• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

In shock today

This is my first post and i am sorry to start with an unhappy one. I took my beautiful 5 month old Dutch rabbit Coco to the vet yesterday to be neutered. I felt it was necessary as we wanted to start the bonding process with our doe Pumpkin who is slightly younger. Sadly he didnt survive. We got the call from the vet to say that he didnt come round from the aneasthetic and when we went in to collect his carrier we had a chat with the nurse and the feeling is he possibly had an underlying heart problem. I am in complete shock this morning and feel very guilty as I made the appointment and took him there and didnt get to bring him home. I am now completely terrified to get Pumpkin spayed as I know its an even bigger operation for femail rabbits. Coco seemed to healthy. We had no issues with our previous rabbits who lived to be 9 and 11 respectively so this has floored me totally.

Has anyone else experienced this?
 
I have not experienced this, but I know that it does happen occasionally. There is no reason to feel guilty as you did what you thought was right and you were not to know what the outcome would be. Spaying rabbits of either sex is the best way to ensure they don't develop health issues later in life. It also means that they can have a bonded partner. We can all only make an informed choice on what we think is best for our rabbits. Taking him to be neutered is what I would have done.

I am so sorry that Coco did not make it :cry: It must have been a horrid shock for you.
 
This is my first post and i am sorry to start with an unhappy one. I took my beautiful 5 month old Dutch rabbit Coco to the vet yesterday to be neutered. I felt it was necessary as we wanted to start the bonding process with our doe Pumpkin who is slightly younger. Sadly he didnt survive. We got the call from the vet to say that he didnt come round from the aneasthetic and when we went in to collect his carrier we had a chat with the nurse and the feeling is he possibly had an underlying heart problem. I am in complete shock this morning and feel very guilty as I made the appointment and took him there and didnt get to bring him home. I am now completely terrified to get Pumpkin spayed as I know its an even bigger operation for femail rabbits. Coco seemed to healthy. We had no issues with our previous rabbits who lived to be 9 and 11 respectively so this has floored me totally.

Has anyone else experienced this?

I am so very sorry you lost Coco It's rare that a male neuter will result in death with an experienced vet, but yes I have known of this happening as I've worked with many rescue rabbits.

Has your vet spayed many females before? If you feel you can trust your vet, please go ahead and get Pumpkin spayed as it's really the very best thing to do. Uterine cancer is common in females, especially as they get older.

Please stay with us, and welcome to RU :wave:
 
I'm really sorry you lost Coco :( There is absolutely nothing to blame yourself for - you were doing what any responsible bunny owner does in getting him neutered. I can totally understand your anxiety about your girls spay. In your shoes I think I might call my regular & other vets - ask how many spays they do on rabbits & how many successful outcomes. A good Vet practice should be happy to provide this info.

Welcome to RU - I hope you'll stick round
 
Thank you so much for everyones kind responses, I really appreciate it and its a real comfort talking to people who love bunnies as much as me. I will look into getting Pumpkin spayed when she is about 6 months hopefully with a vet who has plenty of rabbit experience and not just cats and dogs, hopefully with a thorough consultation beforehand. Its a scary thought as i couldn't bear to lose her too but i realise the threat of ovarian cancer is too much. When the shock wears off I will look for another male companion, hopefully one which has already been neutered as I dont want her to be on her own. My lasting memory will be of Coco sniffing round her hutch keen to meet her and now he cant so that makes me feel very sad but thanks everyone. I will be in touch with happier posts soon.
 
I am so sorry you lost your bunny, I have experienced this and know how heartbreaking it is. My Barney had come from a bad home, I spent lots of time trying to get him friendlier, he had a lovely female all ready for him to live with and a playhouse, but he never managed to enjoy any of it. I have always wondered whether he was dropped post neuter and something happened as he was terrible to be handled. You never forget these things but I have had many more done since (it wasn't my usual Vets), so when you feel stronger find out whether the Vets are proficient in bunny neutering. It should never really happen, maybe he did have a weak heart. You can start a new thread asking for Rabbit Savvy Vet recommendations in your area, as we know there are some Vets out there who know very little about bunnies. All the best to you - you will get over it in time.
 
