Preparing for a rabbit neuter!

[PureElla]

Hey there!

I'm getting my 7-8 month old Holland lop neutered. It is a 45-65 minute drive, so almost an hour. We have a new carrier that has enough space for Toby to lay in and eat, but not too big (So he doesn't slide around). I am going to line it with newspaper and an old circle rug. He is going to have a lot of hay and his normal serving of pellets. There is going to be AC in the car, so he will be cool. I am bringing a leaf of red lettuce as well as romaine. Along with that I will bring a bit of spinach and collard greens. Lastly, a bit of cucumber will be brought so he can have something to hydrate himself on the ride. The area I'm going to said not to bring a water bowl or bottle. Hopefully this means that somehow he will get water in the 6-8 hours he is there. I hope the cucumber can give him enough water. We will leave around 9 am and be back around 6-8 pm. I will follow the directions after the neuter to get him back to himself. His area will be cleaned thoroughly and everything will be neat for him. I watched a couple videos on YouTube about after care and read some articles about it.

If there is anything else I should know or any tips that you have, please tell me!

 

[Nuage]

You should just bring a bottle of water and a small dish that you don't mind the vet handling. Its always best to bring water because you don't know if they wont eat but want water, or vice versa.

 

[PureElla]

Should I bring a regular water bottle that I can put into the small dish?

The email sent to me after I set my appointment date said "Please do not leave any food/water bowls in his carrier. They just spill them and we don’t want to misplace any bowls. Just place the food/hay on the floor of the carrier. Also, no water bottles. They leak and get the buns and their carriers all wet."

The ride is supposed to be steady, but if Toby wants water, it will probably spill somehow....

Quite confused on what to do. :/

 

[Nuage]

Yeah, I'd just bring a regular water bottle filled with water and an empty dish. Ask the vet to give him the water in the dish after surgery and pour out any extra water when you take him home.

 

[PureElla]

Alright! Thanks for the tip.

Is there anything else I should know?

 

[Happy Hollands]

This is a very helpful forum to help you prepare for your vet visit

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/tips-and-tricks-at-the-vet.98512/

 

[zuppa]

Hey there!

I'm getting my 7-8 month old Holland lop neutered. It is a 45-65 minute drive, so almost an hour. We have a new carrier that has enough space for Toby to lay in and eat, but not too big (So he doesn't slide around). I am going to line it with newspaper and an old circle rug. He is going to have a lot of hay and his normal serving of pellets. There is going to be AC in the car, so he will be cool. I am bringing a leaf of red lettuce as well as romaine. Along with that I will bring a bit of spinach and collard greens. Lastly, a bit of cucumber will be brought so he can have something to hydrate himself on the ride. The area I'm going to said not to bring a water bowl or bottle. Hopefully this means that somehow he will get water in the 6-8 hours he is there. I hope the cucumber can give him enough water. We will leave around 9 am and be back around 6-8 pm. I will follow the directions after the neuter to get him back to himself. His area will be cleaned thoroughly and everything will be neat for him. I watched a couple videos on YouTube about after care and read some articles about it.

If there is anything else I should know or any tips that you have, please tell me!

Hi, giving him some watery vegetables is a good thinking, romaine and celery sticks are my favs when on trip I also give them fresh mint and a piece of a carrot sometimes.

For the carrier I don't use any newspaper or towels/blankets, I prepare it as their usual toilet, layer of wood pellets (add a little of dust-free shavings sometimes so they won't make noise on plastic) and a generous layer of nay. Sometimes I add some dust-free straw under hay as well. It makes my travel box very comfortable and also wood pellets will absorb urine so my rabbit won't have to sit in pee. They can poo and pee all comfortably and after 6 hours it will be as clean as it was initially.

My rabbits are trained to drink from a bottle but it is truth that you can't use drinking bottles when moving, it will leak massively. But when not in move I attach a small bottle to the opening of a carrier and they drink if they are thirsty. Wood pellets will take care of any small spills. I also have a carrier with a dish attached to the door but it depends on your rabbit, I wouldn't use it with my Smokey since it will be very messy in a minute.

If you give juicy vegs or you can sprinkle water on greens as well, you can have a spray bottle with water with you for that, it's up to you.

 

[Diane R]

The most important thing is that the vet is a good rabbit vet and gives you painkiller to give at home twice a day for a few days.

 

[PureElla]

Alright! Tomorrow is the big day!

Thanks for the advice.

 

[zuppa]

Alright! Tomorrow is the big day!

Thanks for the advice.

Good luck!
When you bring him back home it is best to limit his space to a small cage and remove all shelves or platforms so he can't jump on anything and can't really exercise. Watch him you don't have to pick him up all the time checking but just watch if he is licking there too much maybe try distracting him with greens or toys or something, maybe feed more often, giving his normal daily portion of pellets but split it into 3-4 times to keep him occupied. It is best to keep his space limited for a week or two, depending on how fast he is healing. Also depending on the method if testicles were completely removed it will take a bit longer usually than if they only removed the inner parts of them.

 

[Nuage]

Good luck!