insist if you aren't given any, they will give her an injection that will last 24 hours so you start the meds the following day.

Get lots of fresh herbs, grass, veg. Rabbits go off their pellets/museli when they feel unwell so you need to tempt her with fresh stuff. I would also give her a water bowl to drink out of as it's easier for her and rabbits drink more.

I would make sure she is warm but give her hutch rest for about 24 hours so she can't jump around and rip the stitches.

I also was given an antibiotic such as baytril and some fibreplex to help with her eating. I would let her sleep on blankets or vet bed is very good and comfortable.
 
xxx_Ra_xxx said:
The time has nearly arrived for my baby to have her op. I am so worried. I have never had to look after a rabbit post surgery. Any tips would be great. Do I need remove the straw and just let her sleep on her blankets? I have a snuggle safe so it will help keep her warm. At night she is never caged she sleeps in the back hall in different places including the base of an indoor cage.. Will I have to put the metal bit back on top so she cannot move around too much? Should I move her to a warmer bit of the house? I'm sorry I just am so unsure what I need to do for her. TIA
Click to expand...

I understand your worry, but I'm sure she will recover just fine :)

Sleeping on blankets or vet bed is a good idea, but you could use soft hay in the litter tray if she's used to using one. Do prevent her from accessing any stairs or anything she used to jump onto - just for a few days. Having said that, working in rescue I've looked after hundreds of spayed does and they've leapt everywhere and been fine :shock:

The main thing is Metacam for her so that she isn't in pain and continues to eat. I would ask the vet what type of stitching he's intending to use - internal ones are the best as she can't pull them out. Just make sure you have a vet contactable should anything happen with her wound afterwards (you don't want the emergency vet if at all possible). For that reason I tend not to book ops for my rabbits on Fridays ....

Good luck xx
 
Thanks, she is booked in on Wednesday, I will get some soft hay for her litter tray and stock up on some fresh veg while she is in. I will make sure I asked for pain relief that morning before she goes. They want me to send in food to tempt her, what should I send?
 
Fresh herbs are always good as they are gentle on the tummy, whatever is her favourite. Doughnut loves dill but lots like basil or coriander. Fresh veg are good too but not all rabbits do that good on veg. You can also pick some fresh grass if you have a garden for her return.
 
Thank's I will get her some and see what she likes best. She loves bramble but I cannot see the vet wanting that with her lol
 
xxx_Ra_xxx said:
Thanks, she is booked in on Wednesday, I will get some soft hay for her litter tray and stock up on some fresh veg while she is in. I will make sure I asked for pain relief that morning before she goes. They want me to send in food to tempt her, what should I send?
Click to expand...

I can't see your vet objecting to bramble! They have asked for food to tempt her, so I would go for anything. Heck - carrots and coriander if it were my buns! Broccoli - whatever she would love. Also perhaps a treat or two, whatever that means for your bun :D
 
MightyMax said:
I can't see your vet objecting to bramble! They have asked for food to tempt her, so I would go for anything. Heck - carrots and coriander if it were my buns! Broccoli - whatever she would love. Also perhaps a treat or two, whatever that means for your bun :D
Click to expand...

Lol then I will send some with her, she has been enjoying bramble this week. :)
 
cpayne said:
The most important thing is to make sure you are given metacam which is a pain relief to come home with. You need about 5 days worth, this will keep her painfree and eating. Just insist if you aren't given any, they will give her an injection that will last 24 hours so you start the meds the following day.

Get lots of fresh herbs, grass, veg. Rabbits go off their pellets/museli when they feel unwell so you need to tempt her with fresh stuff. I would also give her a water bowl to drink out of as it's easier for her and rabbits drink more.

I would make sure she is warm but give her hutch rest for about 24 hours so she can't jump around and rip the stitches.

I also was given an antibiotic such as baytril and some fibreplex to help with her eating. I would let her sleep on blankets or vet bed is very good and comfortable.
Click to expand...

As Cpayne says, post op pain relief is very important. Post op' gut stasis is usually a direct result of pain that is not being well controlled. If your Vet refuses to provide you with about 5 days of pain relief to give at home then I would seriously consider seeking another Vet to spay my Rabbit. So I would check that post op' analgesia is standard practice for your Vet before leaving your Rabbit in his/her care.

Your Rabbit should have poo'd and wee'd and started to nibble at a bit of food before being discharged home. It is important that there has been some fecal output within 12 hours of the surgery. The first poos may be squishy and/or few in quantity. But that should resolve over a 24 hour period. The Rabbit may not eat as much as usual for the first couple of days, but they should continue to nibble at something with a degree of enthusiasm.


It is a good idea to prevent your Rabbit from jumping up onto anything or from charging about too much for 7 days after surgery. External healing may be rapid, but internal healing needs to occur too. Otherwise there is a risk of a hernia, although this is rare it can occur if a Doe does too much too soon.

You will need to check the surgical wound twice a day to make sure it remains clean and dry and that the surrounding skin does not appear to be very inflamed. The wound should definitely not be seeping fluid of any sort.

Does usually recover well from a spay over a 2-3 day period. Dont expect her to be all bright and breezy for the first 24-36 hours. A spay is major abdominal surgery after all and no human woman would be up for a party the day after having a hysterectomy !! It can be upsetting for us to see a normally very active Rabbit being subdued, especially if we are not sure what is 'normal' after surgery and what is not.

Do let us know how she gets on xx
 
Thanks Jack's-Jane, this vet was recommended to me by someone from here so they seem very good. I just want to make sure I have everything in place for next week. :) How do I got about checking the wound? :?
 
My bridge bun Cleo along with her husbun Rio were both house rabbits.When Cleo got spayed we put her in a Cage to stop her running around.Rio was lying on the carpet in the living room,they free ranged in the house most of the day.After a couple of hours in the cage back from the vet,I decided to give her some fresh food.She spotted the cage door open and out she leapt! Cue me running around like a headless chicken trying to coax her back to the cage,she was having none of it,she wanted to lie beside her husbun ,who it has to be said lay there like the lazy boy he was,she even started to groom him,he of course totally accepted and didn't groom her back,typical man.She got her wound checked five days later and one one stitch was slightly open but the wound had healed great,her fur had had even started to grow over it.Ahh I miss them both.
 
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