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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum THE LOUNGE I’m a terrible dad…

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    • Barrett
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        OK, to clarify, I am having mixed emotions today.

         

        I took Patton in to have his surgery today at all of 5 months of age. He was showing the signs. Circling my wife’s feet constantly, and doing the deed with latex balloons. 

         

        In the 4 rabbits I’ve had since 1992 (all boys) this is the first time I’ve had one neutered. Maybe it’s because I’m a guy? Maybe it’s because I’ve never done it before? But I just felt kinda guilty putting him through it. I know if I had it to do over again, I would, it just feels… mixed, ya know?

         

        I wanted to have a face to face with the doctor before the procedure but didn’t get to. I figured there’d be a pre-op checkup especially because of his age, but the vet’s office didn’t seem familiar with that practice. Anyway, he’s an experienced rabbit vet, so I went with the flow. I was assured that he would of course check Patton out before going ahead with the procedure but I would not be present. It’s just sort of a ‘drop him off in the AM and we’ll do the procedure and have him back to you by the end of the day’ thing.

        They tell me he was an awesome and very friendly patient and the procedure went very well. He’s standing in his pet taxi all the way home (he doesn’t like car rides).

        Because of the anesthetic, he’s not his normal self and had a ‘zoned out’ period once I let him relax in the bathroom back home. It seemed like he was sleeping in my arms.

        I’ve been given pain medicine to administer tomorrow morning by syringe in the mouth (and we all remember what fun THAT was!) and I’m told he doesn’t need any between now and then. Now I’m worried if he feels pain during the night, how could I know?? I hope he doesn’t have a bad night.

         

        Other than all that, I don’t feel especially worried, just strangely mixed.

         

        The one thing I DO worry a bit about and would like some input on is watching out for his stitches. I was given discharge instructions of course and the thing that worries me is the language about not letting him chew or lick his stitches. Here’s the thing- I don’t know how much that stuff is ‘standard form, written mostly for cats and dogs’ or how much of it specifically applies to rabbits. I think I read something about a glue instead of stitches but it definitely refers to not letting him chew his STITCHES.

        Even as I type this, he’s here ‘grooming’ himself between the legs and I wonder – should I even worry about it? When I held him in my arms, I still see nothing but a thick forest of white fur down there. I can’t see testes (of course) or any signs of surgery. Was all that stuff about stitches only referring to dogs or something like that? There’s no way I can stay awake all night batting him everytime he tries to groom himself down there. And anyway, it doesn’t look to me like he can actually reach anything.

        I still feel like it will be a day or so before he’s jumping up on the dining table or running laps around the sofa, but he seems to like laying on his belly like he always did. And he’s chewing his toys, eating celery and pellets, and we’ve had some pooping.

         

        I guess I don’t have any terrible concerns, but I’d like to hear back from somebody about that grooming behaviour.

         

        Thanks everyone! Sorry I’ve been scarce around here. Got a new computer and lost my login info.


      • Azerane
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          Don’t worry about him too much, Patton won’t even know what he’s missing out on once his hormones settle down

          In regards to stitches and glue, I know some vets only use internal stitches on rabbits and glue on the skin, but it varies from vet to vet. You certainly don’t want him chewing on or pulling out the stitches (which many rabbits do) however it is ok and normal for him to want to groom the area a little. It is sore and feels funny and he’ll want to groom it to clean and make it feel better.

          Bandit was eating after surgery before I even went to the vet to pick him up. He was a little lethargic the first 24 hours, but he bounced back super quickly and wanted to be jumping around everywhere within a couple days, which I didn’t let him do. I don’t recall very well but I’m pretty sure he groomed the area a little, but didn’t bother the stitches at all.


        • jerseygirl
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            Yes, I think it’s normal for them to want to groom there a little. Clean themselves up from the surgery smells and self soothe.
            I believe they give a long acting analgesic before the rabbit is discharged so that’s why you don’t normally need to give pain meds the first night. You might find it on your invoice if it is itemised.

            My boys weren’t even sent home with any but luckily, they recovered from the surgery very quickly.

            There are different procedures for neuters. For Pre-scrotal neuter, the incision is small and just in front of the scrotal sack. There is also abdominal technique where just one small incision is made low on the abdomen. So with either of these, it may be hard to detect where the surgery site is from a quick look.

            In the 4 rabbits I’ve had since 1992 (all boys) this is the first time I’ve had one neutered. Maybe it’s because I’m a guy? Maybe it’s because I’ve never done it before? But I just felt kinda guilty putting him through it. I know if I had it to do over again, I would, it just feels… mixed, ya know?

            It could be. Apparently men often have difficulty with the thought of letting their pets “bits” be removed. ***That could be a huge generalisation on my part!*** But men also probably better understand from their early teenage years what it’s like for an intact, highly hormonal rabbit that just want to mate.

            I understand your mixed feelings though. Sometimes it can feel like we are interfering too much.

            Swift recovery {{{vibes}}} for Patton.


          • Ellie from The Netherlands
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              Aww, please don’t feel bad about yourself. Honestly, I think you did the best for him. He was clearly in discomfort because of all the hormones. It’s tough to make such a big decision, but it’ll really help him. Pets can’t choose to get altered, so we owners have to make those decisions, with their best interests in mind. So in fact, I think you’re a great dad for helping your bun

              I wish him a speedy recovery!

