Recovery from general anaesthesia

[BunnieRosanna]

Our 5 year old male Harrell went under a general anaesthesia for spurs on his bottom molars. He had no infection or swelling -this was a preventative procedure based on the liklihood they would cut his tongue & cheek at some point soon. His appetite had been less in the weeks running up so the check-up confirmed it could be his teeth causing problems.

He had the procedure completed just before midday on Thursday. Thursday PM &Friday AM he had to have critical care as he has NO appitite at all. Not even a bit of apple - his favourite!

He is not such a space-cake now and is moving aruond, but not much, still very dopey.

How long does it take for them to resume their appetite? is this normal? I know anaesthesia will take different times to recover...he is about 5lbs in weight. We plan to give his pedialite & critical care at meal times.

Any other experiences of bunnies coming around after anaesthesia & appitite?

 

[tonyshuman]

He should not be lethargic anymore--the anesthesia should totally wear off within 6-8 hours of them receiving it, and they usually send the animal home around 4hr after giving the med at the earliest. Are you giving him a pain med that might be making him dopey?

As for GI, it can take a while to recover fully. He should be back to eating on his own within 2-3 days and back to totally normal eating within 4-5 days.

 

[BunnieRosanna]

Thanks for your response - no, the vet did not prescribe paid med based on the fact it is just a teeth file. He is not shaking or grinding his teeth as if in pain.

Okay - we should expect to do more critical care this weekend with hopefully lots of encouragement of food (his favourite treats) in the meantime.

 

[Maureen Las]

It would be interesting to know what type of anesthesia was used on him? I don't know if you would be comfortable asking the vet but if you are it might give us a clue as to why he is so groggy; also do you know if he had problems with a large number of teeth ?

 

[tonyshuman]

I agree with angieluv. Sometimes teeth can be quite painful and/or the spurs cut into the cheeks and/or tongue, so pain meds are sometimes given. I would not expect him to be groggy any more than 8 hours after the procedure. It is probably worth giving your vet a call and letting them know he is still out of it.

 

[Sweetie]

When Prince got his molars trimmed because of molar spurs he was given pain meds for a few days. Your rabbit should have gotten pain meds because having their teeth filed/trimmed is painful. They have to have their mouth open for as long as it takes to file/trim the teeth. That would be painful and require pain meds.

Talk with your vet as to why your bunny is still out of it. Prince had waken up and resumed normal activity within a few hours of his teeth surgery when it was done.

 

[BunnieRosanna]

Harrell began to eat normally this morning and sees much more sparkier....thanks for the feedback about the pain medications everyone, we will bring it up with our vet.