Hello (finally!)

[emsbuns]

Hi everyone!

I’m Em, and I’m a uni student living in Sydney I’ve been a member of the forum for a little while now but haven’t posted yet. In terms of why – it’s a long story, but basically my first ever bunny, a Netherland Dwarf named Leia, sadly didn’t make it very long with me at all and I was feeling like a complete failure of a pet owner. I was totally crushed with guilt, particularly because she was my first ever pet and I’d been saving up so I could be sure I’d be able to provide everything necessary for a bunny to thrive. My bunny savvy vet (who is wonderful & very qualified) came back with a report that it was a birth defect of sorts, a problem with her gut. This did kind of make sense because she was startlingly tiny and delicate from the get-go, but I still found it difficult to forgive myself and accept that it hadn’t all been my fault.

When I got my new bunny (also a Nethie Dwarf), Astrid, I didn’t want to jump the gun and introduce myself in case something also happened to her – which is maybe a bit paranoid, I know, but I was admittedly a bit anxious! I also avoided commenting on threads for the same reason – despite having researched almost excessively in advance of getting Astrid and having put together several folders of printouts and papers, I just didn’t feel at all qualified to give advice after what happened with Leia.

However, Astrid recently turned 100 days old, has been with us for nearly two months, and she’s doing really well. Very sassy, very clever, and growing quickly! Which is why I’ve come to seek the advice of this wonderful forum – Astrid apparently now weighs enough to be neutered, and is going to the vet on Tuesday. I’ve heard that it’s quite a tough procedure on them and leaves them feeling quite off afterwards, though. I‘m aware I should be prepared to give her critical care and pain medications, but I was just wondering whether anyone has any other tips on how to help the little ones feel a little less horrid after an operation like this? We went for a check-up a couple weeks ago and she’s otherwise very healthy and strong.

Photos of my lovely lady attached! It’s so nice to finally introduce her to you all!

- Em

 

[Jasminebunny]

Hi everyone!

I’m Em, and I’m a uni student living in Sydney I’ve been a member of the forum for a little while now but haven’t posted yet. In terms of why – it’s a long story, but basically my first ever bunny, a Netherland Dwarf named Leia, sadly didn’t make it very long with me at all and I was feeling like a complete failure of a pet owner. I was totally crushed with guilt, particularly because she was my first ever pet and I’d been saving up so I could be sure I’d be able to provide everything necessary for a bunny to thrive. My bunny savvy vet (who is wonderful & very qualified) came back with a report that it was a birth defect of sorts, a problem with her gut. This did kind of make sense because she was startlingly tiny and delicate from the get-go, but I still found it difficult to forgive myself and accept that it hadn’t all been my fault.

When I got my new bunny (also a Nethie Dwarf), Astrid, I didn’t want to jump the gun and introduce myself in case something also happened to her – which is maybe a bit paranoid, I know, but I was admittedly a bit anxious! I also avoided commenting on threads for the same reason – despite having researched almost excessively in advance of getting Astrid and having put together several folders of printouts and papers, I just didn’t feel at all qualified to give advice after what happened with Leia.

However, Astrid recently turned 100 days old, has been with us for nearly two months, and she’s doing really well. Very sassy, very clever, and growing quickly! Which is why I’ve come to seek the advice of this wonderful forum – Astrid apparently now weighs enough to be neutered, and is going to the vet on Tuesday. I’ve heard that it’s quite a tough procedure on them and leaves them feeling quite off afterwards, though. I‘m aware I should be prepared to give her critical care and pain medications, but I was just wondering whether anyone has any other tips on how to help the little ones feel a little less horrid after an operation like this? We went for a check-up a couple weeks ago and she’s otherwise very healthy and strong.

Photos of my lovely lady attached! It’s so nice to finally introduce her to you all!

- Em

Sorry your bun died
I hope your okay!

I love your new bun!

 

[Gelly]

Welcome to the forum! She’s an adorable little bun. You seem really dedicated! I just have a few concerns. You mentioned she’s getting neutered but females don’t get neutered- they get spayed (although it is possible that the term neutered could be used interchangeably). Additionally, she is a bit young to be spayed. 100 days would be 3 months and a week. The earliest I’ve heard a female being spayed is 4 months. However, my vet waits till 6 months because younger rabbits are not as strong at that age. Also, if you had her for 2 months already that would mean you got her at 5 weeks which is far too young for a bunny to leave it’s mamma

 

[emsbuns]

Welcome to the forum! She’s an adorable little bun. You seem really dedicated! I just have a few concerns. You mentioned she’s getting neutered but females don’t get neutered- they get spayed. Additionally, she is a bit young to be neutered. 100 days would be 3 months and a week. The earliest I’ve heard a female being spayed is 4 months. Also, if you had her for 2 months already that would mean you got her at 5 weeks which is far too young for a bunny to leave it’s mamma

Hi! Thank you for the response! You’re completely right to point out the maths – I just checked the dates and I’ve actually had for just over a month (I got her early April) when she was 8 weeks old. It feels like it’s been wayyy longer haha!

