No pellets before surgery?

[luna21]

I was told Gizz can only have hay this morning and no pellets, he's not eating that much hay, should I still feed him pellets just in case? I any case, I know that you cannot fast a rabbit prior to surgery so I'm kind of curious in a nervous way why the vet said to avoid pellets, I tried to look it up in the forum library but cannot find it. We leave in about an hour so I hope someone will be able to help before im gone, thanks

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

never not feed a rabbit before surgery, good for you for feeding him anyway. I would be worried about a vet that told me to fast a rabbit before surgery? is this a rabbit savy vet?

 

[elrohwen]

I agree - rabbits *should* eat before surgery. Unlike dogs and cats they cannot throw up, so eating before surgery is not an issue. They need the food in there to keep their gut moving.

If the front desk told you this it could be a case of uneducated employees. If the vet told you this, I would make sure he's as knowledgeable as he claims.

 

[luna21]

The vet seemed to be rabbit savvy, so I am guessing its the receptionist. I did go ahead and give him his routine morning feed( and I do feel much better about it) , he didn't eat the full bowl of pellets but had a good portion and some hay. I am now waiting anxiously to see how it went, I was told to phone in around 2pm to see when we could pick him up.

 

[Bunny parents]

elrohwen wrote :

If the front desk told you this it could be a case of uneducated employees. If the vet told you this, I would make sure he's as knowledgeable as he claims

:shock:........The vet we went to see said the same. We asked him about spaying our girl. He suggested us to wait until she'll be about 6-7 months old. I asked him if there's any pre-operation care I need to do and he told me to feed my bunny only hay, without pellets, on the operation day :expressionless Well, could this mean that he's not that knowledgeable ?

 

[Bunny parents]

luna21 wrote:

The vet seemed to be rabbit savvy, so I am guessing its the receptionist. I did go ahead and give him his routine morning feed( and I do feel much better about it) , he didn't eat the full bowl of pellets but had a good portion and some hay. I am now waiting anxiously to see how it went, I was told to phone in around 2pm to see when we could pick him up.

Hey Luna21, so you fed him normally ? When it my girl's turn, what should I do ? Please post an update how the operation went I'm a new bunny mommy and I'm freaking out about my vet now.:lookaround

 

[jujub793]

you should feed your bunny as usual

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

Bunny parents wrote:

luna21 wrote:

The vet seemed to be rabbit savvy, so I am guessing its the receptionist. I did go ahead and give him his routine morning feed( and I do feel much better about it) , he didn't eat the full bowl of pellets but had a good portion and some hay. I am now waiting anxiously to see how it went, I was told to phone in around 2pm to see when we could pick him up.

Hey Luna21, so you fed him normally ? When it my girl's turn, what should I do ? Please post an update how the operation went I'm a new bunny mommy and I'm freaking out about my vet now.:lookaround

you should always feed your rabbit as normal, NEVER, EVER keep food from them.

whenever i took any of my rabbits to be fixed I fed them as normal and packed a lunch with pellets, veggies and hay to be offered to them IMMEDIATELY after surgery.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I actually can see where both vets are coming from, with keeping the rabbits on hay and not pellets before the surgery. This would not be fasting, as hay (fiber) is what keeps the gut moving.

 

[luna21]

Hey all, Gizzy did well and he ate a little in recovery. He has already pood and is resting as we speak, we were given a cone to prevent him from licking but I don't really like using it because he can't eat or drink with it on. We were told to keep it on him for 7-10 days, anyone else have any suggestions?? is the cone really necessary ?

 

[tonyshuman]

Not happy with your vet. Rabbits + cones = disaster. Take the cone off and if he does mess with the surgical area, you can make a soft collar that he can still drink and eat with. Also, the withholding food thing was just plain wrong as well.

 

[luna21]

They told me to put it on when we got home, I did for like 5 min and refuse to do so again, he needs to be able to eat otherwise he will go into stasis. I'm not impressed either but i have been doing what I feel is best for Gizmo and not what the vet wants. They gave me pain meds (Metacam) as well to be given once a day X4 days, he has been very sleepy since we got home, I would like to push him to eat and i was thinking maybe a pellet slurry but not sure how to make it. I believe i read its 1 part pellets and two parts water, is that right??

 

[elrohwen]

If he ate a little in recovery, I would wait to see if he eats on his own. It's perfectly normal for them to be off their food for a few hours after surgery and force feeding him might be too traumatic right now. Give him another 12 hours and if he doesn't eat on his own, consider giving him a pellet slurry. It doesn't matter so much what the ratio of water to pellets is, as long as you can get it through the syringe and it is wet enough to keep him hydrated.

 

[luna21]

Ok, I'll wait it out, I'm new at this surgery stuff so I feel a little lost. Thanks for the advice:hug:

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

i had a cone on my female, cause she pulled out her stitches and i had to take her back. I put it on at night when i wasnt around to watch her, she did ok with it