Post Spay

[ams1786]

Hi - just had rabbit spayed today and really need some feedback. Brought her home around five and she was pretty dazed but she ate a pinch of oats out of my hand and a small grape. Throughout the night she's eaten a leaf of romaine and drank some water and nosed through her food bowl but no bathroom events yet, though I guess it's good she ate anything. I'm starting to get worried though as throughout the night she's been very lethargic. I know they warn that they'll be sleepy but for several hours she has just sat in the same corner of the cage not moving or responding. She doesn't respond if I pet her or most times to any treats. Her little nose isn't even twitching and her eyes are half closed, which she never does when sleeping. I've left her alone to rest but I just wanted to check in and make sure such ditziness is normal - cant help but worry! Any responses greatly appreciated!!

 

[erinmoveit]

I am in no way an expert or a voice of authority.. but I want you to have some response. From my experience with two spays and a neuter is that every bun acts differently. My male bounced right back like nothing had happened and I was stressed trying to keep him from moving too much and pulling his stitches. My females - one was "lethargic", kind of sat in the corner wondering what had happened to her and the other bounced right back. I think as long as the incision looks clean, there isn't anything coming from their eyes or nose she should be fine. She IS eating, even if it is a little. If she goes on a complete hunger strike, then that would be a concern.

 

[mochajoe]

I am not an expert either, however, I did work at a vet clinic for a year...and as Erinmoveit said, every bunny reacts differently to anesthesia and pain differently...just like people do. Secondly, spays are far more invasive than neuters, which in term makes bouncing back take longer! The fact that she did eat a little is very good, some animals will go a day or do without eating. Again, like Erinmoveit said, if her incision looks good...that'a the biggie! My guess is she will continue to perk up and return to herself very soon! Keep us posted!!! In my thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery!!!

 

[agnesthelion]

Has she peed or pooped at all? That would be the concern. If she isnt peeing or pooping at all, that's when it can get dangerous.
My female didnt move much the first day. In fact, she is littertained but she just peed right where she sat. So the fact that she isnt moving much isn't that unusual.
Try to syringe some pumpkin or get her to eat some hay. If there is still no poop I would encourage a vet visit. If bunny's digestive system shuts down for too long that's when things become a concern.
Best of luck!

 

[Watermelons]

How is she this morning?

 

[ams1786]

Hi,

She was a bit more active this morning - as in she groomed herself a bit - but didnt really move from her spot. I got her to eat a grape and a piece of lettuce and found two mushy poops. Fell asleep because I had been up most of the night and then just went down again - she's still sitting in the same position. Didn't eat or drink anything. The vet wants to see her again so she's going back around four. I am beside myself. I just feel that something's off with her and can't stand to see her in pain. I'm also frustrated that the vet didnt send us home with any pain management even though they're supposed to be quite good - they said the in-office metacam would be enough. I can't imagine a car ride and vet visit would be good for her. I just feel sick right now and don't know what to do.

 

[Watermelons]

she ate something which is good. If I just had my innards ripped out I wouldn't be too keen on doing anything nevermind eating.
It would be nice to get some pain control into her, and I imagine if you keep encouraging her to eat and drink as she recovers she should be just fine.

 

[tonyshuman]

She definitely should have had additional pain meds. Metacam doesn't last that long in the system--that's why it's typically given every 12hrs. Giving more doesn't just make it stick around longer--mostly it can lead to overdose issues. I hope she isn't having long-lasting issues from the anesthetic drugs and that it is pain. It is strange to me that she'd be so unresponsive after coming out of anesthesia. Usually, they should be responsive and mobile within a few hours. Since she did move some, that is encouraging.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We only had one, a male, that needed to be "fed". Once he had a little bit of "critical care" he snapped right out of it. Sending our thoughts and prayers.

 

[Sweetie]

Claire: metacam is given once every 24 hours, buprenex is given every 12 hours.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Claire: metacam is given once every 24 hours, buprenex is given every 12 hours.

Agreed. Also, at this point, even if you don't feel a trip to the vet would be good on the bunny, at least call and get their oppinion. There's a good chance they'll let you pick up the Metacam; though they may say they want to see her to make sure nothing is too wrong. But a call is always free and no stress on bunny, so I think that's a good starting point.

 

[ams1786]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. We took her to the vet and shes on metacam (vet said every 12 hours) and had sub q fluids. She is still very grumpy and mad and intermittently goes in sore bunny meatloaf position but she's eating a some, if not enough (lots of hay) and going to the bathroom a lot. We gave her one forced feeding of critical care last night and, while she's still picky, she hates it so much that I'd like to avoid it if she's eating some on her own (is that okay?). She's definitely still uncomfortable but she absolutely insisted on coming out so I let her and she's been running around a bit, if gingerly. I didn't mean to let her out but I left the door open for a sec earlier and found her inside a grocery bag on the other side of the room - she played for half an hour and I forced her back inside when she went into meatloaf In the middle of the floor. Tonight when I went to say goodnight she grabbed the cage door in her teeth and shook it like crazy until I let her out, which she never does - and now she won't go back. She's still out of it and a bit freaked and mad at me, but definitely better than yesterday. I even saw a quick flop or two.

I did have a few quick questions though if anyone could help.

1. I've been mixing her pellets with oats to get her to eat them. She tries to pick them out but can't help but some pellets. How much oats can she have/are there any bad effects besides fatness? They're her favorite and I really think they're helping.

2. If she's eating hay and a few pieces of veggies can we drop the critical care? Half of it ended up on me and the other half on her face (which she had to lick off...)

