Spirit is getting spayed !

[LuvMyRabbits]

Hello again...well the humane society's price on getting her fixed was about the same as the animal hospital's price and since her vet is at the animal hospital and has already met Spirit..we are going to take here there..So they mated yesterday ( monday the 22nd ) and I cant take Spirit in for her surgery until 10am Monday morning...will she still be ok to get spayed? I mean the babies wont be to big by then or maybe cause complications will they?? I know this is best for her..I'm just so nervous about it ...all of it!...any tips?? Things I should ask the vet before she goes into surgery?? Anything I should look for after surgery ..or do after surgery to help her recover quickly?? Please pray for her ray:...I would be devastated if anything happened ....shes a great bunny and I love her so much. Any and all advice would be helpful! I'm thinking of just staying up there with her so she can see me first when she comes out of the anstesia..since Shadow is not getting fixed at the same time she wont be able to see him when she wakes up..They told me that I can take her home to recover as soon as she wakes up and that she will get better faster at home and not around all kinds of strange people and noises..

Calling for any tips anyone has on this subject :?

 

[Maureen Las]

Wow!!! Good for you for getting this done


You want to make sure that the vet does a lot of successful spays and neuters and knows rabbits well. There are some things that you can ask

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html

After the spay you want to make sure that you get adequate pain meds for her . They will tell you to keep her confined and that is true but she doesn't have to be in a little cage where she cannot move at all but could be in an x-pen where she can get around a little but not hop or jump...

she should do fine

The day before she goes start a thread in the infirmary and we will help you through the whole thing .

excellent that you are gettinging this done !!!

 

[Flashy]

I agree with everything Angieluv says, and I am really impressed with you for getting this done and doing the right thing for your bun. Lucky bunnies to have such a loving owner

 

[mardigraskisses]

When Bayou went to the vet I cried the whole way home. Just make sure you keep yourself busy while she's gone and think positive thoughts. You can always call the vet and see how she's doing.

Also, you may want to pick up some Bene Bac to get her eating in case she's not interested. Bayou refused to eat right until I gave him some.

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

mardigraskisses wrote:

When Bayou went to the vet I cried the whole way home. Just make sure you keep yourself busy while she's gone and think positive thoughts. You can always call the vet and see how she's doing.

Also, you may want to pick up some Bene Bac to get her eating in case she's not interested. Bayou refused to eat right until I gave him some.

Thanks you guys for your kind words..I felt really bad about maybe having babies come into the world that wouldnt have homes..I'm SUCH a big animal lover ( I cant even kill bugs! I have to catch them and set them free lol everyone laughs at me for this ) So this really was the only option..now I'm just feeling bad about the babies but I'm not going to dwell on that... only the fact that my bunny will be spayed and not have the high risk for cancer for her anymore..thats what is important..I'm taking her to the same vet that gave her the meds for the URI..So since she is still sneezing ( not alot like twice a day ) and the vet told me after the spay she would want to give her pain meds and antibiotics...can I just suggest anantibiotic that will make sure she dont get an infection AND will clear up the URI the correct way this time?? Zithromax was one I remember someone saying ( I believe angiesuggested that one and a few more..I'll have to go checkthe original URIpost ) So wouldnt that make sense killing 2 birds with one stone?? Is that possible even?? I mean shes already going to be there and is going to get them sent home with her anyway..I'm thinking that would be the smart and more cost effective thing to do if its possible, I'm just not sure if they use the same type of antibiotic for her after a spay as they would to treat a URI...anyone know?




p.s I still have 3 tubes of the benebac that I bought when she started taking the tetracyc for the URI...how should I give it to her after surgery if shes not eating? like a tube at a time?? Or is this something I should ask after her surgery I know angie told me to post a thread the day before she goes..maybe this will be covered then

 

[Flashy]

Really they only need antibiotics if they show signs of infection. I have a feeling that using them as a preventative is one of th reasons some have become ineffective. I've had penty of buns spayed, and never had routine anti-bios, but I have had one get an infection who did need them, but she was started when the infection showed, not as a precaution.

I'm not sure where those in the know might be on having Zithromax straight away to work on her URI, or whether she should maybe wait a few days until she is recovered, but your plan does sound like it makes sense. Hopefully someone will clarify if its ok to have Zihti that soon after a spay.

 

[tonyshuman]

Flashy's right that using antibiotics to prevent an infection isn't really the way to go. Some vets do this, but it's not the best way, as it can lead to bacteria gaining antibiotic resistance, and the delicate nature of the rabbit's GI tract makes use of any antibiotic tricky. It's common practice for dog and cat vets to send a post-surgery animal home with antibiotic and pain killer, but it's not the best practice for bunnies due to the GI tract sensitivity and the fact that many rabbit bacteria are antibiotic-resistant. Most rabbit vets don't send post-op bunnies home with antibiotics for this reason.

She still has the sneezing, huh? The best way to treat any infection in a rabbit is to obtain a sample of the bacteria that are causing the infection, culture it on a petri dish, and determine what antibiotics can kill them. This is called a culture and sensitivity test. Since Spirit has been on tetracycline for several weeks without improvement in her URI, I would insist that they do this. Just picking an antibiotic name out of a hat doesn't always work. In addition, they will need to intubate her during the surgery (stick a tube down her throat to have her breathe off a machine), and this makes it a lot easier to obtain a sample of mucus from the nose or the back of the throat that they can then culture.

The most commonly used antibiotics in pets are tetracycline, Baytril, sulfonamides, and oral penicillins. Oral penicillin is a huge no-no for rabbits because of their GI tract, and many rabbit illnesses are resistant to Baytril, sulfonamides, and tetracycline. Therefore, we like to see a vet treat with zithromax, injectible penicillins, or even Convenia. They seem to be stronger antibiotics, and fewer rabbit bacteria are already resistant to them. However, even picking one of these by random isn't as good as doing a culture and sensitvity test.