              If helps a bit: my boyfriend was also against Breintjes surgery for a long time. But the situation got out of hand: Breintje was extremely grumpy, posessive, frustrated and clearly feeling unwell because of all those raging hormones. He tried to mount anything in sight, and when I stopped him he showed his frustration by thumping loudly. The sight of an unhappy bun eventually convinced Bas, and after Breintjes surgery his problems quickly went away. Now he’s the worlds happiest snugglebun. He still has a lot of energy, but he channels it by chewing boxes and tearing up phone books

               


            • BrunosMama
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                My husband got the “doubts” for each of our neuters. I think he was even experiencing some sympathy pains lol.

                Hope Patton has a quick recovery!


              • BrunosMama
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                  I would also like to point out that your mixed feelings mean you care a lot and are a great bunny dad!!


                • Barrett
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                    Thanks everyone, Patton is quite normal this morning. I had to let him out before work because he was biting the gate on his pen LOL

                     

                    I decided not to give him the follow-up pain medication this morning because he was showing no signs of changed behaviour. Stop me if I’m wrong, but I don’t feel like an animal in pain will eat or chew paper or lounge. Am I right? 

                    There’s no one at home with him until this afternoon, but I’m betting he will be alright.


                  • Barrett
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                      EDIT TO MY LAST POST:

                       

                      I got a follow up call from the vet and they advised met that I ought to give him the pain medicine anyway. They said it helps the healing process so I went home real quick and hooked him up. 


                    • Vienna Blue in France
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                        Yeah, keep the pain meds going…. it’s best to, and it won’t do any harm.

                        If Patton’s a guzzler like Henry is, then hidden in a banana ball will go down a treat – (a slice of banana with a little dip cut out (not a hole or the meds will go right through! and then moulded into a ball like plasticine) no need to force feed him. Zou however, fussy little madame, wouldn’t take it in any form !!

                        (Unless force feeding is a painless procedure because you’ve practised regularly with juice or water, like we all should do in case of needing to actually force feed meds…. nope? well me neither… )

                        So glad it went well… did they not shave a little bit of the area? It was clear where Henry’s were because the remaninder took about a month to disappear back internally


                      • Barrett
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                          Pain medication was by syringe in the mouth which didn’t work so well when I was doing his sinus infection medicine but for some reason he took it extremely well today, so I guess we will stick with that.

                           

                          I would have assumed there’d be some shaving down there, but I guess not? When I have held him and even spread his legs a bit, I really can’t see anything through the fur! And yes, that includes things that USED to be there.  Oh there is ONE thing I can see down there, but I don’t need to go into details.


                        • Vienna Blue in France
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                            Well, yes, obviously the tail is down there too….


                          • Bam
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                              I don’t think Bam and Yohio were shaved. I have a post op pic of Bam’s “area”, I think I can find it tomorrow (in bed with phone now). In any case, their incisions were small and they didn’t lick at them. Pain mess prevent licking (they often lick from discomfort/pain). And it has been shown that buns that get pain med post op heal faster. Metacam reduces swelling as well as pain so that might be part of the reason why.
                              I can see how you had “moral qualms” before his surgery -I had those too with my Bam. In his case it had to be done for behavioral reasons. He developed a crush on my dog that didn’t give either of them any rest. He pursued her relentlessly and she did her best to avoid him. It was very stressful for them both. I think it’s much better to have a neuter done before adverse behavior has formed, but Bam was an adult when I got him so that was never an option.
                              You’re a truly great bunny dad, and I think Patton knows it.


                            • Q8bunny
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                                Aww… for what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing. And it sounds like he’s bouncing back with his usual gusto.
                                Just keep him doped up for as long as the vet recommends, and it should be smooth sailing.
                                (btw, Chewie groomed down there not so much to pull at the stitches, but more to get the yucky medicinal smell off his bits and pieces… or the area formerly known as his bits and pieces )


                              • Bam
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                                  I was wrong, Bam was shaved “downstairs”. This is how he looked post op:


                                • Barrett
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                                    Yeah, if Patton was shaved, it’s not anything like that.

                                     

                                    Thank you everyone! I’m recovering with Patton.  We had some trouble last night keeping him from jumping onto the dining table. The first time he got up there, he landed RIGHT IN FRONT OF A CHOCOLATE ICED DOUGHNUT! Yeah. He got some hearty bites before we could get him off. Now that I think of it, that’s probably why he kept trying to get back up there!


                                  • jerseygirl
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                                      Nothing slows that boy down!

                                      Maybe he can jump higher now that he weighs less.


                                    • Barrett
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                                        Posted By jerseygirl on 11/30/2016 11:26 AM

                                        Nothing slows that boy down!

                                        Maybe he can jump higher now that he weighs less.

                                        I hope Usain Bolt doesn’t hear you say that!


                                      • jerseygirl
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                                          ?


                                        • Barrett
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                                            I know that hormones continue for some time after the neuter, but do they actually SPIKE after the neuter? I notice that Patton is possibly MORE aggressive in terms of chasing and nipping my wife’s feet.

                                             

                                            I have a feeling you are going to tell me that this is normal and that everything will settle down in the next couple of months, but I’d just like to hear for sure. 

                                             

                                            As Ellie said, Patton has started chewing things a lot more than he did before.  And jumping. CONSTANTLY trying to get up on the dining table.


                                          • Vienna Blue in France
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                                              Yep Welcome to post neuter bonkiness !!! Enjoy !!


                                            • Bam
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                                                Oh yes. Post neuter craze is the medical term for this. Or perhaps not the medical term but still a very appropriate term.

                                                Usually it lasts about 2 weeks in a boy, but it can last longer.


                                              • jerseygirl
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                                                  I agree, when you see ramped up bratty behaviour it’s normally due to hormone surge but keep in mind, he is still a teenager. Even neutered, you might see some mischievousness for a while. Rabbits are rascals.

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                                              Forum THE LOUNGE I’m a terrible dad…