Spaying/Neutering Rabbits

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bamabunny

bamabunny

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, Alabama, USA
Is it recommended for rabbits to be neutered? Our breeder we got our bunny from said no because they weren't good with anesthesia since they are so small, but I've heard if you don't they become territorial of their cage and males spray. Also, how old do they need to be? I read somewhere that rabbits can sexually mature as early as 10 weeks, but that seems a little too young. I guess I just need a little advice:) Thanks!
 
Yes, males will spray. Even neutered males or spayed females will (still) spray. It does not cure spraying or marking behavior 100%. However sp/euters done by a rabbit-savvy vet will reduce cancer risks as your family member/companion pet ages. 85% of females are prone to uterine cancer by age 5. Several RO members can tell you of experiences losing a beloved companion rabbit due to cancer.

** For your breeder to say anesthesia is risky for small animals leads me to think your breeder is unaware of the hundreds to thousands of rabbits whom are sp/eutered each year ~ for their welfare and longtime health. Isoflurane is highly recommended and safe.

All surgeries carry risks. Your rabbit won't mount your arm, hump away madly at your skin with a tight teeth hold, and your female will be much less territorial. Spaying and neutering Makes a Huge Difference. You won't regret having a companion pet that is free of raging hormones, spraying, and is able to snuggle up to a member of the opposite gender... without bringing more little lives into this world of overpopulated numbers.

Males should be neutered when their boy parts/jewels descend, around 3 to 4 months old. Depending on size ~ as Flemish Giants are a bit different; Peg or Polly, Bo B Bunny, GoinBackToCali, Flashy, naturestee would know the appropriate age for larger rabbits. We had a rescue rabbit who gave birth at age 6 months, therefore she was impregnated at age 5 months as a rabbits gestation period is approx. 28 days.
For girls, rabbit savvy vets suggest 5 months as a good age for OVH.

 
You read correctly, males can become sperm-active at 10 weeks.

We had a rescue bun neutered and he still sprayed for months afterward. There's nothing like a good spray or two in the face to get you thinking about a rabbit-safe vet to neuter your boy. Jets of urine are fun to wipe outta your mouth, eyes, pants legs, et al. ;) It's nice to see you thinking ahead of what's best for your companion.

Check out the great info in the Library Section under Spaying and Neutering:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12040&forum_id=10


 
We have also noticed that our (sp)neutered buns are much less territorial, and more laid back.

Funny story: We have a French Lop bun, Rudy, who was quite a handful at about 7 months of age (and unaltered). He sprayed all the time and he just charged and bit every time you went near his cage. He was such a brat.

My poor hubby had to shoo Rudy out of his cage each day to put food in his dish. Well, it came time for Rudy to go back into his hutch. When Dave tried to shoo him in, Rudy wheeled around and clamped onto the palm of his hand, around the bottom thumb joint...and would NOT let go! Dave shook his hand around, tried to pry the bunny mouth apart, even whapped the rabbit a couple of times, all while screaming in pain, yet Rudy hung on! (This wasn't the funny part ;).) Finally, after the longest 30 seconds of his life, the rabbit let go, and Dave was off to the emergency room.

Ol' Rudy went to see "Dr. Snipperwitz" the very next day...and he has been THEWORLD'S nicest rabbit ever since!! He so laid back, and snuggly, andhe's our only bun who can free-range the house while we're at work all day.

Dave says, of course! Rudy is probably scared to be naughty...look what :humour:

happened tohim last time! Who knows what they might cut off next??!
 
Both of my bunnies are being speutered next week. My female is 100 just for the surgery and my male is 75 just for the surgery. Not including pain meds.
 
Epic_win wrote:
Both of my bunnies are being speutered next week. My female is 100 just for the surgery and my male is 75 just for the surgery. Not including pain meds.
Click to expand...
And those are pretty good prices too. Around here the lowest I could find was almost double those.
 
Well, where I live one place said $87 and another said $300...and there is no difference in the service. Of course I want the cheapest, but I keep asking myself..is it so cheap because they aren't very experienced. I don't want to go to a vet that doesn't do the surgery very often and something happen to Snickers.
 
Cheapest may not be best for your beloved bunn. I've been that route. The first vet that was listed (on a list) didn't believe in giving pain meds to rabbits. Cats and dogs were OK for pain meds, but rabbits didn't need them. grrrr.

I was foolish at that time to drop somebun off there, and he died.
Our disabled girl is disabled due to the visit there.

