Post Operative Care: Rabbit
Looking After Your Pet After An Anaesthetic
Your pet has had a general anaesthetic, and it is very important, that you keep a close eye on how they are coping for several days post operatively.
When you get home, your rabbit should be placed into a cage/restricted area, indoors, in a quiet, warm and dry location. Their bedding should be cleared out and replaced prior to getting home, to reduce the risk of any wound infection, and allow monitoring of toileting in the immediate post operative period.
It can take a while for the drugs used in an anaesthetic to leave the body – your pet may be sleepier than normal for 12-24 hours after their anaesthetic. This is usually nothing to be concerned about, however, they should be able to get up and move around when stimulated, if not, please call the surgery as this may indicate they need veterinary attention.
Post-Operative/Post-Anaesthetic Feeding & Intestinal Stasis
It is very important that your rabbit starts to eat as soon as possible after surgery, and this should be primarily hay along with some leafy greens to help tempt their appetite (although iceberg lettuce, etc should be avoided), as the fibre content helps to keep the intestines working. Occasionally, some rabbits can develop a condition known as stasis, where the guts stop moving properly; they produce less faeces, and the pellets are often smaller and drier. This condition can be triggered by many factors, but pain, stress and anaesthetics are amongst them.
Stasis does have the potential to be a very serious problem for rabbits; therefore, it is very important that you monitor toileting post-surgery and any reduction in amount of faeces passed or changes to the pellets as outlined above should be reported to us rapidly.
If your pet is eating less than normal or passing reduced amounts and quality of faeces by the day after surgery, then please contact us as we may need to give medication to stimulate gut movement.
In addition, it is also important to monitor for signs of pain and discomfort. In most cases we will give you pain killing medication to give to your rabbit for several days post-surgery, however if this does not seem to be adequate then please let us know. Signs of pain include; reduced interaction, grinding of the teeth, reduced appetite, hunched appearance and reduced movement.
Wound Care
It is also important to keep a close eye on any surgical wound, if there are any concerns such as redness, swelling, discharge, opening etc then please also contact us and we may advise that we examine your pet. Wounds should generally be healed by around 10 days after the surgical procedure. We will usually ask that you keep your pet cage rested for around 3-10 days post-surgery, depending on the procedure that has been performed.
Remember, if you have any concerns at all after your rabbit's procedure then please do not hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to either put your mind at rest or deal with any problem that has developed.
In Case of An Emergency
If you have a concern that requires urgent attention, please contact us at the surgery. If it is out of normal surgery hours, listen carefully to the instructions which will direct you to the veterinary surgeon on duty.
It is particularly important that you notify us immediately if your pet becomes very quiet, seems in pain, goes pale, or if you notice any significant bleeding.