Bunny struggling in cone

[Orrac1e]

Hi all,

I've only posted once before when i first got my bunny, Binky, at 2 months, she is now approx 9 months, and we just got her spayed after she started pulling out fur from a false pregnancy (definitely not pregnant as she's our only baby)

So to get to the point, she has been licking the wound raw, and the vet put her in the cone (of shame), as well as some baytril to prevent infection, but the problem is she HATES the cone, and the struggling is very worrying. The collar firstly feels a little too big for her. Shes a ND and i've tied the ribbon as tight as i would dare too, but she is still managing to get half way out of it, getting it stuck over her eyes. Which worries me that she may get strangled/caught somewhere in the night when i can't watch her.

Currently i've taken her off the cone and limited her running space to where i can see her. Trying to get her to eat/drink as much as possible now before i put on the cone and retire for the night. Does anyone have any advice? Or maybe an alternative? I'm feeling kinda helpless at the moment, she is a super happy little bunny most of the time, Its a little painful to watch her dragging her head around with the collar as she knocks into things and cant eat/drink. She put her entire head into the water bowl to sleep and the poor thing had no idea it was her water bowl!

Ps: She is still eating/drinking fine, eating lots of hay, still excited about treats, although she seems to be avoiding her pellets... it is possible to get GI from not eating through the night? Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any help!

Thanks!
Lorraine

 

[JBun]

It's definitely possible for a rabbit to get GI problems if it stops eating, which is one reason I really hate collars for rabbits. It makes it difficult for them to eat, they can't reach down to their butt to eat their cecotropes, which is essential nutrition for them, and it can make some rabbits depressed and cause them to go off their food and develop GI stasis. So I really prefer to try other methods to prevent a rabbit from messing with it's incision, instead of a collar, if at all possible. Do you know what vet wrap is? It's a self clinging bandage wrap used for people and animals. If you can get some of that where you are, I think that wrapping her belly with that may work better. Place a gauze pad over the incision site first, then wrap the bandage snug enough but not too tight, and not around the chest at all. You don't want to restrict blood flow or breathing. You can see on this blog, how their rabbit was wrapped after the neuter surgery. Just keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't start chewing on the bandage.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f18/arizona-lion-giants-blog-72663/index2.html

 

[Orrac1e]

Hi JBun! Thanks a lot for your response. Yes the gauze would seem like such a better idea than the cone! I wonder why vets don't use that. I think i know the gauze you are talking about but i don't know where i can find it though, i'm sure the vet will have it but hopefully they will sell it to me. Do you think the normal cloth ones would work? And also how often would you need to change it?

I don't know what to do for the rest of the night, i don't want to put the cone back on as she is REALLY resisting it, and i hate how much its stressing her. I'll skipping school tomorrow to watch her.. she's already been back to the vet 3 times since her surgery, so the vet said this was the only way... Thanks so much for the link, it has been really helpful, i don't think i can keep the collar on for even a day more let alone a week as the vet has directed >.<

 

[Watermelons]

You can try giving her some 100% supervised time with the cone off.

Its best to not wrap in the incision as you want it to breathe. If shes licking the incision shes probably just as likely to chew at the bandage material and we really dont want that to cause issues. However "pants" of some sort may be a better option. Prevent licking, still chewable, but looser fitting and allows for air flow.

But if youre looking for something to put on her at night, where you wont be watching her, again thats tough because you wont be able to watch her to see if shes going to chew it and cause more harm.

 

[JBun]

You don't want to use the soft gauze, as it will be harder to keep on and easier to chew. You want this self clinging vet wrap, or the human version here in the US is called Coban. You may be able to find a roll of it at the vet, pharmacy, or a medical supply. The human version may be a skin color. It's not to be confused with an elastic bandage. This is similar, and for a similar use, but is disposable, and the end adheres to itself when finished wrapping. Just make sure to not wrap it too tight, and keep checking the incision each day to make sure there is no infection or swelling.

 

[HolyHandGrenade]

I wish they made a way to put the cone on upside down, kinda, so that bunnies wouldn't have that thing around their head, but the "skirt" would make it harder for them to lick tummy incisions...but maybe still be able to reach to eat cecals. Monty was miserable in her collar, but she got used to it. She still tried to groom with it on, so she just ended up crinkling it all over her head. I gave her supervised hops in the kitchen without it on, and was able to distract her with a bowl of food in my lap to be able to slip it back on. I'm sorry that's probably not helping with your question. I'm shuddering at the memory of poor Monty in hers, but I was terrified to leave it off after she had to get her internal sutures redone.

