  Animal Care - Care Needed When Neutering Rabbits |
Pumpkins' StoryIt doesn’t happen often, and when it does it is heartbreaking. Sometimes when a rabbit comes back from his neuter surgery he is found to be partially paralyzed. That is what happened to Pumpkin.It is not the first time The Sanctuary staff has seen this. It happened once before to a little boy named Piper. In both cases when we took the boys from their carriers, we found that they crawled off, dragging back legs behind. The first time, in Pipers’ case, we immediately called the vet to ask what had happened. The vet was not aware of the rabbits’ condition. When rabbits sustain back injuries, there are often a few moments before they loose use of their legs. When the veterinarians’ staff removed the rabbit from the post surgery cubicle and placed him into the carrier, the paralysis may have not yet set in or may have gone unnoticed. After getting over the shock, of Pipers’ injury we spoke with our vet and together explored the cause. We learned that the position the rabbit must be placed in for the surgery is a precarious one. Rabbits are prone to spinal injuries. Additionally, it is typical for a vet to tie down the legs. Our vet now feels that this may cause risk of injury, especially if the rabbit struggles during the procedure. Our primary vet no longer ties the legs down tightly, hoping that this will reduce the risk. She is still looking for additional information to ascertain if tying the legs down at all is warranted. Due to a scheduling conflict we took Pumpkin to a different vet. We did not think to warn him of the potential problem. Even before the incident with Piper, we had neutered hundreds of rabbits without a problem. We will now always speak to a new vet about this risk before having the surgery done. Pumpkins’ injury has not ended in tragedy. He is able to move about quite a bit and unlike some ‘bits with paralysis, he is able to release droppings and urine without making a mess of his fur. He lives with Betsy, a girl with a malocclusion. Paralysis is not a death sentence. We have dealt with four cases in the past year. Two of those rabbits are living full lives. |
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