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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Post-Neuter questions?

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    • DalekBunny
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         Hello!  Yesterday, my 3 lb bun, Dusty was neutered and I have a few questions.  

        1.  I was not given any pain meds and did not think to ask for any.. I was given a pink medicine called “Sulftrim” and was told to give.5ML twice daily.. is this okay?

        2.  Yesterday, Dusty only nibbled on a few veggies (parsley, basil, mint, and romaine lettuce were given to him) that he usually loves, but right after surgery this is understandable.  He didn’t eat any pellets or hay.  I syringe fed him medicine and then later water because he didn’t appear to be drinking any from his bowl.  Is this normal?

        3. Today, with a lot of pushiness from me, he ate about 1/2 cup of veggies, some watery pellets (I fed him with a spoon some “pellet pudding”), a piece of a small Oxbow treat, and some hay.  He is not eating solid pellets on his own, while he usually loves them.  Is this normal?

        4.  His poop seems to be a little smaller than usual with an occasional, slight mucus-y covering and his pee was a darker, thicker orange-yellow.  He didn’t pee at all after the surgery until an hour or two ago.  It was a lot.  Normal?

        5.  He seems slightly skittish of things that didn’t scare him before.  Again, normal?

         

        How long until this irregular eating/peeing/pooping pattern is something to worry about?

        Thanks a lot everyone!


      • jerseygirl
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          Hi, I hope you’re still seeing some improvement in his appetite.

          1) Not all vets give pain meds. Mine had an injection before they came home and that seemed to see them through.
          I’m not sure why your vet has given an antibiotic though. Maybe it’s a precaution? You can always ring and ask if you can pick up pain med if you’re having concerns.

          2.its normal for them not to want to eat much the first 24hrs. Male rabbits usually perk up faster though. The usual favourites (pellets) were the last thing my rabbits returned to eating.
          I found moving the water bowl closer helped, especially with the females after a spay.

          3. He’s not going to like you at the moment but I think it’s good what you’re doing. Yes, pretty normal not to want pellets.

          4. The output can be a result if the meds coming through his system. Along with the med he’s still on. It’s also due to the gut being slower. It’s normal to see some yucky, smelly poo but you will want to see it return to normal soon. The mucus would be from a slow gut. If it continues, I would consider taking him in for a recheck. I would ring anyway to ask about how important it is to continue the sulfa med because that could be causing a bit of tummy upset.

          5. I think that is normal in light of spending the day at the vets. He’d be feeling a bit shaken up.

          {{{healing vibes}}}


        • jerseygirl
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            Oh and I don’t know if you’ve been able to check him underneath, but it’s also normal to see some swelling. A warm compress is supposed to provide some relief I’ve read.


          • Bam
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              Jersey, I like what you write so much, always, but I would not advice a warm compress, because warmth and moisture makes bacteria thrive and swelling is also enhanced by warmth.

              Maybe the antibiotics were given as a precaution if DalekBunny is in a country where it’s summer now. Surgery is always a bit riskier in the midst of summer because of the heat (bacteria, again). Here it’s the so called dog-days. In Sweden we call it “rot-month” because everything rots or spoils quickly if you leave it out.


            • Bam
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                Dalek, your boy seems to be doing fine. Eating anything is fine. Poop gets smaller because there is less food in the gut. Pee gets more concentrated because he perhaps isn’t drinking so much. You can give the greens and veggies freshly rinsed and soaking wet to make him take more water. An open water-bowl is preferred to a bottle when bunny perhaps is sore and tired. Him being skittish is probably because he is in a vulnerable state now and not really his normal self yet.

                He should come around in 2-3 days.  Check the sores twice a day. Some swelling is normal. The above pic is of my Bam the day after his neuter. He didn’t get much swelling. But it varies.


              • Valkyrie
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                  I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their advice. Brom was neutered yesterday and this is helping me with some of my own worries. I researched it enough to know what to expect, but it is still nice to hear from other bunny buddies that it is normal.


                • DalekBunny
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                    Thank you so much everyone, especially jerseygirl.

                    So, update:

                    Dusty ate his normal amount of pellets and veggies this morning with no prodding from me just like usual (YAY).

                    I’m not sure if he’s drinking on his own which concerns me… if he is, it must not be a lot because his pee (he has only peed once since I brought him home and it was very concentrated) so I am continuing to syringe feed water (how much and how often should I syringe feed?)  because he is very good about drinking from the syringe.

                    I had thought his poop was mucusy but judging from what I have seen today, it either wasn’t and was just the result of being covered in extra-concentrated pee, or it has cleared up because his poop is still smaller than normal but is not mucusy in the slightest.

                    Concerning the meds, yes it is summer here in Florida.. like serious summer, lol… so I guess that is why the vet gave me antibiotics.  I think I’m going to continue giving the dosage the vet prescribed until I can get ahold of my vet because they are closed for the day and I am unsure as to whether they are open on Saturdays (tomorrow).

                     

                    Any advice that you guys can give me would be wonderful and again, THANKS!


                  • DalekBunny
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                      Also, how did you guys manage to check your bunny’s affected area? Because I don’t want to flip Dusty over in my arms and cause him to kick and cause damage to the internal sutures… so what should I do?


