"Open Neuter" on my 9m Lionhead

[AlyChan]

I have been so worried about My two male Lionheads getting neutered, and I've been trying my best to look after them and make sure they're healing up and healthy. I checked my 9month old's incision and this is what it looks like. After I picked my buns from the vet, they informed me that they did an "open neuter" and I can't find much information about it online that is positive.

I am really upset by this and I'm hoping I didn't take them to a bad vet...

Please tell me this doesn't look infected and he is fine He got the procedure Tuesday morning and it is now Friday evening.

thank you.

 

[AlyChan]

Here is another photo.

 

[rabbit_friend]

I had a stray neutered last year and I asked my quite rabbit savvy vet whether she would do an open or closed neuter. She said practically no one does open neuters any more. So you are right to be concerned, and your vet may not be very rabbit savvy — but that doesn’t mean they won’t do okay. If you have any doubts, I would ask the vet to check them out to make sure they’re healing okay (many vets will automatically ask you to come back in a week for them to check that everything’s good, though not as usual with males).

Did the vet give you any pain meds to administer after the neuter? How are the bunnies behaving? Any excessive licking of the area, or hopping gingerly?

 

[AlyChan]

I had a stray neutered last year and I asked my quite rabbit savvy vet whether she would do an open or closed neuter. She said practically no one does open neuters any more. So you are right to be concerned, and your vet may not be very rabbit savvy — but that doesn’t mean they won’t do okay. If you have any doubts, I would ask the vet to check them out to make sure they’re healing okay (many vets will automatically ask you to come back in a week for them to check that everything’s good, though not as usual with males).

Did the vet give you any pain meds to administer after the neuter? How are the bunnies behaving? Any excessive licking of the area, or hopping gingerly?

I feel so bad for not researching it more beforehand, but these are my first bunnies, and I took the to the vet that the place I adopted them from recommended and my sister also got her rabbits neutered by the same vet as well, and her rabbits were fine.

They gave both of my babies "Meloxicam Post op pain injection" that they said would last 24 hours.

I have had a cone on both of them, (per the vets instruction) and I take it off a few hours a day so that they can eat and drink normally. I watch them closely when they have their cones off, and they have not messed with their incision sights much at all. They licked it a few times and then that's it. They do eat and drink with their cones on, but I like to relieve them of it when I can because it's probably very uncomfortable for them.

The other thing I am worried about that I forgot to mention is they have not been eating their ceco pellets. I have tried to offer them to them but they won't eat them...

 

[AlyChan]

I feel so bad for not researching it more beforehand, but these are my first bunnies, and I took the to the vet that the place I adopted them from recommended and my sister also got her rabbits neutered by the same vet as well, and her rabbits were fine.

They gave both of my babies "Meloxicam Post op pain injection" that they said would last 24 hours.

I have had a cone on both of them, (per the vets instruction) and I take it off a few hours a day so that they can eat and drink normally. I watch them closely when they have their cones off, and they have not messed with their incision sights much at all. They licked it a few times and then that's it. They do eat and drink with their cones on, but I like to relieve them of it when I can because it's probably very uncomfortable for them.

The other thing I am worried about that I forgot to mention is they have not been eating their ceco pellets. I have tried to offer them to them but they won't eat them...

Oh and also they are hopping around and seem happy!

 

[rabbit_friend]

Wow, if they are hopping around and seem happy despite having been in cones, that’s a good sign! I haven’t had any vets recommend a cone, since it can be very stressful for rabbits especially.

Taking the cones off a few hours a day may not be enough for them to eat cecals, since the majority of those usually come at a specific time of day. If you could notice when they are producing the most cecals and be sure to take the cones off before then, maybe they would eat them directly as normal? How much longer are they supposed to wear the cones? Were there any instructions about cleaning the wounds? I ask, because usually rabbits themselves do the best job of keeping a wound clean and can’t do that if they’re in cones.

I myself would want a vet to prescribe at least 3 days of meloxicam after a neuter, and to have removed more hair around the incision site! But with the adoption place‘s and your sister’s recommendations, I think that can put your mind more at ease. Nonetheless, don’t hesitate to take them back in if you’re worried about what the incisions look like. As you have probably seen on this board, things can unfortunately go downhill very rapidly with bunnies.

 

[AlyChan]

Wow, if they are hopping around and seem happy despite having been in cones, that’s a good sign! I haven’t had any vets recommend a cone, since it can be very stressful for rabbits especially.

Taking the cones off a few hours a day may not be enough for them to eat cecals, since the majority of those usually come at a specific time of day. If you could notice when they are producing the most cecals and be sure to take the cones off before then, maybe they would eat them directly as normal? How much longer are they supposed to wear the cones? Were there any instructions about cleaning the wounds? I ask, because usually rabbits themselves do the best job of keeping a wound clean and can’t do that if they’re in cones.

I myself would want a vet to prescribe at least 3 days of meloxicam after a neuter, and to have removed more hair around the incision site! But with the adoption place‘s and your sister’s recommendations, I think that can put your mind more at ease. Nonetheless, don’t hesitate to take them back in if you’re worried about what the incisions look like. As you have probably seen on this board, things can unfortunately go downhill very rapidly with bunnies.

Thank you so much for helping me!

I send the photos to my local emergency vet and they said they are not worried.

I went ahead and took their cones off and they are not bothering their incision. They have also been eating their cecals as far as I can tell!!

My younger bunny is doing fantastic and is back to normal, while my older bunny is having more of a problem eating.

He does eat and drink but it's not much. I have been offering him Cilantro and he loves it!! I just don't want to give him too much of it.

I think we are in the clear!

 

[JBun]

If your one bun isn't eating very much, that's a problem that could lead to the developmentof GI stasis. I would offer more cilantro and any other leafy greens bun is used to, provided the increased amount doesn't cause digestive upset or mushy poop. I had one bun that wouldn't eat anything but leafy greens post neuter, for the first 48 hours, so I just fed him lots of leafy greens(not too many high calcium ones) every hour, since it didn't cause any digestive issues for him.

If your bun can't eat more greens without digestive upset occurring, then syringe feeding is necessary to keep the digestive tract moving normally, until your bun is eating fine on his own again. If you need to do syringe feeding, your vet should have a feeding mix, or a pellet mush can be made. Though you'll need a wide tip feeding syringe with a pellet mush or it will clog. Your vet should also show you how to correctly syringe feed, to minimize the risks of aspiration occurring. If your bun will accept it from a spoon or dish, that's an option as well.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Medicating_your_rabbit