I've changed my mind - Toby is going in for neutering Monday

[kirbyultra]

Last week at this time I decided not to neuter Toby (about 17 weeks old) until he was olderbecause he wasn't a danger to himself, but in the last 48-72 hours the hormones must have kicked in. He's become warp-speed hyperactive, he's poking his nose through the pen (I'm afraid he might hurt his face) and he nips at Kirby every chance he gets (this can't be good for future bonding). Kirby doesn't seem to like him at all at this point, he seems pretty scared of him. And Toby is chewing at the gates non stop - I don't think it is good for his teeth if he keeps chewing away at something that is not going to succumb to his teeth.

Every morning I wake up to see a one-sided poop war, some pulled out black fur (belonging to Kirby). Kirby just sits on his of the fence looking kind of sad. Toby is also shuffling his litter box, throwing litter and poop out. It's getting to be a bit much.

I'm afraid of what else he might do. I used to be able to pick him up and put him down with little effort. Now when I go to put him on the floor he *always* jumps out and it looks like he might get himself hurt every time. I have decided for the sake of his safety and my sanity as well as Kirby's to take him in. We're going Monday. Sigh... I am worried though. He's my bitty baby. :nerves1

Are there things I should prepare? Anything I should know about in particular or any questions I should ask my vet? I'm not the one going in with Toby tomorrow. It'll be my husband and he will need to know every shred of detail necessary as, well, I'm usually the one who takes care of the bunnies. Toby will go in the morning and come home in the afternoon. The vet is rabbit-savvy.

 

[Flashy]

Aw, good luck!

Always get some painkillers for after.

I wrote an article about spaying and netuering and before, during and after, and I think I posted it on one of Elena's threads (irishlops). I can't paste it here because i don't have the article on this comp. Might be worth searching though.

 

[Flashy]

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=43744&forum_id=16

It's on this page someway down

 

[kirbyultra]

Thanks Flashy! I did a word search on the forum for "neutering" and got a flood of results back... I was hoping to have two more months to do some research but now it is happening tomorrow -- eek! Thank you!

 

[kirbyultra]

Just finished reading - I'm taking notes down for my husband! It's a great guideline. Thanks so much!

The one thing I am not concerned about is the level of care my bunny will get. My vet is somewhat of an expert in her field on rabbits and she comes recommended by the HRS website. So at least I don't have to stress about that.

I still hope my little Toby will be ok and not in too much pain! We'll see how it goes tomorrow!

 

[anneq]

Sounds like your bunny is in good hands - and it will be nice when he starts to calm down a bit from those raging hormones, lol.
I had my 4mos.old neutered a couple weeks ago and he's starting to calm down...he did try to kick his dad's butt a couple days ago, and Sam just gave him the look of, 'sonny, you don't wanna be messing with me' look and nipped him on his flanks, lol. So funny, since both of my males (Samwise & Thumper) are the most laid-back of my crew, and also the most affectionate.

 

[Jess4921]

Good luck with getting him fixed! Im sure he'll be just fine- getting them nuetered is pretty simple and non-invasive. And trust me... Youll be glad you went through with it once its over with. My almost-6-year-old bunny Smudge was fixed about a month ago, and it went great even though hes a little older.

 

[kirbyultra]

Thanks everyone. Today is the day. Please keep us in your thoughts. I am so nervous!!

 

[kirbyultra]

My husband left the vets office with questions so the vet called me back to address my fears.
I found out that she will be doing the scrotal incisions and using internal sutures and vet glue to seal it up. Toby will get a pain med injection at the office and be sent home with metacam. That sounds pretty satisfactory to me. Now I can breathe a bit easier knowing more about what's happening. It's an awful Monday morning at work too. I'm just a mess.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Big hugs, Helen :hug:

Just keep him from doing any running/jumping, and you should be golden. He'll probably be a bit dopey when he comes home.

You'll know when his drugs run out... He'll look a bit off.

Will be thinking of you... spoil Toby silly!

 

[kirbyultra]

Wheeee! They called and left a voicemail. Toby is up and hopping. The neuter went fine.

 

[Flashy]

That's brilliant

 

[anneq]

Wonderful news!

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

So glad to hear he's doing okay :highfive:

I remember how relieved I was to get that phone call with both of mine..such a relief..makes everything after much more bearable. Dont forget to spoil him!

