Spay/Neuter

I live in a 3rd world country and want a rabbit. There's no shortage of them here, there are tons of them at markets, just not vets to spay or neuter them. It's not like I shouldn't get one just because I can spay or neuter them; it's not like they'd have a great life stuck in one of those tiny cages. I want a house rabbit- is this possible if he/she isn't spayed or neutered? If it is, is there a specific sex that's better? I was thinking female. I know most get ovarian cancer in the first five years of their life, but I'm moving back to the US in three years and can hopefully bring the rabbit with me to get it neutered. Thanks!

I'd take a male without a second of hesitation. In 3 years, a female could already have ovarian / uterine cancer and she could have had a lot of phantom pregnancies already (my female did her first around at 6 months, before I got her spayed) which can cause mastitis and inflammations due to lactation. A single male can perfectly live without being neutered - we do it mostly for the owner's sake when the rabbit acts like a monster (it can happen with females too and it doesn't always happen especially if the rabbit is single) or when we want to bond them with another rabbit.

You don't mention the country you are currently living in but I would think long and hard before taking a rabbit if you are going back in the US in 3 years. I don't know a single plane company which accepts rabbits in the cabin which means a rabbit flying would have to do it in the hold (I'm not 100% sure it's the right word, but I'm sure you get what I mean). I take a 3 hours trip with my rabbits, by foot, car and train, when I go to my parents' place for the summer holiday and I'm already afraid they are going to get a heart attack from that (I had to give a gut stimulant and pain meds to my 4 year old bunny last week coming home from the trip, because he wouldn't eat and had a clear stomach ache due to the stress after the train ride). I really would hesitate to make them go anywhere by plane, in a noisy very hot place with cats / dogs, knowing that rabbits are very sensitive to stress, heatstrokes and heart attacks.
If the plane trip is short and that you can find a company which accept you taking rabbits in cabin, it's a possibility, but I think you should really try to look that up before thinking about adopting or you might end up having to abandon your bunny before leaving or getting a sick / dead rabbit when you arrive home.

Aki said:

I'd take a male without a second of hesitation. In 3 years, a female could already have ovarian / uterine cancer and she could have had a lot of phantom pregnancies already (my female did her first around at 6 months, before I got her spayed) which can cause mastitis and inflammations due to lactation. A single male can perfectly live without being neutered - we do it mostly for the owner's sake when the rabbit acts like a monster (it can happen with females too and it doesn't always happen especially if the rabbit is single) or when we want to bond them with another rabbit.

You don't mention the country you are currently living in but I would think long and hard before taking a rabbit if you are going back in the US in 3 years. I don't know a single plane company which accepts rabbits in the cabin which means a rabbit flying would have to do it in the hold (I'm not 100% sure it's the right word, but I'm sure you get what I mean). I take a 3 hours trip with my rabbits, by foot, car and train, when I go to my parents' place for the summer holiday and I'm already afraid they are going to get a heart attack from that (I had to give a gut stimulant and pain meds to my 4 year old bunny last week coming home from the trip, because he wouldn't eat and had a clear stomach ache due to the stress after the train ride). I really would hesitate to make them go anywhere by plane, in a noisy very hot place with cats / dogs, knowing that rabbits are very sensitive to stress, heatstrokes and heart attacks.
If the plane trip is short and that you can find a company which accept you taking rabbits in cabin, it's a possibility, but I think you should really try to look that up before thinking about adopting or you might end up having to abandon your bunny before leaving or getting a sick / dead rabbit when you arrive home.

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I live in China, so it's a 14-hour flight, but I looked it up and I can take the rabbit on the plane with me. And even if it turns out I can't, I'm sure I could find another good home for him. Isn't it worth it to save a rabbit from possibly getting put down because he didn't sell fast enough?

Don't just consider the flight. TO bring an animal in the US, it usually requires MANY vet visits, tons of paperwork, and a 6 month quarantine when you arrive here (aka 6 months where your rabbit would be living in a quarantine facility). It depends on the species and country of origin (I don't know specifically for China), but it is not an easy feat to bring an animal into the US (or out for that matter). Here we do not have RHDV or Myxoma, so we are very careful about allowing rabbits into the US.

If it feels right to get a rabbit- then get one! But I would have a home in place for him once you are gone before you even consider it if you can.

RavenousDragon said:

Don't just consider the flight. TO bring an animal in the US, it usually requires MANY vet visits, tons of paperwork, and a 6 month quarantine when you arrive here (aka 6 months where your rabbit would be living in a quarantine facility). It depends on the species and country of origin (I don't know specifically for China), but it is not an easy feat to bring an animal into the US (or out for that matter). Here we do not have RHDV or Myxoma, so we are very careful about allowing rabbits into the US.

If it feels right to get a rabbit- then get one! But I would have a home in place for him once you are gone before you even consider it if you can.

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That's true, I forgot about the quarantine thing too... we don't have that between European countries anymore so I didn't think about it ^^'.

OP, I don't think 'saving' a rabbit is the first thing you should consider. To begin with, if you are not talking about taking him from a shelter or adopting him from a family that can't keep him... which you clearly aren't considering those people generally don't kill pets which can't sell quickly and that they probably wouldn't give a rabbit to someone scheduled to live the country... thinking of buying a pet as 'saving' it is a rather moot point to me. The bunny you will buy to save him will be replaced by a dozen of other bunnies produced with the money you spent on him. Petshops work like that in every country of the world and that's actually a selling point - they tell people who just came in to look about the sad fate of the unsold pets and people end up going home with an animal to 'save' him... thus giving money to horrible people who raise animals in terrible conditions, helping them continue and do worse Also technically, if you think of taking a rabbit as saving him then when you'll give your bunny to another family you'll just virtually kill the rabbit they would have gotten if you hadn't given them yours...
I'm caricaturing here, but I'm sure you get the point.


The real thing to consider, in my opinion, is : either you really want a rabbit now and don't care that much that you'll have to possibly leave him when you get home (probably... 14 hours is a VERY long journey for a rabbit, not speaking about the other problems RavenousDragon mentionned - I've never been to China, but I've been to Japan which is a 12h30 hours flight and that's not something I would inflict on any if my animals, not even my dog, because I would really be concerned they wouldn't survive it) or you think it might be more reasonnable to wait until you're back in America where you can get one you'll be able to keep.


You sound like you made up your mind already, but make sure finding a good home for the rabbit will be as easy as you think it will be before buying him. I don't know about China but in most countries it's really not that simple. And from what you're saying, it appears there is no shortage of baby rabbits where you live which often makes it hard to find a good home for an adult bunny - for most people, a 3 year old rabbit isn't that tempting when you can get fluffy babies almost anywhere...