I was a bit concerned about how young she was for the operation too, she just feels like a baby to me still but her vet, who apparently does many many of these procedures every year, recommended it based on her weight at the moment too? And super sorry about the incorrect terminology re: neutering / spaying, we just usually refer to it as desexing here but I wanted to use words I’d seen other forum members use

 

[emsbuns]

Sorry your bun died ☹
I hope your okay!

I love your new bun!

Thank you so much ☺

 

[Hermelin]

Welcome to the forume and too bad leia didn’t make it.

I would wait until she got a little bigger and she look really cute.

When you spay make sure to have a lot of different treats/food your bunny love. Most important is for them to start eating. I know my buck only ate wet lemon balm the first day and he didn’t touch water or anything else. While my other buck only wanted banana, but it’s better than nothing and they was used eating it

 

[Jasminebunny]

Thank you so much ☺

I hope you love your new bun.

If you have any questions or need help with anything , ask me I love helping people when I can!

 

[Gelly]

Hi! Thank you for the response! You’re completely right to point out the maths – I just checked the dates and I’ve actually had for just over a month (I got her early April) when she was 8 weeks old. It feels like it’s been wayyy longer haha!

I was a bit concerned about how young she was for the operation too, she just feels like a baby to me still but her vet, who apparently does many many of these procedures every year, recommended it based on her weight at the moment too? And super sorry about the incorrect terminology re: neutering / spaying, we just usually refer to it as desexing here but I wanted to use words I’d seen other forum members use

You’re good, don’t worry about the terms! I think people use them interchangeably here too. I’m most concerned over the age than anything else you mentioned. I don’t know how trusting I would be of a vet that recommends the surgery so young especially when it could be done later. Vets usually wait until sexual maturity. Has she shown signs of that?

 

[emsbuns]

Welcome to the forume and too bad leia didn’t make it.

I would wait until she got a little bigger and she look really cute.

When you spay make sure to have a lot of different treats/food your bunny love. Most important is for them to start eating. I know my buck only ate wet lemon balm the first day and he didn’t touch water or anything else. While my other buck only wanted banana, but it’s better than nothing and they was used eating it

Hahaha I’ve heard many buns only accept fruit and their favourite veggies after surgery! I’ll make sure to have some on hand – how did you deal with your buck refusing water?

 

[emsbuns]

You’re good, don’t worry about the terms! I think people use them interchangeably here too. I’m most concerned over the age than anything else you mentioned. I don’t know how trusting I would be of a vet that recommends the surgery so young especially when it could be done later. Vets usually wait until sexual maturity. Has she shown signs of that?

I’ve definitely noticed she’s been noticeably less good with using her litterboxes lately (she’s been leaving poops all over the place and peed on myself and my sister on separate occasions), despite having been very well litter-trained until like a week or so ago. She’s also been chewing up everything which she again didn’t do before, and digging / burrowing at everything too. I wouldn’t say she’s been particularly aggressive otherwise though, she still likes being petted a lot – the closest thing to aggression would be her chomping at everything no matter how hard it is or how much I tell her to stop (which she used to be much more receptive to). Do you think any of these would constitute sufficient ‘signs’ of sexual maturity?

 

[Hermelin]

Hahaha I’ve heard many buns only accept fruit and their favourite veggies after surgery! I’ll make sure to have some on hand – how did you deal with your buck refusing water?

I made sure he got water from the lemon balm, by wetting the veggies/herbs they will get a bit of water into their system. The reason why bunnies often don’t drink as much water when they eat veggies.

Your girl is showing sexual maturity, myself waited until one of my buck was 2 years until I neutered him. I was going to do it when he was 1 years old but he got GI stasis, so I pushed it forward. He was too small at 6 months so I wanted him to fill out a bit

Your bunny after a spay can act differently than what you are used with and it can take 8 weeks post-spayed until she’s back to normal and the hormones calm down. You will need a set up where she will have to stay and heal, but also keep her out from harms way for example jumping up on stuff and easier for you to monitor her ☺

 

[emsbuns]

I made sure he got water from the lemon balm, by wetting the veggies/herbs they will get a bit of water into their system. The reason why bunnies often don’t drink as much water when they eat veggies.

