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Beans is being neutered on Monday

Alicia

Mama Doe
I'm really nervous :( I found a rabbit savvy vet to do it and I'm sure they'll give me information but I've never had a rabbit neutered before so I'd like some advice. What should I do before/after? I know he should be inside and on a blanket or towels or something. How long will it take him to heal? What should I expect after his operation?

Also he'll only just be old enough, is that any more risky than doing it when he's older?
 
Beforehand, just as usual, but make sure he's healthy on the day (we were able to bring some "output" in his carrier for the vet - right popular is us :D). We were asked to bring his usual water bottle, his pellets and some veg he likes - I think we gave them a bag of kale. They like to see him eat before he goes home, so anything he'll usually make a bee-line for. We had ours in his hutch (inside) on plain newspaper, with hay in a cardboard box with little nibbling holes in. The main things to avoid are hay/sawdust, but other than that, whatever's a comfortable surface that won't irritate the wound I think is what we were told. When Monty came home he was a bit groggy/disorientated, but he was already nibbling half-heartedly on food. Tbh, we threw all rules of diet out of the window and were just feeding him whatever we had to hand that he might enjoy eating - I think in the first couple of days, he had a couple of rounds of pellets, half my garden sage, half a bag of kale, some bits of fruit, some lettuce... He was still nibbling at the hay, but he was finding it harder to get to (so it wouldn't irritate the wound) and we were just keen to see him eat plenty. He was a real pain about his medicine, which you have to give for several days afterwards, so it might be wise to have a strategy; we put it into his pellets because we didn't want to handle him and knock any sore bits. Our vet used a skin glue, so we had to keep an eye out for signs of infection - we didn't actually get to see his wound, although we tried every time he stood up, but we were monitoring everything else closely. I think otherwise just prepare for him to be grumpy and to not be very popular with him. Monty was just about back to normal by the time of his follow up, which was five days later, and within a week he was fine.


Good luck! I'll keep my fingers crossed that all goes well :D
 
I'm really nervous :( I found a rabbit savvy vet to do it and I'm sure they'll give me information but I've never had a rabbit neutered before so I'd like some advice. What should I do before/after? I know he should be inside and on a blanket or towels or something. How long will it take him to heal? What should I expect after his operation?

Also he'll only just be old enough, is that any more risky than doing it when he's older?





Bucks tend to recover relatively quickly as a castration is far less invasive than a spay. Most of my Bucks have been back to normal within 36-48 hours. Post operative analgesia is important, not only to reduce pain but also to try to minimise the amount of inflammation. Metacam is usually prescribed for 3-5 days. I have only ever needed to administer it for 3 days maximum.

The surgical site needs to be checked a couple of times a day. Most Vets use surgical glue to close the external part of the wound. The surgical site should be clean and dry and although there may be some testicular swelling/bruising it should not be severe. There should not be any oozing from the wound and the surrounding skin should not look red and 'angry'.

Most Vets will not discharge a Bunny home post castration until Bunny has started to eat and pass some poo/wee. It is important to make sure Bunny's GI tract motility returns to normal promptly, so if Bunny is refusing all food and not pooing/only producing tiny poo the day after the procedure you'd need to contact the Vet. In such circumstances the Vet may want to prescribe prokinetics for a few days as well as the Metacam. These days it is unusual for a Vet to routinely prescribe antibiotics after a straightforward castration. Most Vets are mindful of the need to only prescribe abx when really needed, not as a 'just incase'.

https://www.bsava.com/Resources/Veterinary-resources/Medicines-Guide/Antibacterials

Lots of vibes for Beano's op' on Monday xx
 
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