Phoenix is Getting Spayed!

[holtzchick]

Phoenix is getting spayed next Friday! I'm SOOOO nervous! I was especially nervous after I got an email from the clinic that said not to give her anything after midnight the night before so I immediately called the clinic.

Turns out, the vet said that no one in the clinic knows much about rabbits except for himself and he told me to ignore that fact because he knows bunnies should never have empty digestive tracts. It's kind of nice because he called a specialist in that deals with bunnies regularly on a day to day basis to look after the spay and her. This point kind of relieves me.

Overall, its going to come to $350 plus tax which in my opinion is average especially here, this is including all pain medications and antibiotics. I really wouldn't be getting her spayed if it weren't for the fact that it is for health reasons and I would like to litter train her...

So nervous.... wish her much luck!

 

[agnesthelion]

I was just as nervous as you when Agnes got spayed so I totally understand. Glad they cleared up the no food thing.

Are they sending you home with metacam? I've read from a couple RO members who weren't sent home with metacam and bunny seemed to be in alot of pain.

Agnes had metacam for 3 or 4 days and she seemed very comfortable. I kept her quiet and blocked her condo so she couldn't jump for about a week.

Best of luck I'm sure it will go fine. Let us know how she does!

 

[holtzchick]

Hmm.. I'm not totally sure if it's Metacam that they will send her home with but they will 100% send her home with something as well I think they will inject her with some type of pain med and he said if the tissue looks very swelled and delicate he will also send me home with antibiotics.

I've given Metacam to Peter a long time ago when he was getting neutered and yes it does work wonders.

Thanks for the advice and the wishes!!

 

[holtzchick]

by the way... do you think her jumping in her litterbox will be okay? It's one of those high sided cat ones with a grate in it.

 

[larryng]

She will be OK.

 

[agnesthelion]

holtzchick wrote:

by the way... do you think her jumping in her litterbox will be okay? It's one of those high sided cat ones with a grate in it.

It depends on how high it is. I debated buying a cheap one and cutting one side down but I watched her get in and outmof hers and it was low enough in decided against it. It it requires a pretty big jump for Phoenix to get in you might wanna......?

 

[Ape337]

Sending well wishes and calm nerves :biggrin:

 

[Imbrium]

if it's really high and you're worried about her getting in and out, you can get a cheapie box at walmart for $4 - I just measured it, and it's about 4'' high.

I've got 12 days to go before my girls' spays and I'm already nervous too, lol... it sounds like you've picked a really good vet, though, so I'm sure it'll go smoothly!

you might ask your vet about buying a little bit of critical care food (and pick up a syringe from the grocery store) just in case she doesn't feel up to eating on her own when she comes home - that's fairly normal for the first couple days.

 

[holtzchick]

Yeah, my vet has recommended the critical care before when we were trying to get her to put weight on. Getting a different litter box is a good idea as well. Hmmm imbrium I will keep my fingers crossed for your buns and update how the spay went

 

[Imbrium]

good luck! I'll be thinking positive thoughts for you and your bunny

 

[ldoerr]

Good luck with the spay. Beauty got spayed 1 month ago and did AMAZINGLY. It went so well that when Shiny Things got spayed 2 weeks ago I did not worry much at all. My vet does an amazing job. It is a 45minute-1.5hr drive to get there (each way) but is worth it. I am sure that your rabbit will do great. My vet used a fentanyl patch for pain medication. I REALLY liked it. My rabbits were never in any pain. I also did not have to give them daily medication.

 

[holtzchick]

Glad things went so well with both buns! If she were male and were getting neutered I wouldn't be so nervous but since it's a spay, its so invasive, it makes me very nervous. Technically I am just very nervous because I don't know where she stands health wise. I took her to the vet and he said once she gains weight she will be fine to spay. She gained weight and then lost some and since I don't know anything about her history it does worry me.


She looked like she had already been through so much when I found her so I hope she can make it through the stress of surgery without any issues! Thank you all for the reassurance!

 

[holtzchick]

Since she is pretty much free roam should I pick up a dog crate and put some blAnkets and food and water in there for when she comes home? I tried to find it in the bunny 101 section to no avail and it's difficult since I am on my phone At work lol.

 

[agnesthelion]

Yes I would. My vet told me to keep her from free roam for at least 7 days. They can't run or jump or they could possibly tear their stitches. Some vets even recommend 14 days. Agnes was doing so good that I did let her have some free run after 7 days but we just went really slow with things. So yes I would definetely find a way to keep her confined and quiet for at least a week. You might get the stink eye from her but its worth it to keep her from getting hurt.

 

[holtzchick]

Haha yeahh.... Last time I put her in a cage for an hour she thumped at me but that's probably those pesky hormones that we're trying to get rid of

 

[JBun]

I just had 2 rabbits spayed and I figured that since they would already be asleep that I should have the vet check their teeth while he was at it. I'm glad I did. When I picked them up after the spays were done, the receptionist said they both had some sharp points on their back teeth so they were filed down. I wasn't too surprised that my older rabbit did, but even my 5 mo. old girl did, and I give them apple and willow branches all the time to help keep their teeth worn down. Go figure. So you may want to ask your vet to check her teeth.

Also, I gave both my girls pain meds the first day. My older bun clearly needed them, but my younger bun was eating and hopping around, and was alert and looking good that same night after the spay. I gave them their meds and the next day she wouldn't eat and wasn't moving around much and her poops were small and she wasn't pooping much. I figured that the pain meds were making her feel sick, because at the end of the day when the pain meds wore off, she started eating and acting fine again. The pain med they gave me was banamine. If they give you metacam you're probably fine, but if it's something else keep an eye out for any negative reaction to it.

Good luck with the spay and I hope everything goes well.

 

[ldoerr]

For pain for my girls they gave them a fentanyl patch (sp?) It worked great for both of them. I never saw them in any pain. Beauty was eating within 1 hr of her surgery and Shiny Things was eating not long after that. The only problem I had was Shiny Things took hers off a day or 2 after the surgery.

I agree that you need to confine your girl for at least 1 week after the surgery. I let my girls run around after that as much as they wanted (no jumping onto shelves though). My vet did an AMAZING job with both of them.

Good luck on her spay and keep us posted

 

[holtzchick]

Okay, I built Phoenix a temporary cage since I found it too expensive to go spend $100 on a dog crate at this point in time. It's 3 grids x 2 grids by 1 grid in height. I wanted to make sure she had enough room and I ziptied the rug down so that she can't move it as well as the litter box which I cut the longer side down so she does not have to jump.

Is this a good set up? Should there be any concern to make it smaller? She is a big bunny and I don't want her to be more stressed that she is confined because she is not used to it.

I'm really freaking out about this because I have to work tomorrow and my boss is being a jerk and won't let me take time off even though he knew she was getting spayed! His response was "oh just bring her into the store"... I can't stand the fact that everyone thinks rabbits are just these cute little objects you can move around whenever it is convenient, they don't understand that they also have brains and get easily bothered. Sorry about the rant, I've just had no support regarding her spay in terms of watching her health. Luckily my boyfriend is getting off work early tomorrow and he will watch her until I get home. I really hope she does not have any issues, I even bought a bottle feeding kit just in case.... :/

 

[ldoerr]

That cage should work. Good luck with the spay