 

[Imbrium]

Its best to not wrap in the incision as you want it to breathe. If shes licking the incision shes probably just as likely to chew at the bandage material and we really dont want that to cause issues.

my vet said that putting a gauze pad over the incision and then wrapping "no chew" vet wrap around Nala's midsection to hold the gauze in place when she kept licking her incision was just fine for a day or two (and after that to take it off and see if she'd leave the area alone once it was a little less fresh, which she did). the key is to use the "no chew" stuff - if your vet doesn't have it, do you have feed stores (places that would sell horse supplies) over there? I've seen no-chew vet wrap at the feed store before.

 

[Watermelons]

Nothing about vet wrap is "no chew" if a rabbit wants at it or wants whats under it, they will chew it, regardless of its taste. My 2 love the bitter taste of "no chew" products. You cant guarantee any bunny will abide by package directions on anything.

You should be able to cut the cone slightly shorter so she can still reach hay with it on.. or use an inflatable cone. Keep her distracted, etc.

If she is only wearing the cone at night and you feed her before bed and after, she will be fine.

Also as you said, "running space"... Dont offer her "running space" she should be limited as to how much activity she does so she will heal properly. So no running or jumping.

 

[Orrac1e]

Hi everyone, thank you for the replies and different views, i wonder if a tiny shirt for bunnies would be of any help? I put her back on the cone last night but had to wake every few hours to check.. and almost everytime she managed to get it stuck up to her eyes... and she will have to wear it for a week more X_x

I have her confined to her cage at the moment to monitor her, but she's used to having the entire bathroom to herself and the boredom seems to be causing her to groom herself a lot more often than usual. I appreciate all the replies, i saw a breeder selling what looked like small shirts for bunnies, will try and see if they have sizes small enough that i can try out temporarily. For now i'm still watching her like a hawk! Thanks again all!

 

[Imbrium]

I was under the impression that "no chew" had more to do with it holding up to any attempts to chew through it than any sort of taste/deterrent it might possess. I know Nala wasn't able to do anything about the wrap I had on her after her spay... and it was infinitely less stressful than a cone of shame.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We've never used the cone more than 4 days. Good luck.

 

[tonyshuman]

Some people have used shirts for bunnies in this situation. Either dog clothes or baby clothes, or even a modified sock (depending on bunny size and your foot's size).

 

[Geoff]

I have spayed well over 1000 rabbits so far and have yet had a bunny lick their incision enough to be a problem. I never leave external sutures, though, which I think is one of the reasons I have lucked out so far. I find cones a miserable torture as well for rabbits and do as much as possible to keep them from having to wear them (so far, so good- no rabbits in cones for over 25 years!). I have had a few need a tube collar, though, when I have done foot surgery or had to have some external sutures elsewhere (bunnies LOVE to chew their sutures!)... tube collars are much better tolerated, but really require an exact fitting, as rabbit dislike anything tight around their neck, even if they can still eat well and get around OK. Bandaging wounds has worked well if the wounds are bandagable (if that is a word). .. but an abdominal incision would a really tough one to bandage effectively. 'Yuk' is a horrific tasting material that is very effective in dogs and cats as a lick deterent, but I have not tried it on rabbits yet (do NOT get it on your own fingers- it is horrible, and nearly impossible to get the taste off your hands for weeks!).

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=37816&forum_id=16&msg=2

I found an old thread on how to make a soft e-collar; it worked well for this rabbit!

 

[HolyHandGrenade]

I have spayed well over 1000 rabbits so far and have yet had a bunny lick their incision enough to be a problem. I never leave external sutures, though, which I think is one of the reasons I have lucked out so far. I find cones a miserable torture as well for rabbits and do as much as possible to keep them from having to wear them (so far, so good- no rabbits in cones for over 25 years!). I have had a few need a tube collar, though, when I have done foot surgery or had to have some external sutures elsewhere (bunnies LOVE to chew their sutures!)... tube collars are much better tolerated, but really require an exact fitting, as rabbit dislike anything tight around their neck, even if they can still eat well and get around OK. Bandaging wounds has worked well if the wounds are bandagable (if that is a word). .. but an abdominal incision would a really tough one to bandage effectively. 'Yuk' is a horrific tasting material that is very effective in dogs and cats as a lick deterent, but I have not tried it on rabbits yet (do NOT get it on your own fingers- it is horrible, and nearly impossible to get the taste off your hands for weeks!).

Monty chewed hers, and it was all internal sutures so I'm not sure why. She almost got through the abdominal wall and had the start of an infection by the time I saw that about 3/4" of her incision was open. I guess she's not the norm

 

[tonyshuman]

Is the tube collar like what Angieluv posted, or like the inflatable "donut" collars I see at the store for dogs and cats?