Very few rabbits are spayed
as most owners in Singapore and in other countries don't
bother to do it. Therefore most vets in most countries don't
have much opportunities to use anaesthetics to spay rabbits
unlike in cases of dogs and cats.
Vets who work in rabbit shelters seldom share their knowledge
as there is no monetary incentive. However, injectable
anaesthetics used are safe in the spay of normal rabbits. Use
isoflurane by gas mask for a few seconds to top up moving
patients. If no gas, use injectable anaesthestics in half or
quarter doses. Analgesia is very effective. I did record four
rabbits being spayed and neutered in one case in
toapayohvets.com
at:
Today I got an email from a young Italian vet who spayed a
rabbit after reading my blog. It was great to know that she
had good success. That is good news for rabbits too as rabbits
do develop uterine cancer in old age and spaying prevents such
cancers.
EMAIL FROM ITALIAN VET MARCH 3, 2011
dear dr Sing,
i'm an italian young vet, dr ....., and i read your blog about
anesthesia for rabbits..and i used premedication with atropine
and your method n 2 with zoletil and isoflurane and than
analgesia for a rabbit neutering....it was fantastic!
i was scared to anesthetize a rabbits cause i never learnt
anything about this at university..but i tried!!
everything was good except her uterus....it was so
fragile...it's normal in a rabbit or it was cause she was in
estrus?
now she is ok, and she ate few hours later anesthesia..
thank you so much...i hope i have your reply...
EMAIL REPLY FROM DR SING DATED MAR 3, 2011
Hi
It is good to hear from you. I was in Italy in 13 December
2011 just as snow started.
1. In reply, very few vets do spays on rabbits because the
Singaporean owners do not usually request rabbit spays and
there is the perception that anaesthesia is risky in rabbits.
.
2. The uterus is more fragile than in dogs and cats especially
when in estrus.
2. Can you share with me the weight, dosage of zoletil used
and analgesia for my knowledge?
3. What is the address of my webpage you saw?
E-MAIL REPLY FROM ITALIAN VET MAR 4, 2O11
oh i 'm so happy you reply me so soon!
in italy, there are very very few people that request to have
their own rabbits spayed...maybe because the majority of
Italians eat rabbits!
...i live in the southern of Italy, and not all animals have
the possibility to be visited by a vet...cultural problems may
be..there are few rabbits in the houses and not many people
know they need a vet!
so your...or...may be not your site is:
http://singaporerabbits.blogspot.com/2010/01/2-anaesthesia-giant-rabbit-and-guinea.html
i used atropine in 0.5mg/kg and than zoletil 100 between
5-25mg/kg IM (my white rabbit was 3 kg and i do first 0.15ml
of zoletil...but it was quite calm...so i do inject another
0.15 ml. she started to be very quiet..eyes closed...and so,
after a few minutes, i put on her face a isoflurane mask on
2%, than 1% during all the spay.
Before I start to cut her skin i gave flumixin meglumine in
1mg/kg, so i used Finadine in 0.02ml/kg, i read its effect
will start just 2 hours after administration IM.
20 minutes after the end of spay, she cried nervously for few
seconds...and then she sat calmly in her little cage..
in 2 hours she started to eat normally, and now, 2 days after
spay, she can standing up and she is very sweet!
I do not use antibiotics after surgery...because i'm scared to
do it..
she is very good...i nurse her every day, and she cleans her
cut, with Intradermal sutures, she can't put off it.
i hope i can ask you in future just to have your help!
COMMENTS
An excellent description by the Italian vet.
Due to lack of time, some of my webpages are at blogger.com
and some at www.toapayohvets.com. In blogger.com, it is easy
for me. No need to upload files and link it as in
toapayohvets.com. I could just type, click "post" and the
webpage is there! In toapayohvets.com, I need to FTP the file
to the site. Then I need to get the hyperlink and put it into
my front page which is www.toapayohvets.com. This takes a few
minutes.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF READERS, the website referred to by
the Italian vet is in one of my blogs at blogger.com. I
reproduce as follows:
2. Anaesthesia - Giant Rabbit and Guinea Pig
BE KIND TO PETS
bekindtopets.com community education
Sharing knowledge with veterinarians
Giant Rabbit Neutering
The vast majority of Singapore pet owners keep small rabbits
of around 2-3 kg. So my staff quoted the normal prices of
$75.00 for neutering of a rabbit. A price list is displayed
prominently at the reception. It says: "Castration, rabbit,
$75.00"
However, a giant rabbit was presented after the owner phoned
for a quotation. Unfortunately, my staff had never thought of
asking its weight, unlike the case for dog neutering. A Giant
Fleming Rabbit of 5.2 kg turned up. He was extremely
hyperexcitable. This type of temperament is a high anaesthetic
risk.
METHOD 1
One method is to use injectable anaesthesia of zoletil IM, 5
minutes later, give domitor IV via the ear vein.
However, this method seems to be unsuitable as restraint and
injection causes the rabbit to move a lot.
Zoletil 50 0.2 ml IM
Waited 15 minutes
Wanted to give Domitor 0.2 ml IV, ear vein.
Still struggling. Abandoned this method in favour of Method 2.
METHOD 2
Zoletil 50 0.2 ml IM given. In around 7 minutes, the rabbit
staggers and by the 15th minute, the rabbit was recumbent.
However it exhibited excitation when the ear vein was pricked
and moved away. So, I used isoflurane 5% gas by mask.
Isoflurane gas - mask - maintenance at 0.5% - 1% was
excellent. The rabbit was neutered without problems.
METHOD 3
Xylazine IM, Ketamine IM is another method I used for smaller
rabbits of around 2 kg. Isoflurane Gas top up may be
necessary.
This Giant Rabbit recovered after 30 minutes and went home.
Method 2 is the best method for me but each vet has his own
preferences.
Guinea Pig Neutering
In a 4-month-old, 700-gram male Guinea Pig I neutered
recently, Zoletil 50 0.1 ml IM was given. Then a few seconds
of isoflurane gas at 1-2% provided excellent surgical
anaesthesia when the guinea pig moved. The guinea Pig woke up
within 1 minute after neutering was completed.
As rabbits and guinea pigs are not starved 10 hours prior to
anaesthesia and surgery, unlike dogs, I neutered this guinea
pig 4 hours after the young lady owner brought him in for
neutering to prevent breeding. "It is much safer to neuter
than to spay the guinea pig," the young girl told me. "You are
correct," I replied. "Spaying takes a much longer time and
require internal access inside the abdomen."
After Zoletil injection, a copious amount of yellowish-brown
fluid came out of the guinea pig's mouth. This appeared to be
"vomitus". His mouth was cleaned before the gas mask was
applied. This could be a side effect of Zoletil injection.
toapayohvets.com
Be Kind To Pets
Veterinary Educational
Project 2010-0001
REPLY TO ITALIAN VET DATED MAR 4, 2011
Thank you very much for your sharing of knowledge and your
interesting description of your rabbit spay. In Singapore, the
majority of the population does not eat rabbits. Now, the pets
kept are dwarf rabbits mainly as the big ones are out of
fashion. Pl email if you have other questions on veterinary
matter. The blog you gave in the e-mail was written by me. For
other interesting veterinary cases on rabbits, I usually post
the reports at
www.toapayohvets.com. Goto "Rabbits" to read the cases of
relevance to you. Best wishes.
TOA
PAYOH VETS
