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Neutering & after care

Hope Jim is doing well.

My bun, Mr P was at the vets yesterday having his op. Poor little man, I think it was a bit of a shock to him, but he’s doing fine so far. Will be worth it once we get him a little lady friend in a few months time.

Tonibun, saw your post about Hatter having op tomorrow - hope it all goes well.
 
Overnight Jim has eaten some veg & some hay. He has done about 20-30 poops but they're all smaller than usual (about 3/4 of their usual size)
He hasn't touched his nuggets which he usually loves.
He's lost that thousand yard post med stare, looks normal. He's moving about well, but slowly. He let me scratch his nose but is understandably wary.

I'm going to concentrate on getting him to eat today. Has anyone got any tips?
 
Overnight Jim has eaten some veg & some hay. He has done about 20-30 poops but they're all smaller than usual (about 3/4 of their usual size)
He hasn't touched his nuggets which he usually loves.
He's lost that thousand yard post med stare, looks normal. He's moving about well, but slowly. He let me scratch his nose but is understandably wary.

I'm going to concentrate on getting him to eat today. Has anyone got any tips?

It sounds as though he is doing really well. I would not worry about him not eating his nuggets. As long as he is eating some hay and Veg and he is passing some poo then I'd try to remain as 'hands off' as possible. Try to only handle him to check his wound and medicate him. Let him chill out and keep a discreet eye on him. His poo size should gradually improve over the next 24 hours and I expect he'll be back to wanting his nuggets by tomorrow :)
 
It sounds as though he is doing really well. I would not worry about him not eating his nuggets. As long as he is eating some hay and Veg and he is passing some poo then I'd try to remain as 'hands off' as possible. Try to only handle him to check his wound and medicate him. Let him chill out and keep a discreet eye on him. His poo size should gradually improve over the next 24 hours and I expect he'll be back to wanting his nuggets by tomorrow :)

That's really reassuring to hear, thank you. You honestly think he's doing really well? I was assuming something was wrong as he usually goes mental for nuggets. I've just given him a couple of fenugreek crunchie treats, a pinch of cress & a pinch of oats. He took them from me, so I'm hoping he's forgiven me a bit.
I have a load of veg in & it seems to be what he wants to eat, but I'm worried about giving him too much. Should I be sticking to his usual daily amount, or would a little extra be ok? Obviously don't want him to get diarrhoea.
 
I would give him a little bit extra veg until he starts eating his pellets again. Grass is usually what they love after a neuter, so if you have any fresh looking grass he will appreciate it.
 
Overnight Jim has eaten some veg & some hay. He has done about 20-30 poops but they're all smaller than usual (about 3/4 of their usual size)
He hasn't touched his nuggets which he usually loves.
He's lost that thousand yard post med stare, looks normal. He's moving about well, but slowly. He let me scratch his nose but is understandably wary.

I'm going to concentrate on getting him to eat today. Has anyone got any tips?


I would just keep an eye on him for the time being.

Does the vet want to see him for a post-op check up? Some do and some don't ..

I'm glad to hear he's been eating veg and hay. Sometimes rabbits can go off the food they usually enjoy for a period of time.

Can you tempt his appetite with fresh herbs maybe? Sometimes the strong smell can be enticing ... parsley, dill, coriander ....
 
No access to grass sadly Tonibun. He's got some redigrass, but he prefers the Ings hay for now.

Been spying on him. He's moving around pretty well. He hopped on/off the hut & into/out of the litter tray pretty much as normal if a little slower. He's pootling around the cage chin rubbing so I assume that's good? Seems to be getting back to normal. I've seen him wee, was a bit concerned about the colour 'til I remembered he ate carrot yesterday!
This morning he's had 1 small greens leaf, a pinch of cress, a tiny bit of banana, couple of spinach leaves & a piece of red pepper. He's eaten it all & some hay. He may have eaten a couple of nuggets & oats but may not have, doesn't look touched. He's drank a tiny bit from the water bottle & a tiny bit from the bowl. He's not fussing underneath himself, but I haven't had the heart to have a look at the surgery site yet. I'll do it in a couple of hours.

He's due a check back at the vets tomorrow anyway so I'm sure he'll be ok 'til then, I think he's doing ok. If he keeps improving at this rate, he'll be fine by tonight! He's probably going to freak out when I put him in the carrier again tomorrow, wish I could let him now it's not going to go the same as last time!

Given the veg he's eaten already, I'll try him with some herbs & other veg later. Just want to see him face first in a bowl of nuggets, he's usually such a greedy git, it's bugging me that he's not being himself yet. Until I see that, I know he's not right.

Been looking at the length of time needed before I introduce a female (who will hopefully be speyed but not sure) & I've seen anywhere betwen 2 & 8 weeks - what does the forum recommend? With degus we advise 6, so am thinking more along the longer time frame.

Thanks for all your advice & support, I'd be going crazy with anxiety without it. Really appreciate every single reply & the well wishes for Jim.
 
