Zelda's spay was yesterday I'm scared

[kittsbuns]

Zelda had her spay yesterday the surgery went fine. But I can't stop crying I'm so scared I'm going to lose her like Buster and Zoey. Last night she drank 10 ml of water mixed witha little baby apple juice in a syringe and peed and pooped a little. She has a E collar on. She's fighting every thing i try today and jumping everywhere when I get near her. Her vet told me not to take it off or but i did anyway to see if she would eat on her own. But she didn't I've left her a onley to check and see if she was ok. Im'stressing both of us out. No sleep in two days. she going to stay at the vet so I can go to work tomorrow maybe they can get her to eat and drink I think they need to give us both sedatives.:sickbunny:

 

[Haley]

Im sorry to hear things arent going so well. Try not to stress too much as she will pick up on this.

If she hasnt eaten anything since the surgery (and it was yersterday) I would syringe her a little watered down pellets this evening. Try to soak some pellets in water or pedialyte and syringe her 1-2 ccs. This will usually get them eating on their own once they have a taste of some from the syringe.

Is she drinking on her own? Does she have access to lots of hay?

Also, is she on pain meds? Sometimes they wont eat if they are in pain.

I dont like the idea of rabbits wearing the collars unless its absolutely necessary (like pulling at stitches repeatedly. They cant eat their cecals or clean themselves when theyre wearing the collar, and some cant get their heads down to the pellets or water either.

 

[Pipp]

Sorry I couldn't reply to this earlier, ongoing computer issues. :sigh:

The most important things post-spay are keeping her warm, hydrated and free of pain. I know you're on top of all this. If she's warm and drinking, you're ahead of the game.

Like Haley, I'm not thrilled with using a collar, it's stressful. It's very likely it's the stress that's at least contributing to this.

And the painmay still be the issue -- is she on a decent painkiller?

Opiod Analgesics[/b] - These are pain relievers that are opiate derivatives. The one you may have heard most about from this group is morphine. Opiods are very effective pain relievers and may also produce a sedative effect. Mild sedation can be beneficial in situations where it is important to keep the patient calm and confined such as postsurgically and after severe trauma. Opioids are generally given by injection in the rabbit, subcutaneous, intramuscular or intravenous. The one drawback to opioids is that most of them have a short duration of action (only 2 to 4 hours) with the exception of buprenorphine, which is effective up to 12 hours. Opioids would most likely be given in the hospital before, during or after surgery, or after a serious trauma. The medications most often used in this group include buprenorphine (the most commonly used), butorphanol, morphine, nalbuphine, pentazocine, meperidine, nalozone, and oxymorphone.
Hope she feels better soon! et:



sas ray:

 

[naturestee]

Haley and Pipp have already said everything I could think of. I'll add in my 2 cents on the e-collar- they should really only be used on rabbits when utterly necessary. Even then the collar can stress them out more than it's really worth. A lot of rabbits won't eat or drink at all when they have an e-collar on.

I'd take it off and leave it off. And syringe a little bit of food just to get something in her, then offer all her favorite veggies, pellets, and hayand maybe a few small treats to tempt her.

Oh, and my princess bunny Mocha refused to eat after her spay unless I held her food for her. So I hand fed her each individual veggie, pellet, and strand of hay. She ate plenty then!

 

[slavetoabunny]

On the collar...I've never had to put a collar on a bunny after a spay. I agree with everyone else that it can contribute to Zelda's stress. I would get the collar off and see how she does. Definately pain meds...I hope your vet gave you some.

 

[Maureen Las]

I agree with above re. e-collar
Also wnated to let you know that I take the rabbits from the shelter home after spays/neuters. I also still get kind of freaky when they are not eating well by day 2.

I have syringed pedialyte and always tempted them with the best greens that I can get.
My experience is that they always come around by day 3
Why would your vet want an e-collar?

I have had rabbits here with old-fashioned stitches that I just watched.

They never chewed their stitches or wore e-collars.

Also she may do better at home while you are at work rather than stressed out at the vet's

I hope that I'm not stressing you out more..

I don't mean to........

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

I have been thru the spay/neuter thing numerous times. Got those protocols pretty well perfected.

>E Collars are very stressful for rabbits. They are prey animals and being in that collar makes them feel like they are in the hands of the enemy. In my non-professional opinion....I would remove the collar. I would hope she doesn't have sutures as laser surgeries are much cleaner cuts and quicker to heal. External sutures are from the days of yesteryear. Our spays are always laser. They have dissolvable sutures internally but the final close is with surgical glue. Never had a problem even on our nearly 30 pound Flemmie.

>Aggressive pain meds are a must. While Metacam (most often prescribed because is is "safe")is better than nothing, such invasive surgery as a spay requires an opiad.....something along the lines of Buprenex (Buprenorphine)or Tramadol for at least 3 days and 5 days is even better. These anagesics are much longer lasting than other such as morphine or butorphenol (torbugesic). Note:Many vets are unaware of the use of Tramadol in a rabbit but it is quite effective. While you still need a RX, it is not a controlled drug like Buprenex. It is also quite cost effective. Down side, it comes in a large tablet and has to be compounded into a suspension. A very small inconveniece for this nice drug. It's worth having around. If your vet is not familiar with using this drug, I can provide him/her with the formulary and dosing information.

>If she is healthy and has been eating normally, we have had rabbits go for nearly a week without eating. Don't panic yet. Offer her something like dandelion greens..that is always a favorite of recovering spays/neuters here. We offer a buffet of rabbit safe foods.

>I know you mentioned a sedative in a joking manner....but if she is very stressed, a little round of Valium is most helpful just to take the edge off. I routinely sedate incoming wildlife that is very stressed or has head and/or spinal trauma. It is a wonder drug in stress situations.

>And remember she can sense your panic and it will stress her. Keep calm.

Randy

 

[pla725]

I also advise removing the collar. Not needed.

Definitely get some pain meds.

 

[12354somebunny]

I agree with everyone's view here on the E-collar.. it definitely stresses the rabbit out.

When I brought my pair for their neuter & spay, the vet gave me an E-collar to use on Yohji (male), but he was so visibly upset and stressed by it, i took it off immediately and just kept a close eye to make sure he didn't chew his stiches.

As for Buttons (female), I chose to wrap her belly with surgical bandage to prevent any chewing of stitches. She wasn't bothered by the bandage at all.. I removed it within 2 days after the surgery

How's Zelda doing now? Hope she has a quick recovery

 

[Maureen Las]

"How's Zelda???"
I hope that all of our opinions didn't scare you away....

We certainly hope that both you and Zelda are doing well