• 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.

The big Day...

chibichan

Young Bun
Well tomorrow is Iris's appointment to be spayed at the vet's office. And i'm kinda nervous. I hope she doesn't hate me for this. I had to take her food out of the cage for the night and she's been huffing around her cage making wierd noises at me and won't let me pet her. But i guess that's to be expected. Is there any advice about how to treat her when she comes home? Extra treats, leave her alone, pay more attention... anything would help. Just hope everything turns out ok but my vet is really good and they have a vet that specializes in rabbits so it makes me feel a little better. :?
 
hi

It is extremely important NOT to deprive a rabbit of food before an operation - If your vet has told you to do this then she doesn't know much about rabbits and I would look for another vet - If the vet receptionist told you to do this she may not understand that rabbits are different to cats and dogs in this respect - Please don't let her have an op when she's been starved as it will be very difficult for her to recover!
 
elve . thats what I thought when i read that as a bunny should always have food in their tummy for their delicate systems to tick over correctly . Any stress - including surgery can cause gut probs and the fact that she had her food taken away can cause more . I would phone the vets this morning to see if they will still do the surgery .
Once she has the op then just keep her quiet , warm and keep an eye on her . She will probably be a bit sore and down for a day or two but after that should hopefully be back to normal .
 
They must have food up until the op and food right after. High fibre such as hay is best before and their favourite stuff to tempt them to eat after!

Caz
 
Well everything went fine. She's home now, and is doing well. I've given her her favorite treats, mostly parsley and carrots, and she seems to be doing well. The vet told me just to keep an eye on her stictches and to yub some neosporin cream if it gets pink.
 
How is she now? Has she started eating and drinking. Does she have a bowl or bottle for her water. My bunnies only drank from bowls for a few days after their spay becuase of the strain of reaching up to drink.
 
pleased to hear that your little girl is ok now! :D

are you going to get her a friend, or has she already got a mate?
if they have just had a big op you shouldnt split them as they recover quicker when they are in with their friends.

sophie
 
Iris is doing well, she's been kind of quiet today but it's to be expected. She's been eating well, but I moved her water and food off her shelf cause i don't want her jumping up and to make it easier for her. But I've been giving her lots of veggies and she's been eating them fine. Got a bit of a scare when I went to check on he stiches and found that a couple had popped out. I called the vet and he said that she probably pulled on them like he said she would and to rub some antibotic oitment on them. He also said we should make a coller for her like dogs have to keep her from licking and picking at them for a couple days. Well she did NOT like that and she looks so funny with it on. I feel so bad for her but I have to do it to keep her from pulling on them as I can't watch her every second of the day. But we've been putting the ointment on and the swelling and redness have gone down a lot and the vet said to call on Monday to see how it is. He siad that the outside stichings coming out wasn't that big of a deal cause she has internal stictches as well, but I stil don't wanna have her pull them and have to go back and make her get more! I had to put her food in a shallow bowl for her to reach it and had to hand feed it to her for her to realize she could still eat with it on. It was so cute. =) Thanks for all the concern! This is my first bunny and I was very nervous about the whole thing. Sad to say she doesn't have a friend cause I've never had a bunny and took this one cause a friend couldn't keep her anymore. I also go to college and don't wanna have to transport more than 1 back and forth. But when I gradute in 2 years i'll def. get her a playmate. Thanks again!
 
hi

as well as not starving a rabbit pre-op, it's now conidered to be a bad idea to put a collar on a rabbit - This may be fine for cats and dogs, but rabbits need to eat their own poops to be healthy - they do 2 different kinds of poop and you never normally see the one they eat as they take it direct from their rear end - This poop contains lots of protein and good bacteria to help them digest their food. You may find that as she's wearing a collar these eating poops will get stuck to her and she will get very dirty, so she needs protecting from flies or she'll get flyblown :(

Re the stitches, many vets use a special glue to seal the wound as rabbits do have a habit of pulling out their stitches...You can also try wrapping a pantyhose (tights or stockings) leg like a tube around her middle, with a clean dishcloth around her wound - Anything is better than a collar - please ask your vet about glue.
 
I second what elve said re. the collar. I think it is extremely stressful for them, if there is anything else you can do for her, do it. When one of my first bunsters Magic was neutered (1997) he pulled his stitches out + had to have staples in. He had a collar on and not knowing what I know now, kept it on him. He died on the day he was meant to have his staples out :( I'm sure it was the stress of the collar that killed him, now I would do anything I could not to have a collar on. My vet is really good + stitches internally so there is nothing to chew, even if Pippa my rabbit had been a chewer there was nothing there to pull!!
 
Well Iris is now all healed, the little gap has scabbed over and is healing nicely. I only left the coller on at night and she was just fine. :)
 
Back
Top