 

[Jess4921]

Thats awesome news!
Its good that he has Metacam, but are they sending any antibiotics home? If not, you may wanna ask for some

 

[kirbyultra]

Jess4921 wrote:

Thats awesome news!
Its good that he has Metacam, but are they sending any antibiotics home? If not, you may wanna ask for some

No, they said antibiotics would not be necessary. The vet seems extremely confident and she said Toby was a perfect little patient, so keeping my fingers crossed.

My problem now: I got sent home with metacam. 0.2 ml twice a day. Oh man, twice a day... I don't know what to do now. Toby has never had *any* treats - I wouldn't allow any because I wanted him to eat more hay and alfalfa pellets for healthy weight gain. Now I kind of cornered myself. I only started to give him a few tiny pieces of romaine about a week ago (started off with 1 tiny piece the size of a saltine cracker, increased to 3-5 pieces of the same size). But that's all he eats. With my other bun, I can mix in his meds in some pumpkin but can I do the same with Toby?? Toby's never had canned pumpkin before. I'm not sure if now would be a prudent time to introduce a new food. Otherwise my only other choices are to try to make his pellets a slurry (which I'm not sure he'd find appetizing) or to grab him up in a bunny burrito and force feed with a syringe... I'm sure the latter would not only stress him but probably hurt. He would sure hop more than necessary trying to avoid me.

What should I do...

I am *so* thankful that he is ok, though. He is hopping around to visit the litter box (he's pooped several times already and he's only been home for an hour). He ate a few bites of hay but he hasn't touched his romaine pieces (which he usually leaps at) nor his pellets. . No water either. Sigh I have to start his Metacam tonight.

Do I have to refrigerate metacam, btw?

 

[kirbyultra]

NorthernAutumn wrote:

Big hugs, Helen :hug:

Just keep him from doing any running/jumping, and you should be golden. He'll probably be a bit dopey when he comes home.

You'll know when his drugs run out... He'll look a bit off.

Will be thinking of you... spoil Toby silly!

Thanks Autumn!! And thank you to everyone else's support too!!! I've been a wreck since Saturday. Had such a mad migraine all day today and it was a really awful day at work too. But to see my Toby safe and sound, I feel much better now.

I will spoil Toby like crazy once he gets normal enough to enjoy things :biggrin2:

 

[Maureen Las]

Most rabbits like the taste of metacam and they will let you give it per syringe without a problem
also you don't need to refrigerate it
if he won't take it willing you could mix it with a piece of banana or

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15552&forum_id=10

 

[kirbyultra]

Update:
Toby is periodically eating a few bites of hay. He slurped some water before. He hasn't touched his pellet crock.

I pawned off half of the metacam by squirting it onto some of Kirby's timmy pellets (he likes Kirby's timmy pellets over his alfalfa ones...grass must be greener on the other side) and feeding the pellets to him one by one, drop by drop of metacam. Then I was able to get him to take another small squirt by putting it inside of half of a craisin.

He wouldn't have anymore, then I picked him up by putting a little pressure on his thighs and scooping him into a little hay lounger lined with a towel. I put him on the table and took off the little wrap he had on his right leg which they said held his catheter in place. There was a bit of dried blood on the bandage that held the catheter, and it didn't look like fresh blood at all. Then I syringe fed him the other half of the metacam. It was quick and painless.

Poor little guy looks so droopy. He is just basically mopey and dopey tonight. He's eaten a bit, pooped and peed, and drank water so far. It's as well as I could hope.

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

angieluv wrote:

Most rabbits like the taste of metacam and they will let you give it per syringe without a problem

Spirit and Shadow both loved the taste of the metacam and Iwas shocked..I gave it to them in the syringe through the bars..they made it very easy for me to admininster it..I just pushed it little by little as they licked it..its odd to because that stuff stinks and does not smell at all appetizing!! And the zithromax that they were on that was sweetened and fruity and good smelling they wouldnt touch! I had to gather them up into a bunny burrito and do it the hard way lol..How backwards is that..It was the same with the banana smelling tetracycline to.. Spirit wouldnt touch it.

I'm sure his appetite will come back to normal soon..hes just had a really long hard day ( probally the longest hardest one of his life thus far )..Shadow wouldnt even take a piece of banana until way later that night when he first came home..and that is not like him at all..but soon after he was up and eating everything the same as usual and all my worries faded away quickly as I'm sure yours will also

Give him get well hugs from me :biggrin2:<3<3<3