Brandy is now spayed, but...

[babybug74]

Yesterday, 1/09/07, my husband dropped off our new mini-lop girl, Brandy at the Animal Clinic to get her spaying surgery. I know that spaying is major surgery for girl bunns, but I figure if it's going to prevent her from getting uterine cancer, then it's worth it.

The vet we brought her to is awesome with rabbits. He really knows his stuff, and good rabbit vets are hard to find here in Hawaii! He called my husband after Brandy's spaying and told her that she's doing fine. He prescribed Metacam twice daily, for 3 days (for the pain) and just said that it is important for Brandy to be eating something by today. He also said to call him if the incision looks infected or swollen.

When I got Brandy home last night, she seemed a little grumpier than usual.:X She was just sitting hunched up in a ball in the corner of her cage. I put some hay, pellets, & fresh veggies in the cage with her in hopes that she would want to eat, but no luck.

This morning I caught her taking small bites of lettuce and celery, and some hay, but I have noticed that she hasn't touched her water, and there are just a few droppings in her litterbox. I gave her the metacam this morning (yah, that was a real joy), and I tried to look at the incision, but she wouldn't let me.

I know this post is long, and I am sorry, but I would like to hear your rabbit spay experiences. What should I expect, is Brandy behaving normally after her spay, etc.? When can I expect her to return to her normal self and all that? Thank you in advance for sharing your information!

 

[naturestee]

So she is eating and pooping a little?That's good. Some rabbits take longer than others to get back to their normal selves. I've had three girls spayed, and one refused to eat for several days unless I held her food for her, then went on a hunger strike until I let her out of her cage against the vet's orders. She still moved like she was very sore. Yeah, she's a spoiled princess. The other two, sisters spayed at the same time, recovered their appetites about a day after the surgery (but started eating a little immediately after getting home) and were doing crazy binkies by day 4.

One trick I've learned is to use a piece of veggie or a treat to get the rabbit to stand up with her paws on the cage wall. That way you can take a quick peek at her belly without making her upset by picking her up.

Also, when you give her the metacam make sure she's eaten just before it. Metacam can upset their stomachs but having food in there usually helps.

 

[babybug74]

Thanks for the tip on making sure that metacam isn't given on an empty stomach. I will remember that when I give her the next dose tonight. Also, I will try holding a treat to get Brandy to stand up...hopefully that'll work and I'll get to see what the incision looks like.

 

[aurora369]

When I got Wildfire spayed, I was concerned about giving her metacam on an empty tummy, so I gave her a syringe full of pellet slurry first.

It took her a few days to start eating with her normal gusto, and looked so miserable for the first little while. So I gave her a syringe of pellet slurry for a few days till her appetite picked up on her own.

--Dawn

 

[babybug74]

hi dawn...

not meaning to sound ignorant, but what's pellet slurry?would you be able to tell me how to make it? also, where can i get some syringes? the syringes that i use for the metacam seem to be really thin and good for only liquids. Thanks in advance!

 

[naturestee]

A pellet slurry is made by grinding up the pellets very finely and adding water to make a thin mash that can be fed via syringe. I use baby medicine syringes from Walmart. You can also use baby animal feeding syringes from pet stores.

When I had to give Metacam, I just gave Fey a few veggies before I gave her the meds. I also mixed it in a little canned pumpkin,which is a favorite treat for her, because the she'd lick it off a spoon instead of having to be force-fed. She had been neglected and wasn't used to being handled much, so I preferred not to stress her too much.

 

[aurora369]

The problem with Wildfire was that she wasn't tempted by anything. She turned up her nose at the whole pile of lovely things I put in for her. So the only way I could get anything in her was with a syringe.

And she's really good at being handled, so syringe feeding wasn't such a big issue.

--Dawn