So, what to do? (Caveat: my opinion entirely) If she still has the URI, ask them to swab her nose/throat for mucus while she's sedated and do a culture and sensitivity test on it. If they don't want to do this, and want to send you home with Baytril as a post-op antibiotic, you can try it for a couple of days. If you don't see any improvement in her URI, don't continue on it past 5-7 days or so. If you do see improvement, ask for whatever more you need to do a full 14-week course. If Baytri doesn't improve the URI, you really need to do a culture and sensitivity test. For probiotic, she should be on a dime-sized amount daily whenever she's on an antibiotic.

I'm really glad you're getting her spayed. I don't think she will be too far along if she's pregnant. I know it may be difficult, but the lives of the bunnies she might have would probably be very difficult. They could end up in a shelter where they might be put to sleep for lack of space, in a backyard hutch in the sweltering midwestern heat, or they could go on to produce more babies that would contribute to the pet overpopulation problem. Even if you were able to find good homes for them, that would take away homes from bunnies that are already in shelters and are at risk of being PTS for lack of space and good homes. You may be preventing them from being born, but you are saving the lives of bunnies that are already in shelters.

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

In addition, they will need to intubate her during surgery( stick a tube down her throat and have her breathe off a machine).

I thought i read somewhere that rabbits werent supposed to be intubated since they cannot vomit?? I was thinking they were only supposed to use a mask on her? I cant remember where I read this but I believe I did..was I mistaken?? At the last visit when she got looked at for the URI the vet said she could do a culture but that it would be costly and she said that she would just give her the tetracycline for it..I'm not sure why she didnt do it.

Yes its very hard for me to think about the fact she may be pregnant with babies but I know its best to do this for the exact reasons you stated..I myself was unaware of all the homeless bunnies b4 I got my 2 or I definitley would have went the resuce way to get them..I feel bad but I would feel worse knowing that more bunnies wouldnt have homes or would just be some snake food or something..so this seems the better way..I mean I have to do it anyway so its like I have to decide to do it now...or wait till she has babies then do it..either way it has to be done and with all the troubles I'm having with these 2 getting sick etc..I cant possibly afford to take care of baby bunnies for the weeks until they can find homes..as well as what you said about them taking a home away from a bunny already in the shelter..so I'm ok with this decision..I know its best.

Do you have any idea of what a culture costs? Honestly I should tell her that she should do it for free because I already paid her 175.00 for a visit to get the URI taken care of...I dont feel like I should have to pay for another seperate visit. Should I be penalized for her giving Spirit the wrong meds?? I am going to discuss this with her on Saturday when she is in the office..I'm going to make a list of things to ask her before taking Spirit in on monday morning. So since she has already told me that they give her antibiotics to take home do you think I should ask for one of the stronger ones just to be safe??? I dont want to sound cheap but everytimeI take her they charge me $50.00 just for the visit alone, I was thinking that since they were planning on sending her home with one why not ask for one that would more than likely solve the problem of the URI ( even if they think its to prevent infection? )..I thinkwhat your saying is that no antibioticis really good for them to take and thatI need to make sure its one that willsolve the problem rather than just randomly guessing and having her take 2 or3 different ones before actually getting one that works? Thanks for your help and I wont call you tony this time :blushan:

 

[mardigraskisses]

LuvMyRabbits wrote:

p.s I still have 3 tubes of the benebac that I bought when she started taking the tetracyc for the URI...how should I give it to her after surgery if shes not eating? like a tube at a time?? Or is this something I should ask after her surgery I know angie told me to post a thread the day before she goes..maybe this will be covered then

I waited a day to see if Bayou would eat on his own, but I got scared and impatient. What I did was fed him one tube and then waited for a few hours. That one tube seemed to perk him right up though.

 

[tonyshuman]

I'm glad you asked because I had heard about bunnies being intubated before, but your question made me go look it up to be sure! This Article gives a good overview of anesthesia in rabbits, and it does say that intubation isn't always done with rabbits. I do want to point out that it mentions the use of IV anesthetics instead of gases, which is preferred because it is a lot easier to dose IV drugs than gas drugs. This Article talks about the delivery of gaseous anesthetic during the procedure via an endotrachial (ET) tube, which is the same thing as intubating. It seems that it's normal to intubate during surgery in rabbits, although it isn't always done, especially when the vet is worried about damaging the throat/soft palate of the rabbit.

Whether or not they intubate, it is a lot easier to get a swab of mucus from the throat or nose while the bunny is under general anesthesia.

I would be pretty upset that what they gave you for the URI didn't work. I don't know how much a culture costs, unfortunately. The only pet insurance that covers rabbits will allow for $50 for a culture and sensitivity test, so I'm guessing that should be a reasonable price. I know I've had one done for myself and it was around $100. Perhaps they will do that for you for free since you've already spent so much on the URI.

However, if they don't do a culture and sensitivity for free, or they want to charge you a ton to do it, I'd just take whatever antibiotic they want to send you home with, and see if that improves the URI. Some URIs will resolve with Baytril, and the only other common oral antibiotic is zithromax. Other antibiotics out there are rare and expensive (Convenia), difficult to administer (chloramphenicol), or injectible only (Bicillin (Penicillin G procaine/benzathine), amoxicillin). I guess you could ask for zithromax instead of baytril if you want. If the one they send you home with doesn't work (and you need at least a 2 week supply for a URI), you'll have to do culture and sensitivity. It's a tough situation, I just wish the vet had done the culture and sensitivity in the first place, as it would have solved a lot of problems.