BunBun's neuter- official thread

[Xila]

Okay, I know you guys are probably sick of hearing about BunBun's neuter, but this is the last thread I'm making about it.

...maybe.

Anyway, he's going in tomorrow! I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I'm trying to stay calm around him, though...

I'm happy because when he's healed up and the hormones are gone, I'll be able to keep him out of his cage whenever I'm home! (as opposed to now, where I have to put the dog outside when he's out... He tries to hump her, and I'm afraid Desi will try to snap at him/hurt him)

But, at the same time, I'm nervous... there's so many stories of rabbits who passed away during the surgery. Even some of the member's rabbits here on Ro have found that fate...

But, all in all...

So he's going in 8-10 tomorrow morning. Should I take him in closer to 8, 9, or 10? They didn't specify if he'd get neutered right away.

Also, my mom called to double check about the price and the withholding of food and water.

"Maggy", the woman she talked to, said it was penciled in for $65, so $65 it is. YAY- that means I can get his nails clipped, too!

And the fasteing question... the answer was ever weirder than not being able to have food or water at all.

She said he can have his water and hay, but not his morning pellets.

I don't see why not. We all know rabbits can't vomet...

Eh. Oh well... It's better than what they told my mom before. (No food or water at all)

And some "extra" questions(rather than starting new topics for each of them)

If you adoped a rabbit who was missing an ear, would they need any special care, do you think? If so, what? Would they be more prone to heat stroke or ear-related injuries/diseases/etc?

And,

I'm having a hay problem. Here is a picture of BunBun's hay rack- this was taken just after BunBun finished his hay, and I was about to refil it. The litterbox was changed just before the hay rack was. (Meaning, I changed his litterbox, than filled the hay rack, and this was taken as I was about to fill the hay rack and change the litterbox again)

GACK! Look how much hay is waisted! I find myself having to refill his hay rack up to FIVE times a day. I can't keep burning through hay like this, knowing half of it is just falling in his litterbox and being waisted! What do you reccomend...? I need it to be able to go above his litterbox, if possible. I was thinking of one of these:


http://ca.geocities.com/sweetrabbits2000/nowaste.htm

and drilling a/some holes in it so I could maybie zip-tie it to the side of the cage...

What do you think?

Also,

I was thinking of cleaing BunBun's cage "top to bottom", so to speak. Whould this be a good idea...? After almost an entire day at the vet's office, would it be a good idea to rearrange his cage and clean it? When I usually talk about cleaning it, I mean sweeping out the run... but since he's actually going to be gone, and I can have access to clean both the cage and run, I wanted to spray thecage down with (diluted) vinegar and give it a good scrubbing, as well as finding out what BunBun has managed to stuffunder the cage, as well. But, anyway, would scrubbing the cage with diluted vinegar be a good idea? Meaning, do you think he'd be okay with it, and not too disturbed/stressed by the change of scent? I'm thinking he'd be okay, but it never hurts to ask.

Lastly,

His goodie bag! The vet's going to give it to him after the neuter-it has a bag of hay, 1/2 a cup of pellets (I figured nobody would mind if I gave him some extra...), a sock, a chewtoy, and his rattle carrot. I figured he won't be up for playing, but, It might make him feel a bit more comfortable.

I feel like a mom sending her kid off to summer camp. =D I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

I know I'm probably making a big deal out of it, but... I'm a first-time owner. Gimee' a break. ^^

This is also the official update thread, so be sure to check back.

~Xila

 

[Xila]

Double post- I know. Sorry.

We just took BunBun in. My mom filled out the paperwork, so I'm not sure what she told them they could do. All I know is that I can call at about 3:00 today and check up on him, and call at about 8:30 tomorrow to know when I should pick him up. Oh, and that If something were to happen, the vets could do whatever was needed without having to call us up and okay it. And that if something happends, that they're going to call us. (Kind of contradicts what I just said, I know)

Naaaw. I miss him. D=

 

[LuvaBun]

Thinking of you and BunBun today and hoping all goes well - sounds like you are well prepared.

Not sure about how having only one ear affects a rabbits temperature etc, but there used to be a bun here that didn't have ears (his mom over cleaned him when he was a baby and licked them off). He didn't seem to have any problems at all.

Good luck BunBun

Jan

 

[missyscove]

As far as the cage cleaning goes, I'd sweep it out, but I wouldn't scrub it down or rearrange it. You probably want it as normal as possible for him to come back to. Some rabbits get kind of stressed out when they're away from their home and I think it be best to have it set up the same way when he came back.

 

[tonyshuman]

Agreed with both of the above posters.