** Please try to get recommendations of a good exotic-care D.V.M. that is compassionate -- & knowledgeable on rabbit metabolism and the importance of keeping their digestive tract active.

Jerry's foster parents (Jerry is a handlebar-ears agouti, a bun that we've agreed to help) were quoted $300 for his neuter. The vet that performs our lifetime health "makeovers" charges $156 / males / and $180-ish for females (prices noted for ballpark comparisons to everyone reading). Your furrlove, even though s/he's older, is monitored continuously throughout surgery by the licensed vet tech and DVM. A blood panel is done prior to the bun being anesthetized, then visually scoped and intubated for the surgery. IV line in his/her arm. This also includes post-surgical metacam & pain injection prior to surgery for pain easement. Shelters in the area will offer a low-cost alteration price, however not do a blood planel. Althou' I gravitate to vets I've heard positive things about.

wabbitmom12: how painful for Dave! :?! Yikes. How lucky for Rudy and everyone in the house, that Rudy won't chomp down with a remove-my-human's finger mission again. Dr. Snipperwitz... :).

Epic_win: All the best to Splinter and Adeline in recovery and procedure. Pamper them with TLC! (tenderlovingcare). I'm certain you will!! :hug:

bamabunny: One vet at the shelter did a different ligation knot in the neuter and it came undone afterwards (according to the other vet that fixed it up). When I spotted the rabbit in the cell bank, he was grooming his split-open neuter sac, undoing whatever super glue was applied, and it had bled profusely into the blanket. Blood still coming out when I saw the boy in the steel cage!

Definitely ask around, check around. Please make sure "cheapest" price will not jeopardize your lovable companion/s.


 
Thanks! Of course I would rather dish out the money and be sure of Snickers safety! I wouldn't do anything to put him in harms way. :)
 
Assuming that your rabbit is healthy and the vet knows what he's (she's) doing, the anesthesia shouldn't be a problem.

Here's a video which explains and demonstrates the process.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjpzkC-Hj1Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjpzkC-Hj1Q[/ame]
 
Some good comments on here already. I wanted to quote the price for my bf's bunny Benjamin's neuter last summer. It was in total around $200, including the surgery, anesthesia, pre-op blood workup, post-op pain meds, etc. That was at a veterinary teaching hospital, which is probably a bit expensive, but I like to be part of the process by which new vets learn, there are some real experts teaching and supervising them, and the hospital was very convenient to our home and work.
 
I would just ask the vets outright if they have performed a lot of bunny neuters. Also, good questions to ask are things like, will they send home pain meds with the bunny (you want these, because although from what I understand a neuter is less painful than a spay, they are still very likely to be in discomfort afterwards and in need of pain relief, and it's also an indication of how much the vet knows about rabbits, as Treasured Friend said), do they want you to remove food from the bunny beforehand (a big no-no, rabbits don't throw up, so there is no danger with them eating prior to the operation), do they have a good success rate, how often do they see and perform surgery on rabbits, etc etc.


If it were me, and I'd not been to that surgery before, I would try and at least speak to the vet personally beforehand, if not go in and maybe have a consulation...

:)

 
You also might want to look around at humane societies to see if they do nuetering / spaying.

The shelter I got Bill from nueters /spaysseveral Rabbits a day so they have a lot more experience than vets that only see rabbits once in awhile. They also charged less because it was more of a normal procedure for them whereas some vets charge a lot because rabbits are considered "exotic" pets.
 
bamabunny wrote:
Well, where I live one place said $87 and another said $300...and there is no difference in the service. Of course I want the cheapest, but I keep asking myself..is it so cheap because they aren't very experienced. I don't want to go to a vet that doesn't do the surgery very often and something happen to Snickers.
Click to expand...


There's not really a problem in going to a vet that charges less, it's more in their experience. Like, ask them questions before scheduling...Such as

1) How many spay/neuters have you done in the past year? How many successful, how many not and what happened?

We have a link for this, let me find it for you.

Here ya go!:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15002&forum_id=10

 
I agree that spaying/neutering does help rabbits. Bucks do tend to get territorial and like to spray when they "come of age." Does like to get territorial also, and have mood swings if they arent bred. It keeps them happier, especially if they are just pets and not going to be bred or shown or something like that. We used to have a blue Mini Rex buck who was neutered because we took him from people that just wanted him as a pet. It greatly improved his disposition. Plus, if you wanted to pets out of the same litter, then you can spay/neuter them and keep them together.
 
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