# After neuter - blood,cone help



## victoriamarina (Jan 18, 2013)

My baby went in for his neuter today and he came back with an e collar.. HE HATES IT tried to dig it off cant wash his face the poor baby  I HATE IT.
He ate some green veggies out of my hand when i got home now hes sleeping or when hes not sitting or sleeping he is trying to get the collar off.

It went fine but they told me he has "no stitches" I dont even know what this means, is this why he needs the collar on? Its ridiculous they told me ten days... I don't think so  its a sin! They told me its so then he wont rip open the surgical site.... 

I looked at it :'( I'm scared of blood and its very messy (he is pure white) and i see the blood and as they said no stitches so i don't understand this.. How will I be able to tell if the area is swollen or if he starts to bleed :'(


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## Ape337 (Jan 18, 2013)

Yikes! Mine never had the collars. Are there no stiches, or internal stitches and exterior glue? That's what my Faith had. Idk I've never heard of confining a male that long.
Is there bright red blood or dark crusty coagulated blood? I think if it's old from the surgery you would still be able to see fresh blood?
Maybe someone with more info will come along.


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## woahlookitsme (Jan 18, 2013)

The area on rabbits are usually closed with glue. This is a pretty strong glue and Any of the rabbits I had didnt mess with their incision site. The french lop I got done had a bit of a swelling issue in his sacs after the neuter (he was about 10mos old so they had already dropped). After 2 weeks the swelling went away. He was put on pain medicine if I can remember correctly and he never messed with his incision. 

The vet or techs should have cleaned him up before he left the clinic but if not a tissue or soft towel can be sprayed with Hydrogen Peroxide to clean the site. Dont get rough and the H2O2 can be sprayed right on the area if its already dried.

If the surgery was recently done and there is blood then it should be dried like said above. If it is fresh blood ontop of the dried blood he needs to be taken back so they can look at it and add more glue where needed


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## tonyshuman (Jan 18, 2013)

I would take the e collar off. Bunnies really can't stand them and they do more harm than good. Most bunnies won't bother the site. There are other alternatives if he starts bugging at it. One is a "no chew" spray made for dogs. It tastes really bad. Another option is a soft collar that prevents them from bending their necks enough (like a sock wrapped around the neck) but that prevents them from eating cecotropes which will make them upset.

They didn't bother to clean him up? If you can, you can gently wipe the area AROUND the stitches with baby wipes, rubbing alcohol, diluted peroxide (make sure to put the peroxide on a towel first instead of directly on the skin), plain water, or a gentle non-toxic soap. No Tears baby shampoo or something similar should be ok. Don't worry about there being blood unless it is fresh. If it is dried blood, that doesn't indicate an open wound. There are several layers of stuff to sew back up after surgery. They probably used dissolving sutures inside (to tie off spermatic ducts, blood supply, etc) and skin glue on the surface. That way you don't have to come back to get stitches removed. However, if you don't clean up the skin before you put the glue on, blood can get trapped in the glue and that won't come off for a while. If you do try to clean up blood on the skin, stay away from the glue.

Some swelling is normal. We were told to ice the area 2x a day, 15 min each, with ice in a bag wrapped in a towel for Benjamin 3-4 days post-surgery. We did it and he tolerated it, but I don't know if it was necessary. If it gets infected, it will be pretty obvious. There is usually a color difference and it will be very warm to the touch.


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## woahlookitsme (Jan 18, 2013)

My boss always told me not to spray that no chew stuff on any type of wound. It makes things worse and they will most likely start messing with the site because it burns. Peroxide works best to get dried blood off and it can be put directly on the skin (this is how we clean up any animal that has dried blood on them after surgery)


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## victoriamarina (Jan 18, 2013)

I called back and the lady who dealt with me at the end wasnt the vet, the vet told me the cone is to prevent from him tearing apart the internal "tuck" stitches and i guess if it oozes? then its fresh blood and i will notice? this was a bit more helpful then when i left and they just told me he had no stitches and that was it, i don't mean to have ignorance but its like im sure a lot of people dont know a lot about it thats what i had lack of knowledge about the whole process so i feel like the other lady should of told me more.

The vet told me on the phone to have collar off time when im watching him so i can make sure hes not trying to tear open the internal tuck but when i cant watch him often to have the collar on  yeah I know everything i've read says their bunny didn't have one but i am from a rural area and not many vets in general let alone small animal specialized ones.

he has aten his cecotropes with the collar on and hes only been home for an hour right now i gave him his bottle and he drank from it and he ate hay on his own and i fed him a few pellets, right now he is just sleeping and when hes not sleeping he trys to dig off the collar.


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## victoriamarina (Jan 18, 2013)

A little peak before he fell asleep  !


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## tonyshuman (Jan 18, 2013)

He looks very upset. I wasn't aware that the spray could cause irritation. It is in a rubbing alcohol solution so I could see that happening. 