3. She's not drinking, at least not a lot. Maybe half a centimeter from her water bottle since yesterday. I've been drenching her veggies but she's not eating a ton of them - two pieces of kale and some lettuce today. She had sub q around 4:30 yesterday and she peed half an hour ago. I've tried tap water, spring water, a bowl, and mixing in apple juice but she's not that into it. Is it anything to worry about? Could the sub q have filled her up?

4. Incision - what on earth is it supposed to look like? Yesterday the vet said her incision was fine and she didnt seem to be bothering it and I've only seen her go down there for cecals (I think). I just looked and it didnt look so great but I don't have a stomach for these things - there was some dark red (i think blood) and maybe a little bit of weeping (or just white skin) but I touched it and it was dry. I can't get a very good look because she FLIPS whenever she thinks I'm trying. When I touched it she flicked her legs at me and hid under the dishwasher. Does that sound normal? I don't know what they mean by redness and I can't find any pictures of good/bad.

Sorry for all the questions - any help would be great!

 

[ams1786]

Update: Tried to get her back in her cage and she randomly froze and then ran off and thumped at me (which she NEVER does - twice in seven months) and ran off under the dishwasher again. Could that be a sign of pain or is she just super alert and/or mad at me/a little tipsy from the meds since I didn't hear anything? The only thing I can think is she accidentally scraped off some of my nail polish with her teeth and didnt like the taste...When I got her back in her cage she attacked her food and let me feel around her tummy - the scar is definitely dry (sorry to be gross) and not warm so I don't think it was anything terrible that happened.

Sorry for the bajillion questions!!

 

[JBun]

You want to be really careful about letting her run around. Remember there are internal stitches inside her that something could happen to if she becomes too active. It would probably be best to keep her confined for at least a few more days, even if she doesn't like it, just to give the incision more time to heal. After all, this is a pretty major surgery for an animal to be having. With checking her incision site, you are looking for signs that she is chewing on it and it is starting to open up, or that it is becoming infected, and that would be the same kind of things you would look for if you had a cut on your skin, increasing redness and heat from the wound.

You don't want to feed a lot of oats as it can upset a rabbits digestion to suddenly start feeding a bunch of carbs. Mixing in a pinch of oats should be enough to help encourage pellet eating, but as long as she is eating plenty of hay then it won't hurt anything for her to go a few days without pellets. Pellets tend to be the last food they go back to after a spay or digestive upset. You would probably be fine not giving the critical care either, as long as she seems to be eating a good amount of hay. Critical care is more for when a rabbit isn't eating or isn't eating hardly anything.

I would think the benefits of the sub q fluids would have worn off by now, so she should be drinking. You mentioned that she is drinking out of a bottle. Try giving her a water dish to drink out of. It's easier for them to drink out of so they tend to drink more from a dish. If she still won't drink much out of the dish then you may need to syringe her some water. Just be careful to not give it to her too quickly so that she doesn't aspirate any of it.

 

[Ape337]

:yeahthat: Yes, you really need to keep her strictly confined for the length of time the vet requires. Especially since she's doped up on pain meds. She could do herself some harm since the pain is mimimalized by the meds. My vet said to keep my girl Faith confined for 10-14 days when she was spayed. I got the stink eye but I confined her for every bit of 14 days. This is longer than most vets require btw which is why I said to follow your vets instructions. I figured it was 2 short weeks in the lifetime of my rabbit so I was willing to get hate from Faith, lol. I've heard too many cases of bunnies being rushed back to the vet right after major surgery because they ripped out the stitches when the owner felt sorry for locking up their bunny (not saying this is your case).

Out of curiosity, what flavor is the critical care? When my Freckles got sick the vet syringed him anise flavor and he fought her like crazy! He HATED it! When I got him home I did the same, got CC all over him and me, and eventually he just sat there with his mouth open letting it fall out. It was horrible! So I found apple-banana flavored and he went nuts! Since he started ripping the syringe out of my hands I put it on a dish and he gobbled it. It's a thought. So I got wise and every once in a while I feed all 3 of my bunnies apple-banana CC just to get them used to eating it. They all love it and respond like it's treat time.

Hang in there! This time passes slowly but soon it will be in the past and your bun will be herself again (minus hormones!)

 

[Sweetie]

When Sweetie was spayed, I had to have her confined for two weeks to allow her to heal from the surgery. I let her sit with me provided she sat still and didn't move around too much. When you flip your rabbit over to look at the incision, talk to her while you are doing it, then she might let you check the incision. Yes the sub-q fluids will be enough for a whole day. When Prince quit eating and drinking, I had to give him sub-q fluids once a day until he had his teeth fixed. Yes Prince had molar spurs and had to have them filed down. I also had to feed him critical care so he had some food in his system.

 

[tonyshuman]

I agree with above. Also, whenever we've given metacam, it was twice a day. She may be hurting and upset, so it's best to keep her a bit confined. If the cage alone is too small and she gets upset, maybe an area that's more like a square yard or two. It's good she's sassy and eating, though. I would only do a pinch of oats as said, maybe a teaspoon per 5lb of bunny. If she's eating, there's no need to force the critical care. You can put some out in a dish as it does have helpful nutrients and probiotics, but if she won't eat it, don't bother. I sometimes will give children's electrolyte solution (pedialyte) for a bunny that's not drinking enough, because it's tasty but not sugary. They make it in a powder too. Another thing that's good for bunnies and a source of fiber that they like to eat (well not all bunnies do) is pumpkin puree (not pie filling). Half of my bunnies think it's a treat, the other half think it's disgusting.