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Female rabbit spaying

B

Buka

Warren Scout
Hi all,

My bunny is booked in to be spayed in January.

The vet is offering me some extra services at extra cost and I’d like to know which ones from your experience are worth going for. Here’s the list:

- expression of anal glands
- ear cleaning
- additional pain relief
- buster collar
- intravenous fluids
- 3 day course liquid food
- 3 day course of Biolapis


Thanks all, I’ll appreciate any advice of what you’ve found helpful in assisting your rabbit’s recovery ☺️
 
The anal glands is more of a dog thing and doesn't apply to rabbits, their scent glands occasionally need cleaning but can easily be done at home if needed and it's not usually routine especially if your girl is young. Same with ear cleaning, should only be done if necessary and the rabbit has a problem. Pain relief should be a given, it's major abdominal surgery after all so I'd question what additional means, you should have something like Metacam to go home with for at least 5-7 days. Buster collar rabbits don't get on with, as they can't eat/drink/groom normally. If given appropriate pain relief they don't usually bother their wounds. Intravenous fluids would be beneficial for an older girl, or to make an anaesthetic safer as they are usually warmed up so they go in at body temperature which helps keep the temperature up during the GA and they help flush the GA from the system reducing the strain on the kidneys. Liquid food you could make your own using pellets but may be handy to have some in. Biolapis shouldn't really be needed provided your rabbit is eating well after and antibiotics aren't normally given after routine surgery.

Those are just my thoughts! :)
 
I would go for IV fluids and pain relief to use at home from the day after the spay (how can that be an optional extra?). You can get some powdered recovery food in (eg Critical Care) beforehand - it's always useful - or use the pellets she's already on and soak them to mush them up (I save the dust from the bottom of the packet in a ziplock sandwich bag to use instead of recovery food for a couple of days).

You definitely don't need the buster collar - it stops rabbits eating their ceacals and is generally a nuisance which causes more stress to the rabbit.

Also think about what fresh greens she really likes and would tempt her to eat in the 24 hours after the spay. Things that smell more strongly usually work: Dandelion leaves, herbs, celery leaves, etc. If she doesn't start eating by herself, you may have to syringe feed her for a day or two to keep her guts moving. Veg based baby food puree in pouches or jars is also useful. You can feed straight from the pouch if needed, or mix the puree with the made up powdered food so it flows better.
 
How Rabbit Savvy is the Vet ? If you were given a non species specific list of ‘optional extras’ like that I would question this before going ahead with the spay.

IV fluids and post surgical pain relief should be standard with a Rabbit spay. As should. Species Specific post surgical care sheet with instructions about syringe feeding, monitoring fecal and urine output, wound checking, housing requirements and when to seek additional Veterinary support should the Doe not be eating and having fecal and urine output within 12 hours of returning home.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-welfare-association-fund/our-work/rabbit-friendly-vets/

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/medical/neutering/

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/small-animal-...thcare/neutering-spaying-pet/rabbit-neutering
 
Thank you all for your replies. The vet is at vets for pets. The extras list has been sent to me by the receptionist so I wonder if they’ve sent me the wrong list! I’m going to get back to them again to confirm!

I can’t go to any other vet as no other vet clinics around where I stay are taking new clients on at the moment due to covid!
Thanks again all for the comments.
 
I think if I were you I would particularly query the pain relief thing. I know that some vets do probably just still give a pain relief injection after, and not send the rabbit home with any for the next few days (this is what I got for my rabbits when they were spayed years ago, and also one of my spayed guinea pigs), but I'd say things have mostly moved on since then. So that's probably the single biggest thing to look into.
 
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