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Urgent Advice on Castration aftercare needed

K

keileyoneill

Young Bun
Can anybody help?
My small lop was castrated yesterday and I wondered if anybody could give me advice on aftercare.
He still seems quite groggy and isnt moving around much, but seems to be struggling as he has a neck collar on so that he cant lick or bite his wound, and he cant really see where he is going.
We have put towels and shredded newspaper in his hutch.
He has been drinking water through the night but hasnt eaten anything, I cant even tempt him with carrot! He has done lots of little poos and is weeing ok.
 
Do you have any recovery food? They're sachets that you mix with water and can then syringe feed if necessary. If he has pelletted food, you could soften them in some warm water.
They can often be tempted to eat with herbs or dandelion.
It sounds like you're doing the right thing keeping him warm and on soft things. Hope he feels better soon.
 
Take the collar of and give him time to eat and have a wash and brush up.

I really disapprove of vets that send them home with these on it's not nessary unless they do start to bother the wound.

Buck very rarely do, I've had hundreds neutered via the rescue and only had about 10 that have ever removed the stitch. They also end up in a mess cos they can't get to their bottoms to get their pellets over night.


You might find with the collar of he picks up on his own. :D
 
i would take the collar off to and see if he bothers his wound. Be careful though as my bun chewed his stitches and had to be restiched and ended up wearing a collar!
 
Is he outdoors? If so, I would also definitely bring him indoors for a few days, as bunnies find it very hard to keep warm after they have had an anaesthetic, so he may be feeling very cold indeed. If this is the case, make sure the room he is in is not too warm though, otherwise it will be too cold for him to go back outside at the end of the week! If he has been outside, sit him indoors somewhere warm, surrounded by food, until the chill comes off him. He may well start feeling better if he warms up.

I also agree try taking his collar off for a while, it is probably making him very confused and distressed :cry:
 
He is inside, we keep him in the utliity room which is normally quite cold as it has no heating but we have a nice heater on in there which is keeping it warm but not hot.
 
I agree with taking off the collar, and keep him extra warm till he starts to recover, like you would in a hospital - First sign of chewing his stitches though and the collar will need to go back on - really your vet should use invisible stitches but lots of them don't.

It is urgent that he starts eating, so try him with grass and dandelions if they're not frost bitten or covered in snow - parsley is usually tempting if your supermarket has any? dried grass or burgess forage from pets at home might tempt him to nibble a bit more than hay - or your vet may need to give him more painkillers and an appetite stimulant injection.

Hope he picks up soon - best book him into the vets for tomorrow just incase, as it's the bank holiday weekend :)
 
Update on Gizmo, we took the collar off him and he did become a lot more livelier and seemed like his normal self, however he did keep trying to mess with his stitches and hasnt eaten or drunk anything and also had a weepy eye so we took him back to the vets this afternoon. He has been given the all clear medically and in fact is doing very well, he is just being grumpy and stubborn and refusing to eat - as we all know that can be very dangerous. We have a recovery sachet and some baby food and are trying to syringe that into him but he is being very stubborn and refusing to swallow most of it!!
We will keep him warm and comfortable over night and keep a very close eye on him and if he hasnt eaten anything by the morning he will be going straight back to the vets who have said they will they keep him in to try and stimulate his stomach.
 
Happy Hopping said:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/tam/viewtopic.php?t=13117&highlight=

Read this thread for after care. I just recently posted a similar question, the only difference is my rabbit is female, it's the same deal. The after care is the same, but I strongly advise you to keep your rabbit indoor because his immune system is low and you need to keep him warm, especially at cold weather.
Click to expand...

She's already stated that he's indoors, with a heater to keep him warm.
 
Keep with it Dylan and Silky were both complete pains after their ops.

Dylan pulled his stitches out and messed with his wound so badly that his whole stomach swelled up and it was back to the vet that very night then two weeks of antibiotics antiinflammatories. Because they didnt restitch him he didnt need his collar after the first night.

I kept the collar on silky but mistakingly took it off so she could wash herself and that was it stitches out and back to the vet. After a night with her collar on she learnt not to bother about it and hoover up after herself.

Id take it off to persuade him to eat try the recovery food every 2-3 hours but generally try to keep the collar on - stubborn bunny.

But all rabbits are different this is just the way my two were but they did both eat, although silky took persuasion.
 
Took Gizmo back to the vets this morning as he didnt eat or drink and no droppings overnight, they advised us to take his collar off as his wound is ok and the stitches are underneath so he cant get to them too easily.
They gave him another injection to try and get his bowels moving and we need to take him back this evening if no improvement.
He is happier without the collar but still refusing to eat, he is storing the baby food and recovery feed in his cheeks then spits it out when we arent looking!! We have just got a snuggle safe and put that in with him and he seems fine in himself, just a bit grumpy - just wont eat or drink!
Tried Parsley as someone suggested but not interested in anything.
 
did the vet give him painkillers too?

Have you tried him on long grass or dandelions - they have always been irresistable to mine, but it wasn't winter then - not sure if it's any good in winter but worth a try if you can find some?

Hope he gets well soon :)
 
He had painkiller injection, but doesnt seem in any discomfort. Vet has given us some prepulsid to give him twice daily alongside the baytril - think the prepulsid is to help stimuilate his stomach?

He has finally eaten a little bit of hay and straw - not much but a couple of mouthfuls but some is better than none - my husband sat by him talking to him and I think Gizmo got fed up looking at him!!
He has also eaten a mouthful of celery and had a tiny nibble at some carrot but seems more interested in ripping up the newspaper.

He is sleeping now, cuddled up to his snuggle safe so we will keep trying to tempt him but hopefully he will continue to pick up - he normally has his dry mix food that he loves at 5pm so lets wait and see!
 
If he loves his mix - give him some now - it is very important that he keeps his gut moving - I lost a precious bun to gut stasis and cannot stress the importance of his keeping his tum moving - try him with whatever to ensure that he keeps eating.
 
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