Preparation for Spay

[Starla]

I’m getting my rabbit spayed sometime this month. Her wellness exam before her spay is tomorrow. My question is, is there anything I should make sure I have for her when she gets home from her spay in the future? If I remember to ask the vet during her wellness exam, I will. However, I know that there are many people on here who may have different advice from what the vet may recommend. 

I want to plan ahead so I can make sure I have everything before so I know I can afford it if there’s anything I need to buy. Pain meds and antibiotics are included in the price for the spay. 

Also, someone told me that complications during a spay for a rabbit are somewhat common. I never heard this before. Is this true? I’ve asked the vet and they said they’ve had no complication before. But if anyone has heard different please let me know. My rabbit is a big girl so I figured that would work in her favor for surgery. She is bigger than the size kittens are when they usually get spayed or neutered. I would look it up on google but then I would just freak myself out because the internet is full of horror stories. 

Thank You!!

[BunnyFriends]

Spays are more invasive then neuters, but they usually go smoothly. In fact, Winter was spayed just fine and Licorice was the one who had a complication during his neuter.

I like to get the buns in their home to a clean cage, so I clean it out completely while they’re gone. However, DEFINITELY have water, hay, and your buns favorite foods. It can be tricky to get females to eat, so tempting them with their favorites is a must. You said you already will get pain meds, so you’re good there.

Females will sometimes pull their stitches, in which case you need to monitor them closely. I try to distract them when they do so, but in serious cases you might need a cone/e collar. (Not sure of the prices). It can be hard for rabbits to eat with them, though.

If you’re very concerned, you can get an e collar but I wouldn’t recommend it to be quite honest unoess they’ve started pulling.

[LittlePuffyTail]

There is always a risk when a bunny goes in for surgery but that risk is small if you have a rabbit savvy vet. The vast majority of bunnies are fine and recover well. It’s a good idea, especially in a bunny that is a bit older, to have the vet do a run of blood work to make sure she is healthy enough to undergo the anaesthesia.

Expect her to be pretty lethargic and unwilling to eat for a few days. Definitely have all her fave veggies on hand as well as some Oxbow Critical Care (if you can get some) in case you need to force feed. A water bottle or pet warmer pad are a good idea as it’s important to keep her warm.

Ditto Bunnyfriends. I always use the time my bun is at the vet to do a very thorough cage cleaning. Sweep out and scrub everything with a vinegar/water mix. Wash any blankets or mats.

[Starla]

I will have to clean her cage the night before because I’m almost positive that this vet only does surgeries on a day that I have classes :/ Which in ways is a plus because this vet is on the way to my college and I get out of my classes an hour before they close. I do have plenty of clean blankets and towels so I could even get away with changing her blankets and such as soon as I take her home. I do have critical care, I recently bought it so I could have free shipping . My rabbit is under a year old, maybe around 9 months old. So I’m not worry about her age so much. Thank you for your input. I’m excited for her and nervous. 

Tomorrow we have the visit before spay which is a wellness exam and during that I’m going to have them look at a suspicious bump on her stomach that I mentioned in another post. If they think they should remove it during her spay, I hope it doesn’t cause the healing to take much longer. 

She also does horrible at vet appointments so hopefully they are able to check everything they need too tomorrow. Her first vet couldn’t even finish her exam when I went to get her tested for ear mites (which was very hard to test her but we managed too). Hopefully she lets them do everything they need to tomorrow so we can get her spayed asap!

One more thing, I have the 48 inch 3 story leith petwerks condo adobe. I also have a dog exercise pen attached. Should I keep her in the condo or the pen? I’m nervous while climbing up the ramp she may hurt or bump her stitches/wound.

[Aaron]

I just got my Juliet spayed on Monday, and she was miserable for the first 2 days. I would have a clean cage, with hay, water, and food if she wants it. Pain meds are a must, and that cage is great because she gets to move around alot. I really want that cage for my buns!

[Starla]

Thank you!! Was she sleeping after? And did she act normal? My rabbit is usually very social and I don’t know if she will stay social when in pain :/ 

The cage is great but it got so expensive after finding out the shipping cost . I wanted to make my own but since I own a cat who likes climbing up things, I didn’t want the cage I made to not be sturdy enough. My cat doesn’t really care for the rabbit he just loves climbing lol. So it was a must for me to get the cage because of the space and my cat. If you do end up getting one, shipping will be over $100 (just a little advice ahead).

[sarahthegemini]

She probably won’t want to be very social for the first couple of days but she’ll come round. My Buttercup gave me attitude for 2 days and then was back to normal!

Have her favourite foods on hand, and give her a bowl of water as well as a bottle (if you usually use a bottle) Keep a close eye on her but don’t pester her, try to resist the temptation to pet and cuddle her too much. She’ll be feeling very groggy.

Keep her warm and keep an eye on her toilet habits. Expect dodgy poops for a while, it’ll be the anaesthetic and pain meds so don’t panic (unless it’s diarrhoea of course)

[Starla]

The vet said that they don’t send home pain meds, they just inject some before she comes home.
They said they don’t think rabbits need extra pain meds :/
Any recommendations if she is in pain? She is also getting a growth removed as well.

[Azerane]

Ask them if they had surgery to have an organ removed if they would like to have pain meds to take home

It seems to be common practice not to send home rabbits with extra pain meds, Bandit only got the shot at the vet when I had him neutered, but from what I’ve seen female buns tend to recover much more slowly, so definitely push the issue for the welfare of your girl.

[Aaron]

My girl just layed down in her loaf position for 2 days, she did drink, but didn’t eat much. Expect her to be very drowsy looking and basically like she doesn’t feel good. She probably doesnt! After 2-3 days on pain meds, she should be back to normal. And i was at checkout for the cage and i saw the total price and my stomach did flips! I hope your bun recovers from her spay, and remember: dont feel bad. She may look miserable, but this is actually preventing cancer and making her live longer. 2 days is nothing compared to years with you little binky buddy!

[Starla]

That’s why I’m spaying her!! When I felt a lump on her stomach 2 nights ago, my stomach was turning with guilt. Luckily my vet doesn’t think it’s anything to serious but she will have the lump removed when she is spayed! It will make me sad, but I know it’s what is best for my girl. I just can’t imagine her not being so energetic. Luckily they spay everyday of the week so I can pick a day that I won’t have classes so I can get her out of the vet asap (the vet is 20-30 minutes away sadly). She really hates the vet and I’m going to feel bad leaving her there. When I pick her up/drop her off should her carrier have hay in it? Would the hay bother her stitches? Also, I have to bring her food with her to the vet when I drop her off, should I also pack her critical care and her feeder syringe? 

[Vienna Blue in France]

Hi there. You should limit her movements for the first couple of days even a week although she probably won’t feel like doing the Olympic hurdles. Lol. If you can, keep her in the cage, that will be best. or after a week some supervised small area floor time but certainly don’t let her jump up and down into the cage which will stretch her tummy and put pressure on her stitches.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Starla on 2/03/2017 2:25 PM

The vet said that they don’t send home pain meds, they just inject some before she comes home.
They said they don’t think rabbits need extra pain meds :/
Any recommendations if she is in pain? She is also getting a growth removed as well.

My vet said they don’t usually send rabbits home with pain meds either but I could request them when the pain kilker injection wore off if I felt she needed them. I just asked specifically to take some pain killers home right from the start so I’d be prepared immediately rather than waiting for her to be in pain and having to trek back to the vets and leave her hurting for longer! I gave Metacam for 5 days (though she seemed okay after day 3)

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