Your girl is showing sexual maturity, myself waited until one of my buck was 2 years until I neutered him. I was going to do it when he was 1 years old but he got GI stasis, so I pushed it forward. He was too small at 6 months so I wanted him to fill out a bit

Your bunny after a spay can act differently than what you are used with and it can take 8 weeks post-spayed until she’s back to normal and the hormones calm down. You will need a set up where she will have to stay and heal, but also keep her out from harms way for example jumping up on stuff and easier for you to monitor her ☺

That’s very helpful, thanks so much!!

 

[Hermelin]

That’s very helpful, thanks so much!!

When bunnies go through a spay or neuter can be really scary and stressful . I know my own vet told me that if my bunny haven’t started to eat without help, I should bring them in directly and they would take over the care.

Don’t know if other vets will give the same tips and care.

A spay is a lot more dangerous than just a neuter. So I would rather wait until your girl is around 4-6 months until you do the spay. So you can at least introduce a few new foods and learn what she love to eat. So it becomes easier later on to give her food/treats that won’t mess up the stomach too much. Even though she will be a little bossy queen but it will be a little safer for her to grow a bit more and get an even better size

 

[Mehidk]

Welcome to the forum! I just wanted to dropped in to say how beautiful your little bun bun is!

 

[Gelly]

Yes please wait on the spay! I would even venture to say seek out another rabbit vet because I’m nervous that they recommended a spay so early! She’s so cute and she deserves the best care.

 

[Blue eyes]

Just wanted to hop in here to mention that any foods/treats that are offered after surgery should be only those that the rabbit is already used to. It wouldn't be a good idea to introduce new foods during recovery. It also isn't advised to offer too much in the way of sugary treats (fruit) either. Otherwise the gut's bacterial balance can get upset and cause GI issues.

 

[emsbuns]

Welcome to the forum! I just wanted to dropped in to say how beautiful your little bun bun is!

That’s so kind, thank you

 

[emsbuns]

Just wanted to hop in here to mention that any foods/treats that are offered after surgery should be only those that the rabbit is already used to. It wouldn't be a good idea to introduce new foods during recovery. It also isn't advised to offer too much in the way of sugary treats (fruit) either. Otherwise the gut's bacterial balance can get upset and cause GI issues.

Ah okay noted, thank you for the advice!!

 

[emsbuns]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give you an update because I’m super appreciative of everyone’s concern and advice.

I gave the vets a ring and asked about Astrid’s desexing and whether she might be too young still – the nurse checked her file from her last check-up with our vet and it turns out our vet had actually recommended on file that she return for her desexing in July, when she would be 5 months old.

I think there might have been a slight miscommunication re: the weight – I believe what they meant was if she happened to be under the recommended weight when she came back in July, they wouldn’t operate even if she was technically “of age”. When we went for that last check-up the vets had instituted contactless hand-off and phone-debriefing because of distancing laws, so I think somewhere along the line there might have been a bit of a misunderstanding. There could definitely be fault on my part there too. I think that if I’d actually gone in with Astrid tomorrow, it’s very possible that the vet would have sent us back after arranging a new date.

I’ve rescheduled her spay for July. Thank you again for all your advice, I probably wouldn’t have called to double-check the dates if it weren’t for you all pointing it out! I’m very grateful. Astrid says thank you everyone!

 

[Mac189]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give you an update because I’m super appreciative of everyone’s concern and advice.

I gave the vets a ring and asked about Astrid’s desexing and whether she might be too young still – the nurse checked her file from her last check-up with our vet and it turns out our vet had actually recommended on file that she return for her desexing in July, when she would be 5 months old.

I think there might have been a slight miscommunication re: the weight – I believe what they meant was if she happened to be under the recommended weight when she came back in July, they wouldn’t operate even if she was technically “of age”. When we went for that last check-up the vets had instituted contactless hand-off and phone-debriefing because of distancing laws, so I think somewhere along the line there might have been a bit of a misunderstanding. There could definitely be fault on my part there too. I think that if I’d actually gone in with Astrid tomorrow, it’s very possible that the vet would have sent us back after arranging a new date.

I’ve rescheduled her spay for July. Thank you again for all your advice, I probably wouldn’t have called to double-check the dates if it weren’t for you all pointing it out! I’m very grateful. Astrid says thank you everyone!

That's wonderful! Also welcome to the forum, your little Astrid is so darling and it sounds like she's found a very attentive home in you!