I have a better idea of what your vet means about the no stitches thing now. They do this a lot with cat neuters and increasingly with bunnies, it seems. They tie off the spermatic cord on itself and leave the wound open to drain, no stitches. There may be a little clear oozing, but that is ok. If there is bleeding, it should be obvious. I think taking the cone off when you can watch him is an ok compromise, but there still shouldn't be a ton of blood down there so you can clean it up a little. If he can get at his cecotropes I don't know if the collar would even prevent him from getting at the neuter site.


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## MILU (Jan 18, 2013)

poor bunny... I hope he's better soon!


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## JBun (Jan 18, 2013)

Most of the time they will only put a collar on if your rabbit starts messing with the incision site and won't leave it alone. The problem with collars is that it can make buns depressed and they will stop eating. A better alternative, if it will work, is to use a gauze pad over the incision and wrap no chew vet wrap over that. Check out Vosify's blog. She just went through the same thing with her bun.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f18/arizona-lion-giants-blog-72663/index2.html


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## holtzchick (Jan 18, 2013)

awh he looks like a pouty bunny! Hopefully it heals soon!


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## Pipp (Jan 18, 2013)

Peroxide is not a good thing to use on rabbit wounds, it stings and it can kill tissue, it can be used to clean around the wound but should be put in any open skin. The best thing to use is Betadine, which is the orangy wash they use when they're prepping people/animals for surgery. It's a povidone-iodine. 

Everybody should have some in their ER kits. 


sas :clover:


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## Chrisdoc (Jan 18, 2013)

I must admit I´d never heard of the surgery done like that before, I couldn´t even see a wound with my three. there was some swelling but hat is normal and should go down after a few days. He does not look happy, he´s got a real grumpy face. Poor little boy looks really uncomfortable with that thing on. Hope he can get rid of it soon.


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## missyscove (Jan 19, 2013)

It's possible that they did the "bio knot" on the spermatic cord and left the wound open to drain. That's the technique I used when I did a kitten neuter and it's actually a pretty cool way of doing the neuter.


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## wendymac (Jan 19, 2013)

Poor fellow! That's the first time I've seen a bunny in a "cone of shame". Are his ears tucked behind it? Or did they cut holes for them to go through?


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## victoriamarina (Jan 20, 2013)

I guess they did do the "tuck" with the stitches so they are internal and disovable but the vet i spoke with on the phone made a lot more sense then the lady who gave me back Winston when i went to pick him up. I guess his saliva bacteria even licking the wound can cause infection and improper healing.

His cone the vet cut so his whiskers are able to be used and his ears aren't effected by the cone itself just the cord which is wrapped around his head where it's loose it sometimes annoys him when the ends touch his ears so i always re-position it.

I have even every morning been having to hand feed my baby his.. i honestly forget the name of them it starts with "C" The types of poops which bunnies eat to regain nourishment. I notice hes left some the last two mornings but when i offer it to him he wants to eat it so he does.. The things we do for our babies.

I gave him time WITHOUT the cone today and he really enjoyed to groom his face, feet, back etc. I had to put the cone back on him when he went straight for his area though  Just because I am so paranoid that he will damage it and I won't be able to help him in time.

He still despises the cone and will occasionally try to get it off and scratch etc. He's been so sleepy these past two days but his eating and bathroom habits are normal.

I can't wait to have my baby back to normal   THIS SUCKS.


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## Bunnylova4eva (Jan 20, 2013)

He is such an adorable bun! He looks similar to my lil' Ripley-hope he heals up soon and easily and is back to normal for you in no time at all!


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## Chrisdoc (Jan 20, 2013)

Poor little baby, it must be so uncomfortable for him but he´s getting through it with lots of help from his bunny mommy. What we do for our babies, I thinks it´s what any of us would do for ours without a second thought and feeding him his cecals, it´s great that he´s taking them from you. It´s also great that he´s eating and pooping OK so looks as though he´s well on the way to recovery. Would love another photo of this little cutie at the end minus the collar. Lot os nose rubs and bunny hugs for him from my three. :hugsquish:


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## victoriamarina (Jan 21, 2013)

Thank-you so much just an update - I woke up this morning to see his cone had been removed in a way, hes a small little guy he basically just had it hanging like a necklace  He had it done on firday, today is monday i wish i could just take it off him without worry but the vet did say he could open up the wound again without my knowing when i was in class.. thankfully my first class of the day is an hour and ill be home the rest of the morning and afternoon to watch him.


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## wendymac (Jan 21, 2013)

While he had it off, does it look like he messed with his incision at all?


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## victoriamarina (Jan 21, 2013)

Honestly no there appears to be no swelling or anything coming from it at all. Right now he has been cone free all evening and has been fine I did catch him licking them so i stopped him just because i know they are dissolveable stitches and aren't supposed to be licked in case of risk of infection. He is so much like himself right now  He binkyed tonight for the first time since his operation!


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## pla725 (Jan 21, 2013)

The last time I had a cone on rabbit was in 1993. I just had my foster neutered yesterday and no cone. I would take it off and leave it off.


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## victoriamarina (Jan 22, 2013)

Winston has been cone free since yesterday and is a lot happier and is back to his usual behavior  Thank-you.


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## LakeCondo (Jan 22, 2013)

glad to hear it


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