I am sorry tonibun ... that you have experienced this also. I am not sure how experienced the vet was who performed the op was with rabbits, I didnt meet him in person only the nurses but when he phoned to break the news he sounded older and experienced, (not thats anything to go by). I dont really want to go down the road of possibly blaming anyone as it wont bring him back. I know they tried really hard and spent the best part of 30 minutes trying to save his life and the nurses were in tears... but yes.... I will be sure to find a rabbit savvy vet next time, thanks again.
 
So very sorry for your loss.

There is a sticky thread about questions to ask vets before a spay. It's worth reading so your aware of how good the vet is. I used it & found out my regular vets really weren't that rabbit savvy but was able to find one that was.

Binky free coco xx
 
Thank you so much for everyones kind responses, I really appreciate it and its a real comfort talking to people who love bunnies as much as me. I will look into getting Pumpkin spayed when she is about 6 months hopefully with a vet who has plenty of rabbit experience and not just cats and dogs, hopefully with a thorough consultation beforehand. Its a scary thought as i couldn't bear to lose her too but i realise the threat of ovarian cancer is too much. When the shock wears off I will look for another male companion, hopefully one which has already been neutered as I dont want her to be on her own. My lasting memory will be of Coco sniffing round her hutch keen to meet her and now he cant so that makes me feel very sad but thanks everyone. I will be in touch with happier posts soon.

Has Pumpkin been vaccinated yet? If not, you could use that as an opportunity to sound out the vet about how confident he is with spaying? You can also ask how many rabbits he has lost during the operation - it's a very valid question.

Lovely to have you here :love:
 
So sorry for your loss, unfortunately I had the same thing happen to my bun Bramble, he was also a Dutch and only 5 months old. We did get our doe spayed and all went well with her. Bramble was very small when we got him and the vet said he didn't come round from the GA. Maybe he did have a weak heart or something else. I did feel guilty but I wanted him to be happy with his doe and not have the urge to mate. It was a sad time and Hazel the doe and him had bonded as babies. I later adopted a buck from the RSPCA and he had his op and all went well.

Welcome to the forum :wave: I've found this place a wealth of knowledge for all things buns :)
 
Again thank you so much for all your helpful responses .. I have read all of them including of a couple of you having similar experiences .... this and a day playing with Pumpkin (whos a very lively busy rabbit) has helped me immensly :D Thank you guys xx
 
When I had my boys neutered in November, I worried until I got a call that they were awake and doing well. A few weeks later I had my doe spayed.

I am so sorry for your loss. Please do not let it impact your decision to get your doe spayed.

I agree you may want to ask more questions of the vet before you have the spay done to put your mind at ease. Sometimes blood work can show problems with organs that could make surgery dangerous for some individuals.
My vet also monitors their heart and respiration during the entire process.

If your doe is otherwise healthy, I would get her spayed. I stalled on getting a doe spayed about 15 years ago and many years later my error almost cost her life. She developed a huge uterine tumor that was not detected until it was an emergency. I almost lost her because of my fear of losing her years earlier. She recovered but it was a much more invasive surgery for a much older bunny who was already ill. It was a longer recovery, but she did recover fully. I felt so guilty I did not have her spayed previously.
 
im very sorry you lost coco. Neutering is normally straight forward but has you have found this can happen if a rabbit has an underlying issue. Ive had 8 buns all neutered 6 of them being 4 mths and 5 mths and they were all great. Like others have said check the vet out, have a list of questions and like mightymax said ask about success rates and fails. My vets no rabbit neutering on a daily basis and i felt really comfy with them. I hope you and pumpkin get through your loss and you get another bunny friend soon. xx hope to see more of you on RU
 
I am very sorry for your loss.

I had a male rabbit who almost did not come round from the GA. My vet said it was a very close call and something that uad never happened to her before. I had him castrated at six month as he discovered his hormones and ended up fighting with his bonded stepdad.

It does happen but it is very rare. This particular rabbit only lived to 5yrs whereas is stepdad is now 13uyrs old. So unfortunately it does happen.

Like others have suggested, make sure your vet is a rabbit savvy vet before you have your doe spayedGood luck for you and your doe :)
 
I'm so sorry for your loss :cry: As the others have said it is very rare for this to happen so I'm just so very sorry it happened to your boy. :cry: Please don't feel guilty, you were doing what any of us would do and tying to do the right thing for him. xx
 
Back
Top