what do you do before and after the neutering process? i know the vet told me no foods after 10 the night before.. but do i need to switch my Squirrel to a different diet for the couple days before and after the surgery or anything? and what do i do for the healing process afterwards? how long will it take to heal?

I just had my little man neutered last wed - so i'm gonna try and tell you some of the things i wasn't prepared for (regardless of all the reading).
Before - just do what the vet told you as far as no food after 10
Now after - (is this pom on or pom off neuter?) He'll be really tired when you get home - I set up a small cage in my room and I asked the vet to put an ecollar on to be on the safe side (mine was pom on). Because of the collar he couldn't really lie down or cover himself up. So I was up all night making sure he was warm and that the collar stayed on - I also left the light on all night to try and keep him from being too active.
I feed HPw and pureed fruits and veggies so after they thawed I used a syringe one night, but the next night I held a teaspoon for him - it was just getting too messy with the collar - so see what works for you.
I hadn't seen the surgery site until late that evening, and it freaked me out a little - he was shaved and his pom was..well.. dangling - but after remembering that the area was very numb it explained why. I think it mostly caught me off guard because they have so much thick fur - who knew what was under there lol!!
My little man would not/could not sleep so first thing, 7am i put him back in the zipper bonding pouch and he slept fine all day long - I figured he really needed some good rest. He was on me for about 8 hours - altho some gliders do get up to pee during the day he really doesn't.
On day 2 - early afternoon, since the surgery site looked good I took off the collar and put him back in the bonding pouch so I could watch him very close -he cleaned for about 15 minutes and right back to sleep. So a few hours later I put his wife and kid in the pouch with me too so I could see how they would behave and everything was fine.
I know I wrote a book - but as i said, i did months of reading but I was still a nervous wreck. Many glider slaves put them back in the family cage the same evening - so that is entirely up to you. I know everyone has their own experiences - I just have a tendancy to side with caution. (I'm a big baby)

omgosh thank you so much for that book! books are useful! cuz finding only bits and pieces of information here and there isnt very comforting. also i wasnt sure if anybody would reply to this topic or not cuz it seemed like a redundant question or something, or maybe something similar to this had already been posted... but its hard tracking down questions on this forum that have already been asked unless they're on the newest pages! thank you thank you!!

so basically the 1st night after operation keep him up and warm and check the ecollar? does the ecollar tend to slip off or something? i know its to keep him from messing with the surgery site.. but do they try to pry it off or something?

when you put him back in the pouch.. was that with the ecollar still on? so pretty much just leave the collar on until the surgery site looks better? most likely 2ish (or 3) days? im most likely just going to spoon his BML to him, which im sure he's fine with cuz i do that for him anyways when he's too lazy to come out of the pouch.. (im a big baby towards mine too :[ )

oh and the vet said pom on. (which im excited about bc his pom is really cutee i didnt want it to be gone :S )

My little guy, Razzle, was neutered exactly a month ago. My vet did not have me restrict his diet, I would think this could be dangerous with such a little animal. Think about it, if he begins fasting at ten the night before, and the surgery isn't till around ten the next day. Then thats 12 hrs with out food, think about how we get shaky when we don't eat for 12 hours. I could be wrong but my vet had me keep his diet the same, no fasting.

They're not dogs, I know with my black lab should couldn't eat OR drink. At least keep him hydrated, that is VERY important.

Other than that, I drove him to the vet in his sleeping pouch, dropped him off with a few yoggies (so he would cooperate with the girls at the vets office) two hours later I picked him up and drove him home.

He was very groggy from the Anastasia, but other than that he was normal. My vet gave me six doses of .01 CC of met-a-cam, a common pain reliever. I kept his wheel out of the cage for three nights just to make sure he didn't make the area extra sore. I kept him with me during the day, but not once did I see him lick the area or show signs of self mutilation. Luckily I didn't use or need an e-collar. I hope it goes as smoothly for you.

wow what a totally opposite view! thanks!

he didnt pick at it at all? how many days after the operation did it take for things to go back to normal for your glider?

Every glider is going to be different, I have a feeling razzle recovered so well because he was still pretty young. (four months when I had it done)

I would say by the third night he was 100% other than the staining around the area. Don't get me wrong, I spoil all my animals, but it was more of an outpatient surgery, meaning he didn't need catering to. The only thing I made sure of was watching him drink, I actually added a few drops of water to his food to make sure he stayed hydrated. Other than that I got him out for a couple hours every night like usual, and he was just fine. He was on the book shelf, climbing up the coat rack, jumping off window sills etc etc. . .

i see i see. keep them hydrated. got it. will they be able to use the bathroom the first night or so afterwards?

Mine also didn't do any diet changes the night before but I'd definitely do what your vet advises. Mine (I had 3 neutered) never touched their incision sites and yes, they can go to the bathroom normally that night. Their poms are on their bellies and not near their cloaca, where they go to the bathroom from.

ohh. thank you kyro! so yours didnt have an ecollar and they still didnt touch it? thats good. without the ecollar though wouldnt they be be curious or want to groom the area straight away after the operation?

Hannah is def right - every glider is different. Every glider mama is different. My big concern was that if I got him home and did need to put the ecollar on...would I be successful? lol
that's why I played it overly safe - I told ya, i'm a big baby!!!
So yes, they will try to get the collar off - he got it off 4 times at the vet, they ran about a 2" piece of bandage tape from the back of his head (on the collar) to the back of his fur, so when he tugged he felt the tug on his fur and stopped.
yes i put him in the bonding pouch with the ecollar on (days one and two).
You need to do what's best for you and the little guy - we all do have our own opinions - even my vet wanted him separated for 5 days.
Everyone is here to help (they've saved me a few grey hairs for sure!)

Note; razzle was already by him self, so i'm not sure about what to do if he would have been with a cage mate. Definitely keep a close eye on him, i'm sure you'll do just fine though.
Good Luck

mine is by himself as well. but that's the reason why im getting him neutered! so i can bring a girl-friend into his life a little more easily! ^_^

thank you guys so so so so much! i can make my appointment at ease now!

I kept an e-collar on hand each time, but no, never needed one. I made sure that the vet sent me home with pain meds as well which definitely had to help.

quote:

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mine is by himself as well. but that's the reason why im getting him neutered! so i can bring a girl-friend into his life a little more easily!

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Thats exactly what I did, I bring my little girl home soon, looks like we think alike :)

well hooray! let me know how that goes! :) im thinking either next week or the week after for the operation because i have exams :[.

when the vet emailed me back they said something about no pain meds... !!? so.. D: does that mean my poor Squirrel will be in pain? or is that, again, different depending on glider and operation?