He's eaten a whole bowl of nuggets overnight :D He seems almost back to normal this morning. He has a check at the vets at 5pm, so I'll update this thread when we know how things are healing. All in all, it went really well. Can I relax a bit now?! ;)
 
No access to grass sadly Tonibun. He's got some redigrass, but he prefers the Ings hay for now.

Been spying on him. He's moving around pretty well. He hopped on/off the hut & into/out of the litter tray pretty much as normal if a little slower. He's pootling around the cage chin rubbing so I assume that's good? Seems to be getting back to normal. I've seen him wee, was a bit concerned about the colour 'til I remembered he ate carrot yesterday!
This morning he's had 1 small greens leaf, a pinch of cress, a tiny bit of banana, couple of spinach leaves & a piece of red pepper. He's eaten it all & some hay. He may have eaten a couple of nuggets & oats but may not have, doesn't look touched. He's drank a tiny bit from the water bottle & a tiny bit from the bowl. He's not fussing underneath himself, but I haven't had the heart to have a look at the surgery site yet. I'll do it in a couple of hours.

He's due a check back at the vets tomorrow anyway so I'm sure he'll be ok 'til then, I think he's doing ok. If he keeps improving at this rate, he'll be fine by tonight! He's probably going to freak out when I put him in the carrier again tomorrow, wish I could let him now it's not going to go the same as last time!

Given the veg he's eaten already, I'll try him with some herbs & other veg later. Just want to see him face first in a bowl of nuggets, he's usually such a greedy git, it's bugging me that he's not being himself yet. Until I see that, I know he's not right.

Been looking at the length of time needed before I introduce a female (who will hopefully be speyed but not sure) & I've seen anywhere betwen 2 & 8 weeks - what does the forum recommend? With degus we advise 6, so am thinking more along the longer time frame.

Thanks for all your advice & support, I'd be going crazy with anxiety without it. Really appreciate every single reply & the well wishes for Jim.


Hi there :wave:

Pleased to hear he's doing so well!

He will be fertile for up to six weeks post neuter, so best to keep any unspayed females away from him until then.

Hormones will settle within 8 to 12 weeks, and I usually leave no less than 8 weeks between neutering and bonding. I have never had a failed bond so this should work for you :)
 
Thanks Mighty Max, i think 8 weeks sounds good. Better to be safe than sorry!

After a lot of thinking on it last night, I've decided to offer Jim for rehoming IF I can find a top notch home for him. The numbers at the sanctuary are creeping up, so I need to keep tabs on that. However, if a decent home can't be found, he'll stay here.
I'm not advertising as such, no randoms! I've mentioned it on the degu forum I help on, The guinea pig forum & here for now. I'll also ask a few trusted friends. No free ads though!!
Looking for an experienced owner with a decent set up at the very least. I imagine it'll be hard to find any takers, so I'll go ahead & bond him & get them set up outside as planned, but if a great home comes up I'd be happy to see him be rehomed.
 
Just got back from the vet. She said everything's healing up nice. He hasn't been bothering the area at all :) Basically unless he stops eating or something, they don't need to see him back. She said he's bounced back really well, faster than most.

Yay for Super Jim!
 
Just got back from the vet. She said everything's healing up nice. He hasn't been bothering the area at all :) Basically unless he stops eating or something, they don't need to see him back. She said he's bounced back really well, faster than most.

Yay for Super Jim!


Great :D

Super Jim. Super bun :thumb:
 
Well done Super Jim! Did they use super glue?

LOL yes they did! Must have made him super :)

My Mum had a cat in for a tooth extraction yesterday, her heart stopped under anaesthetic & they managed to revive her. They're keeping her overnight. My Ma is distraught, her other cat passed away a couple of weeks ago. Makes me feel guilty that Jim did so well, weird as though that sounds. Puss cat has had anaesthetic before with no probs, don't know what happened. Just as I was beginning to think that actually it's pretty safe, I've literally never had any problems over the years & all my fears are just my anxiety talking, this happens. Makes you realise how badly things can go wrong. I so hope Squeaky pulls through, my Ma can't cope with any more loss at the moment.
 
Thanks Mighty Max, i think 8 weeks sounds good. Better to be safe than sorry!

After a lot of thinking on it last night, I've decided to offer Jim for rehoming IF I can find a top notch home for him. The numbers at the sanctuary are creeping up, so I need to keep tabs on that. However, if a decent home can't be found, he'll stay here.
I'm not advertising as such, no randoms! I've mentioned it on the degu forum I help on, The guinea pig forum & here for now. I'll also ask a few trusted friends. No free ads though!!
Looking for an experienced owner with a decent set up at the very least. I imagine it'll be hard to find any takers, so I'll go ahead & bond him & get them set up outside as planned, but if a great home comes up I'd be happy to see him be rehomed.


You're welcome :)

Good luck with the rehoming.
 
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