Preparing for Dante's neuter

[Cinna_Bunny]

Dante is getting neutered on the 8th and I'm trying to get everything ready.
The vet I chose is amazing but I'm still very anxious about it, Dante is so small I just don't want things to go downhill...

For people owning Netherland dwarfs or rabbits of the same size, how was aftercare for you and was it any different from a larger breed? My vet does dwarf breed rabbits regularly so I'm optimistic about the actual surgery, just worried about afterwards.
So far I have pellets, hay, his favorite treats and forage mix on the list to go with him, that should be fine right? I've been trying to get my hands on critical care but I think there was a bit of a shortage recently, not sure if there is something similar I could get.

I'm just a paranoid rabbit owner haha.
The vet will be giving him meds to stimulate appetite after he is done and will send some home (with pain meds) so I feel like I should be ok without the critical care.

Here's a reward for getting through this post, my spoiled baby eating from his snack bar

 

[JBun]

Is the vet going to intubate, and experienced doing it with rabbits? This can be especially helpful for rabbits with more restricted nasal passages, like dwarf and Holland lops often have. It helped when I had my little dwarf bun neutered.

IV catheter can be good to have done as well, in case of complications that require additional drugs quickly.

Make sure you feed bun normally, up to drop off time, and leave food for eating while waiting til surgery, and for after surgery while recovering before pick up (vet should give these same instructions).

Keep bun warm post surgery, as they often can become hypothermic after anesthesia. This can help get them eating again sooner as well, as a cold lethargic rabbit is less inclined to eat on their own. I used a cotton bag filled up with dry rice then heated in the microwave (check it's not too hot). But my rabbits didn't usually lay next to it, so I'd have to place it next to them, sometimes with a cloth wrapped around it.

They did better with something they could lay on with a towel or pet bed on top of it, so I bought a snugglesafe. But the rice bag could work like that, with folded towels placed around it, then a towel or pet bed over. You'll have to see what works for your bun. He may be fine with the warm bag laid next to him.

For that first day recovering, I would set up a recovery pen next to where I'd be for the majority of the day, so I could keep a close eye on my bun eating and body temp. But you wouldn't want to do this if it overly stressed your bun not to be in his usual area. My rabbits were ok because it was an area I regularly let them play in.

Monitor closely for signs of messing with the incision site. Last thing you want is him chewing it open and having to go back to the vet for resuturing and antibiotics. A collar can prevent this, but it can also affect a rabbits recovery to have one on. Other things like a pet shirt or donut collar, usually work better for rabbits in my opinion.

Males usually recover more quickly. They're often eating and mostly back to normal by that same evening, or at least by the next morning (though do continue restricting activity for 5-7 days, or as long as your vet recommends). Offer his usual leafy greens. That's usually the first thing my rabbits would start eating, plus it helps to hydrate them at the same time.

I only had a problem with one male that took almost 2 whole days before he started eating well enough on his own again. Not from pain, as he was hopping around pretty normally, but I think from post anesthesia nausea. Luckily he would eat small amounts of leafy greens whenever offered. So I kept feeding those every half hour for those 2 days.

The rest of my boy rabbits recovered within a day. The females were always much harder and usually took 3-4 days to get back to normal, even with adequately dosed pain meds. I usually ended up having to syringe feed the girls, for just a day mostly.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits

https://web.as.miami.edu/hare/opcare.html

 

[Nancy McClelland]

The Vet we used in CA did several bunnies a week, both sexes so we were not worried and had no problems--choice of Vet is very important, but, the hardest part was keeping them in their hutch for a whole week as we were told to keep them quiet and contained. They all acted as if nothing unusual happened and the only concern we had were a couple that were not eating, but that only lasted for less than 2 hours. We had more than 50 done while we were actively rescuing.