• 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.

What went wrong at the vet?

B

BlindXX

Young Bun
This morning I dropped off our two new house bunnies at the vet to have them neutered. They were about 5 1/2 months old (we left it a little while as we were told they were girls when we bought them, they were in fact both boys). We were told that a routine blood and fluid test to check for any other issues would be a good idea. To cut along story short, we now only have one house bunny, Dusty, (wearing an e-collar). The other, Dottie, apparently died when she got over stressed as they went to take his blood before the op - he collapsed on the table. Is this such a thing? I couldn't find any other info on this on the internet. I'm new to rabbit ownership, I won't pretend to know everything, and I'm guided only by the vet, the internet and my Sister-in Law who works as a small animal care lecturer. She said it seems very unusual. Fortunately Dusty is eating and drinking and seems to be on the correct path. Final question - should I hand feed her the cecotropes as she is wearing that collar?
Many thanks for any advice
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your bunny! That's just awful sorry but I'm sure someone will be along soon to help give you some advice and maybe an idea on what may have happened.

Can I just ask why your remaining bunny has been given a cone? Was he seen nibbling his stitches or anything? Normally it is not always advisable as bunnies are prey animals. Is he eating & pooping okay? xx
 
Last edited:
Thankyou. I have no idea why he was given a cone, but he seems to be eating well - he has literally just eaten a load of spinach from my hand, some straw and a treat hanging from top of the cage (not hand fed). he's pooing too and has also stretched out in the cage (only been back a few hours and it's the first time he's shown relaxation). We will find him a companion - we'll be looking for a lionhead female (already spayed) to join him. We'll keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't get depressed and lonely in the meantime.
 
Awww bless him, it's great that he's eating. Does he have plenty of hay too? Only straw sometimes isn't as nutritional as hay for them.

Others will be along shortly, but in my honest opinion I would remove his collar if he doesn't seem overly fussed with his wound and maybe just keep a close eye on him. Normally they are placed in collars If they are licking or paying a lot of attention to their wound to prevent it from getting infected etc.

I'm only saying as I had a bunny in a cone and it drove him mad, also he struggled to drink and get comfortable. Plus he got very depressed with it on, and maybe after loosing his friend.. i would just bear this in mind.

But honestly it's amazing you are going to look for a friend for him xx
 
Last edited:
I'm so sorry you lost one of your rabbits. It doesn't sound right but I guess it is possible - I think I'd ask for some more info. I too have never heard of a collar on a rabbit post neuter (I'd be inclined to take it off). As you say you're relatively new bunnies you might also be unaware of how difficult (but worthwhil) it is to get a really good rabbit savvy vet. We can help you with that though
 
BlindXX said:
This morning I dropped off our two new house bunnies at the vet to have them neutered. They were about 5 1/2 months old (we left it a little while as we were told they were girls when we bought them, they were in fact both boys). We were told that a routine blood and fluid test to check for any other issues would be a good idea. To cut along story short, we now only have one house bunny, Dusty, (wearing an e-collar). The other, Dottie, apparently died when she got over stressed as they went to take his blood before the op - he collapsed on the table. Is this such a thing? I couldn't find any other info on this on the internet. I'm new to rabbit ownership, I won't pretend to know everything, and I'm guided only by the vet, the internet and my Sister-in Law who works as a small animal care lecturer. She said it seems very unusual. Fortunately Dusty is eating and drinking and seems to be on the correct path. Final question - should I hand feed her the cecotropes as she is wearing that collar?
Many thanks for any advice
Click to expand...


I'm so very sorry for the tragic loss of your bunny :(

I haven't ever had a vet suggest a 'routine blood and fluid test' before castrating a young healthy male rabbit. I don't really know what a 'fluid test' is? I have kept rabbits for nearly 25 years, and worked with several Rescue Centres over that time. I've fostered hundreds of rabbits, and I'm afraid this is news to me ....

I can only assume your male rabbit had some underlying condition whereby he collapsed and died on the table. I'm so sorry - it's something I wouldn't expect to happen. Rabbits don't give up their blood very easily, and it's sometimes very difficult for a vet to obtain blood from a vein. As I mentioned though, unless the rabbit was older or with a medical condition, I don't know the reasoning behind a routine blood and fluid test.

Regarding a cone - we don't normally put our male castrates in cones, but if he's nibbling the stitches then we might consider it. You can try feeding the cecotrophes but he may not take them from you. Hopefully you can remove it in a day or so. Can he still drink OK?

