# how long does it take to recover from a spay?



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi everyone! So, there's a chance we'll be adopting a mini lop that is "temperamental" and doesn't like other girl bunnies or some people. This bunny is scheduled to be spayed at the third week of January. Based on her personality, I'm thinking it would be best to introduce her and Rory after she's been spayed since her hormones would be calmer and they'd be more likely to hit it off. My question is, how long do we need to wait after the spay? Just until she's healed up (how long does that take?) or until the excess hormones have left her system? How long does that take?

Thanks!


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## Flashy (Dec 29, 2007)

You are right not to put them together until after she is spayed. For the reasons you said, but also because after her spay she will have a different smell, so Rory might not realise it's her.

A hysterectomy in a woman is a HUGE operation, and even though it's done commonly in bunnies, it's still a huge thing. I'm thinking weeks after a spay, so that her insides are healed, she doesn't feel any pain, she is and feels like herself but less aggressive.

I have never had a girl spayed so I can't be more specific, sorry.

You might want to read up on aggression before she comes home to give you chance to think about strategies if necessary. There are some good ones in the behaviour forum at the moment


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## Bassetluv (Dec 29, 2007)

I guess it depends upon the bunny, as different ones will react/heal differently than others. When I adopted Anna I had her spayed before bringing her home, and I picked her up 3 days after the surgery, I think. She was quite active and alert, and I had to keep her confined, otherwise she would have been bouncing off the furniture. She showed no signs of pain and was on no meds when she came home with me. With other bunnies, they might or might not take longer to heal, and pain thresholds can differ. 

As far as introducing your girl after spay, I'd probably wait at least 3 weeks or so to give her internal wounds time to heal, as Flashy suggested....perhaps longer if she her healing time seems to take a while, and if she tends to be aggressive with others. But that's just a guesstimate...someone who's been through a lot of rabbit spays/bonding may give you a better timeline.


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Dec 29, 2007)

When I first got Sophie, she was just spayed that day. She came form the humane society and they spay before sending home. I kept her confined until she went to the vet for a check up and incisions check. That was about 2 weeks later. After that we found out she has some sort of worm thing in her poop and so then she needed meds. This put bonding off for at least another 3 weeks. Sophie and Korr had been in the same room with their cages side by side so they could smell each other. The actual bonding was fairly quick. A bit of chasing and humping and that was about it. 

So I would wait 2-3 weeks before you start letting them interact fully.Make sure she is healthy before you do too much.


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## 12354somebunny (Dec 31, 2007)

Hi SnowyShiloh!

Buttons had a surprisingly quick recovery from her spay. i brought her back immediately after the operation. she was still groggy then but by the next morning, was moving around slowly, and by that same afternoon she even attempted to jump on the couch! i was so afraid that she'd tear her stiches, but all was well, she was her usual self within just a couple of days

try to take note of her favourite food/treats and stock up on those to tempt her to eat after the operation. Buttons only ate tiny bites of banana the day after her spay, even though i offered her tons of other stuff her appetite was only back to almost normal by the third day...and she didn't poop til the third day as well

as for hormones, it takes about a month after spaying for the hormones to die down


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## lionheadbunnygirl (Jul 16, 2012)

Hello! My name is Ra and I have just had my little girl spayed. It is not something I would choose to do if I had the choice. 
It has now been a week and two days and bunny Tutu is doing well. 
My only problem right now is that she has stopped drinking water like she normally would after her fateful surgery. 
I have been using a 1ml syringe to squirt water for her system to function well. 
And forcing her to take the water is such a sad sad thing to see ...
thankfully she is eating normally like nothing ever happened to her. But you see, her not drinking at all is getting me worried sick. 
Please, is there anyone out there who perhaps had such an experience with their baby not taking water at all.
Her droppings are of normal size since day one I brought her back home, her urine is cloudy from the lack of liquid in her body, she is eating endive, carrots, carrot top, grapes, apples without any difficulty and she would jump up and down my bed. 
And then lately I hear hiccups where I immediately administer about 10ml water. And also, what alarms me quiet a bit is her laying on her side much too often, which I believe has nothing to do with the warm temperature of my room. 
I have brought all this to the vet's attention, but all he said was bunny Tutu is getting all her water from the veggies and fruits she receives everyday. 
I disagree on this because bunny Tutu loves drinking water even after a few bites of apple!!! 
Do you now see why I am in tears from the changes in bunny Tutu? 

Please help the desperate me! Thank you.


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