Don't worry too much--the vet sounds like a good one and they have a very good success rate. Easier said than done, I know. Your vet may have post-neuter instructions too--my bf's bunny was neutered a few weeks ago and we were supposed to put an ice pack wrapped in a towel on his "nether regions" for ~10min 2-3 times a day to ensure no swelling. Some people give their bunnies a "snuggle safe" or a sock filled with rice (both are heated in the microwave to be animal-safe heating pads) after surgery too. But I'd do whatever the vet says.

thinking of you and bunbun:clover:

 

[Xila]

Thanks, everyone.

My mom just called to check in- they didn't even neuter him yet. Some emergencies came in, and[the vet/surgeon]is just now getting back to his normal schedule.

The person said they gave him some food and water.

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

Sorry you have to wait so long....that just makes it so much harder. Hope he does well....make sure you've got lots of treats as a peace-offering when he gets home!

 

[Xila]

pumpkinandwhiskersmom wrote:

Sorry you have to wait so long....that just makes it so much harder. Hope he does well....make sure you've got lots of treats as a peace-offering when he gets home!

Thanks, I will- I'm sure he'll apprechiate it.

It does make it harder, but I understand pushing his appointment back for an emergency... But still. I'm sure he'll be able to come home tomorrow... Right?

 

[pla725]

I would definitely think he will be all right to come home tomorrow. Just make him comfortable. Keep him confined for the next couple of days. Check to see if they are going to give you any Metacam for the next couple of days.

 

[ra7751]

Just reading over your post....sounds like a rabbit savvy vet to me. We do remove pellets at least 2 hours prior to sedation but they always have access to hay and water. Most surgeries are performed in early afternoon. Most vets prefer an early morning drop off to allow time to "destress" from the trip and acclimate to the clinic surroundings. We prefer to get our surgeries home as quickly as possible and have taken them right from recovery. We don't do much post-op. We do try to keep things as clean as possible and take a peek at the incisionsa couple of times per day just in case. I do use aggressive pain meds. Metacam is better than nothing but a day or two of narcotics are much better. Not only are narcotics much better at pain meds...they also tend to sedate just a bit so they stay a little less active for that period. Best wishes.

Randy

 

[Xila]

ETA: I'm happy to report he's both pooped and pee'd since he came home. I noticed his litterbox habbits have slipped a bit, though. Oh well- Better outsidie the box than not at all.

He also ate some celery, and I'm going to find him some lettuce now.



Thanks to both.

BunBun is home now. No medicam/etc. He's really just loafing around (Which in understandable). So far he's eaten two papaya tablets and some banana/peel. Such a sucker for banana...

I haven't seen him drink yet. I was to get him some veggies and wet them, so at least he'll have some kind of fluid.

I'll keep you updated.

 

[kellyjade]

I'm glad to hear everything went ok! Sounds like he's doing really well.

 

[Orchid]

Glad to hear things went well n your bun is home, eating and doing good!

 

[Coco0457]

hay, BunBun!! I'm glad to hear everything went well. that's good!! Just keep an eye on him [and the surgery site], and make sure he eats, drinks and...POOPs...!!

***GOOD LUCK***

and

*hugs* :bunnyhug:

 

[LuvaBun]

I am so relieved BunBun is home and doing well. I guess he now knows what a neuter is!!!

Jan

 

[Xila]

Thanks everyone! ^^ He's been peeing and pooping normaly... I didn't get a good look at the incision site, though. I did notice they didn't need to shave him (or, at least, not enough to notice)... That's good, I guess...? I dunno.

Jan- Sorry to hear about Pernod... such a great bunny. D=
And yeah- I guess he does! xD There's no better type of learning than a first-hand experiance... I think. Maybe not in this case...

I still haven't seen him drink much. I did offer him his water bottle, and he took a few licks of it, and he did eat all the greens I gave him. I'm not really concerned yet.

BunBun has already managed to dissemble his hay rack and spill his hay everywhere. Also, he somehow managed to get a poop in his food bowl (which is suspended several inches off the cage floor...), and more. He sure is taking advantage of the fact that I'm not going be mad at him, because he was just neutered... :headsmack

Right now he's relaxing in the form of a DBF.

Oh, I opened the cage door to get something from his cage (Litterbox, food bowl, something like that. I don't remember), and left it open because I thought he was sleeping (Again, he was doing a DBF). When I came back, I noticed he had gone into his run. He seemed to be "taking it easy" (Meaning, he wasn't doing that "whale" thing where he jumps/binkies really high and just casually sails thru the air across his cage. It reminds me of that jump/twist thing whales do... that always scares me because I think he's going to hurt himself...), so I let him stay in the run. I got in the run with him and burshed him a bit, and than we sat next to each other for a while. It was nice- Usually I can't be near him for more than a few minutes before he tried to hump me. He's still not too happy about being locked up in his cage. If he's feeling up to it tomorrow, I think I'll let him have access to his run.

I'm going to see if I can get a better look at his incision tomorrow. Any tips on how to do so would be great.

~Xila