Welcome to the forum, and once again, so sorry for your loss x
 
Sorry, I meant hay! We always feed Timothy hay - both in loose form and in a compressed block which they/he also seemed to like. He seems to be drinking ok - always used a dripper and the cone doesn't get in the way too much. The hay is piled high so he can get his head in. I don't know if he nibbled at the stitches at the vets to warrant a collar, but we may well take it off in a day or so - at least temporarily to help feed. I'm not looking forward to trying to syringe his meds though. We did wonder if there was an underlying condition with Dottie - to just drop dead seems strange. The vet was the pets 4 vets at our local Pets at Home (where we picked them up). The last thing I want to do though is start blaming people. We all make mistakes and have unforeseen problems at work, only mine don't have such serious ramifications. I thought the vet would be good for two reasons - 1. Pets at home sell a lot of rabbits - they will try and push as many as possible to use there in-house vets. Surely they would be reasonably experienced for this reason. 2 - 5* review for this vet practice over 7 google reviews. Not many, but most people only review when they have a bad experience and there were no bad reviews. Thankyou, everyone for your well-wishes.
 
BlindXX said:
Sorry, I meant hay! We always feed Timothy hay - both in loose form and in a compressed block which they/he also seemed to like. He seems to be drinking ok - always used a dripper and the cone doesn't get in the way too much. The hay is piled high so he can get his head in. I don't know if he nibbled at the stitches at the vets to warrant a collar, but we may well take it off in a day or so - at least temporarily to help feed. I'm not looking forward to trying to syringe his meds though. We did wonder if there was an underlying condition with Dottie - to just drop dead seems strange. The vet was the pets 4 vets at our local Pets at Home (where we picked them up). The last thing I want to do though is start blaming people. We all make mistakes and have unforeseen problems at work, only mine don't have such serious ramifications. I thought the vet would be good for two reasons - 1. Pets at home sell a lot of rabbits - they will try and push as many as possible to use there in-house vets. Surely they would be reasonably experienced for this reason. 2 - 5* review for this vet practice over 7 google reviews. Not many, but most people only review when they have a bad experience and there were no bad reviews. Thankyou, everyone for your well-wishes.
Click to expand...


You're absolutely right not to blame - what's done is done.

It's worth mulling over if you have rabbits in the future and want to do your best by them. Then it's a good idea to learn from situations like these. It does sound like you did the best research you could and felt the vet was good at his job.

Where do you intend looking for your spayed female? A really good idea by the way - saves all the worry of a spay, which is a bigger op than a castrate.
 
We'll probably adopt - we can pick one up spayed that way (no way I'm going through this again) and we'll be doing a favor by rehoming. It's ridiculous how much we were attached to both of them only two months after buying them! We were in bits at the vets when we picked up Dusty.
 
BlindXX said:
We'll probably adopt - we can pick one up spayed that way (no way I'm going through this again) and we'll be doing a favor by rehoming. It's ridiculous how much we were attached to both of them only two months after buying them! We were in bits at the vets when we picked up Dusty.
Click to expand...


I can imagine. Bunnies get under your skin pretty quickly and then it's really hard when this sort of thing happens. You were very unlucky. Adopting is a great idea, saves the stress and as you say, gives an unwanted rabbit a second chance. It also frees up a Rescue space for another needy rabbit
 
BlindXX said:
This morning I dropped off our two new house bunnies at the vet to have them neutered. They were about 5 1/2 months old (we left it a little while as we were told they were girls when we bought them, they were in fact both boys). We were told that a routine blood and fluid test to check for any other issues would be a good idea. To cut along story short, we now only have one house bunny, Dusty, (wearing an e-collar). The other, Dottie, apparently died when she got over stressed as they went to take his blood before the op - he collapsed on the table. Is this such a thing? I couldn't find any other info on this on the internet. I'm new to rabbit ownership, I won't pretend to know everything, and I'm guided only by the vet, the internet and my Sister-in Law who works as a small animal care lecturer. She said it seems very unusual. Fortunately Dusty is eating and drinking and seems to be on the correct path. Final question - should I hand feed her the cecotropes as she is wearing that collar?
Many thanks for any advice
Click to expand...

I am very sorry for your loss. Some of my Rabbits have had blood tests taken prior to neutering, that in itself is not unusual. Neither is giving supportive fluids (I suspect that is what you meant by 'fluid testing'). What is very unusual and tragic is that Dottie passed away. I would imagine that an under-lying undiagnosed heart condition may have been an issue. But of course that is just conjecture and without a PM it is not possible to say why poor Dottie died.

