ARG! Neuter frustrations

[br41nfr33z]

Hey y'all

My male mini-rex desperatly needs to be neutered. He humps any arms and uncovered legs he can find, and I've tried everything I can think of to get him to stop marking his territory all over our apartment. It's ruining the hardwood floors!

I'm in Columbia SC, and the vet Colby Jack sees is great. The only problem is that neutering costs too much! Do any of you know of anywhere that neuters rabbits for cheaper or --ideally-- free? I'm frustrated that shelters around here neuter cats and dogs all over the place for free, but rabbits, NO! GRRR

Thanks

 

[p1rat3]

It might be an idea to go to shelters or maybe the Human Society and see where they get theirs done. If it is like over here they will get every one 'fixed' before they find them a home.

Sorry I can't help too much but operating on rabbits is not simple and many vets will not even do it (I hear).

J

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

I had to chime in on this one. You are comparing apples to oranges when you compare rabbits to cats and dogs. It is a totally different world. There are three major study areas in vet schools....small mammal which is basically dogs and cats, large animal which is farm animals such as cows and sheep and equine which is horses. There is very limited formal instruction on treating what we call "exotics". Now, how do I know what is going on? Well....most of the rabbits here in my rescue are "special needs". Many have conditions that most vets would have no idea on treatment protocols. I have rabbits here....living happily....that vets suggested euthanizing. I allow my rescued rabbits to work with senior vet students giving them experience in dealing with these animals....under my supervision and that of an experience exotics vet. Just last night, we took a bird and several rabbits....including one with head tilt....to work with vet students. Another is having a minor surgical procedure performed tomorrow and students will be there observing.

As far as pricing...probably around $200 or so for a neuter and a tad more for a spay. Rabbits (and other exotics) present challenges during medical procedures. The pricing is due to our "supply and demand" system. There are onlya few vets that can do it. For those vets willing to learn, it adds considerable time and cost to the degree they are getting after years in school. The student vets take it upon themselves to learn exotics.

Now...what can you do? Push the vet schools to offer more training on exotics. Since many people are downsizing housing...."pocket pets" such as gerbils, hamsters,mice and rats as well as rabbits, guniea pigs, degus and chinchillas are becoming more common. If there is a young vet in a practice...encourage them to add to their education and take additional courses to learn. I am amazed by the reception and interest the vet students take in my animals. Ask the owner of the vet clinic to make incentives available for additional training for their staff.

I feel that if you have a rabbit savvy vet that you should be thankful that one is available...many people don't have that luxury. It comes down to the fact that it costs more to treat an exotic because it costs the doctor and/or clinic more to get trained. And as more vets learn exotics...the price should drop.

Randy

 

[gentle giants]

I am very lucky in that my rabbit vet, who knows rabbits but is not what I would call an expert, does spay/neuters for very good prices. A buck is $55 and doe is $70. As I said,I trust this vet for spay/neuters, but for anything worse than a "cold" I can go to a truly excellent vet in Champaign. I don't know what I would do if it cost me that much to even neuter a buck here, I definately wouldn't be taking in rescues.

 

[murph72]

I was just at our local fair today and spotted an adorable little lionhead. I already have two bunnies, but they have been separated due to one having E.C. I am really thinking about trying to add a male lionhead in with my female mini lop, but I too would need to neuter him. She is not spayed because there are not any vets who would be willing to do it around here that had any type of success rate that I was comfortable with. There are, however, vets that will neuter males and their success rate is actually rather good. So I wanted to add a boy because I thought she'd be more aggressive with females than with males. Plus, I now know I can get him "fixed" and that I can't really do that without great risk with a female.

My question then is, how soon will a vet neuter a rabbit? How soon do I have to worry about junior trying to test his manhood and impregnate his new "sister"?

 

[br41nfr33z]

ra7751, I can see what your saying, but the animal shelter for Columbia gives vouchers for free spays and neuters for cats and dogs based off the number of offspring one cat or dog could have in a given time frame. By that justification, rabbits should be included since they're more productive than cats and dogs. Thats what frustrates me.