                    • Bam
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                        Great news, that he’s eating voluntarily now =) A bunny needs about 10 cl water per kilogram body-weight per 24 hours, but a lot of that can come from fresh greens. That would be sth like 1,5 fl oz per lb rabbit. It’s quite a lot. If he’s fine with you handling him, I’d give small amounts often.

                        When I checked my bunnies wounds I had help from another person who held bunny in his lap, with bunny’s back against his belly for support, so I could check. If you are on your own, you can try to make him stand on his hind legs by offering f ex a craisin above his head, then peak at the genital area. If there is swelling, redness or leaking fluids you should be able to spot that.

                        Today you could perhaps let him move about a little on a flat surface, if he isn’t already that is. A little exercise gets the gut moving and is good for him. But no climbing, jumping, binkying (you need to verbally instruct him of these rules, of course.)


                      • DalekBunny
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                           Hi everyone!

                          Update:

                          Dusty has been eating veggies and pellets and drinking water 100000% normally so that’s awesome but he doesn’t seem to be eating that much hay, if any.  How can I fix this?  He currently eats Timothy Hay.  (Kaytee brand).

                          His poop is normal sized with no signs of mucus and his pee is the same color as usual and is no longer concentrated.  (yay).

                          He is playing and acting normally.. he is still slightly skittish of things that didn’t bother him quite as much before like the vaccuum, but other than that he is doing great!

                          I ended up putting him on the glass dining table and looking up from under the glass to check for swelling, redness, etc.  (There was none).

                           

                          So, my only question is about the hay.

                           

                          Thank you so much to everyone and for all of the healing vibes I got!  


                        • Valkyrie
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                            Whelp here is Bromley’s update. He was doing fantastic (or so I thought). He was eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, and not at all listless. He was ripping up newspaper and using his litterbox. He was even interested in the Metacam!
                            BromMetacam photo BromMetacam.jpg
                            I gave him his daily dose and then got my husband to hold him so I could check the incision and my heart dropped…there was blood. I moved the fur around and called my vet and saw that yep, he was fully open. For everyone’s info, this is not good:
                            Incision photo Incision.jpg
                            The vet’s office was open, but wouldn’t you know there is no vet on duty today and they are closed tomorrow! They couldn’t even get the vet to answer his phone at home. The office gave me a couple other vet’s office numbers because after looking at the pic I e-mailed they knew it couldn’t wait. I called three different offices and none of them would see him because he’s a bunny. Finally the fourth one said to bring him down, although they don’t normally see bunnies. The vet glued the incision closed again and gave him a shot of antibiotics. She also sent me home with more Metacam and antibiotics. His neutering at the exotic vet cost me $125 and this trip cost me $145!!!!!! I couldn’t believe paying more than his neutering cost, but I had no other choice. How is he feeling? Oh he’s still feeling great, hopping around his cage and tearing up newspaper!!!! The vet and I decided to put him in a small cage and take away his litter box to try to force him to stay inactive. I am so not looking forward to re-litter training him! I also feel bad that I am keeping him in a small cage with a wire bottom, even though it is only for a few days and in his best interest.
                            BromTinyCage photo BromTinyCage.jpg
                            Gypsy has taken up guard beside him again, but even she thinks the small cage is unfair:
                            GypsyCageBrom photo GypsyBromCage.jpg
                            “Mooooooooom! Let him out!!!!”

                            Dalekbunny, I am so happy that your experience is going way better than mine! Just keep a good watch on that incision because I would have never known what was wrong if I just followed Bromley’s behavior.


                          • DalekBunny
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                              Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!  I will definitely keep an eye on it.  And he started eating his hay so that’s good.

                              I have been holding a treat above him and having him stand on his hind legs to see the wound but it’s hard to get a clear view… It doesn’t appear to be red so I think that’s good.  I’ll get a picture tomorrow and show you guys so you can give me your opinions!

                               

                              {{{{healing vibes}}}} to Valkyrie!


                            • BinkyBunny
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                                Oh my goodness. How stressful. You did such a good job being persistent to get someone to get that closed up. I would definitely talk to the current vet when you get a chance and let them know what you went through and what you spent! Not sure what they will do with that information but hopefully they will offer something.


                              • LittlePuffyTail
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                                  Sorry you had such a rough time with the neuter. Most go smoothly but there is always the odd case where something happens.

                                  Is he good about leaving the area alone? I’m wondering it that was self-inflicted.

                                  ((((Continued Dusty Recovery Vibes))))))


                                • DalekBunny
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                                    So this is the best picture I could get of Dusty’s sutures.. what do you guys think?  I think that they are healing well but I would like you guys’ opinion too!

                                     

                                    Thanks!


                                  • Valkyrie
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                                      LittlePuffyTail: Neither my husband or I have seen him go anywhere near it and my husband was home all day with him the day after the surgery. So if it was self inflicted, he is a very sneaky bunny! He probably just blew the stitches because he will not stay still! Even in the tiny cage he is trying to race around and he is climbing the hay rack! -.-;;

                                      DalekBunny: The picture won’t show.

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                                  Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Post-Neuter questions?