I think you would be wise to go to your own Vet from now on. I hope that Dusty will have eaten, poo'd and wee'd a bit overnight and that he will make a good recovery.

RIP Dottie :cry:
 
Jack's-Jane said:
I am very sorry for your loss. Some of my Rabbits have had blood tests taken prior to neutering, that in itself is not unusual. Neither is giving supportive fluids (I suspect that is what you meant by 'fluid testing'). What is very unusual and tragic is that Dottie passed away. I would imagine that an under-lying undiagnosed heart condition may have been an issue. But of course that is just conjecture and without a PM it is not possible to say why poor Dottie died.

I think you would be wise to go to your own Vet from now on. I hope that Dusty will have eaten, poo'd and wee'd a bit overnight and that he will make a good recovery.

RIP Dottie :cry:
Click to expand...

Thankyou. I feel guilty for potentially trying to put her through a needless procedure that cost her her life. Dust seems to be eating well and has definitely used the litter tray. I checked on him twice in the night and again just before I left for work. My only concern is that she can't eat her soft poos and consequently they are all over the floor of the cage (and most likely him). I tried to hand feed some fresh ones but he wouldn't take any, nor any on a spinach leaf - but he is happy to be hand fed some spinach. The vet said to keep the collar on for a week, but I'm tempted to limit it to 48hrs. My biggest fear is having to put it back on and stressing him out only to have the same thing happen as happened to Dottie, or hurt him in some way.
 
And yes, supportive fluids sounds right. It was a procedure that was only mentioned when we arrived and as we were informed it could help reveal potential underlying problems that might be an issue during surgery we thought it would be best. We were also told it should be an annual check. Of course, if we hadn't had it done, and Dottie passed during the procedure, which could well have happened if she had a heart defect, we would be in exactly the same position but in reverse, if that makes sense.
 
Aww bless him, honestly there is no need to have his cone on for a whole week though, when my bun broke his leg & needed one as it was a large wound, he only had it on for 24 hours until it had stated to heel. Bunnies are so resilient & quick little healers. Obviously your vet knows best, but in my personal opinion I would remove it. Once the cone is off, he'll feel much better anyway & males recovery very quickly after their neuters anyway as it's such an easy operation.

I wouldn't worry about placing the collar back on him, it's so easy to do and like I've said.. Along with others, I'm not a 100% sure why he's got one anyway. But topping up the vibes for him, and hopefully once he does have it taken off.. I'm sure he'll soon bounce back and be his cheeky self xx
 
I'm so sorry you lost Dottie, how tragic :cry:

most vets don't use collars at all on rabbits as others have said, If it was my rabbit I would remove it and see if he bothered with his stitches. Hopefully he will leave them alone anyway. It's good that he's eating so well :thumb:
 
Sorry, final question - is it ok for dusty to go a few days without his cecal pellets? He's not taking any by hand. Thanks
 
BlindXX said:
Sorry, final question - is it ok for dusty to go a few days without his cecal pellets? He's not taking any by hand. Thanks
Click to expand...

Can you remove the collar whilst you are around to supervise him? I would be concerned about him not getting his cecals for several days.
 
Ruthyjones89 said:
Aww bless him, honestly there is no need to have his cone on for a whole week though, when my bun broke his leg & needed one as it was a large wound, he only had it on for 24 hours until it had stated to heel. Bunnies are so resilient & quick little healers. Obviously your vet knows best, but in my personal opinion I would remove it. Once the cone is off, he'll feel much better anyway & males recovery very quickly after their neuters anyway as it's such an easy operation.

I wouldn't worry about placing the collar back on him, it's so easy to do and like I've said.. Along with others, I'm not a 100% sure why he's got one anyway. But topping up the vibes for him, and hopefully once he does have it taken off.. I'm sure he'll soon bounce back and be his cheeky self xx
Click to expand...

I agree with Ruth - I would definitely remove the cone of shame :)

Vibes for him to get better very quickly - you'e all been through enough x
 
After the advice here and communications with an adoption centre, I'm going to try some supervised time without the collar. I'll also try and feed his painkillers on some mashed banana rather than trying to syringe it in. He's been eating and drinking this morning again so I think he'll be fine and 'm just being over cautious!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
**UPDATE***Cleo losing weight - Now gaining :)
Replies
8
Views
205
Omi
O
P
Bunny still off food and hay, drooling and teeth chattering
2 3
Replies
49
Views
924
twistedtiggerz69
twistedtiggerz69
H
Rabbit with erratic heart rate
Replies
3
Views
221
MimzMum
MimzMum
Back
Top