Spaying/Neutering...

[LadyOnslaught]

Next month I should (I don't want to say I will and jinx it)be getting some money and part of it will be to get the two adult rabbits spayed and neutered finally. (I would definitely have had it done sooner if I knew Morgan was a boy). I wish I could have had him neutured when the babies were born but financially I couldn't do it.

I know I read that the male could still get a female pregnant up to like 8 weeks after being neutered. I plan on just getting them done at the same time so could I put them together if they are getting along? She would obviously be spayed at that point.

Obviously Morgan loves Riley now and vice versa but will they like each other still afterwards? I know I read the smells and such could cause them to become unbonded. I guess my question is...do they only like each other now becuase they are intact?

 

[Flashy]

I would suggest not putting them together until 4 weeks after she has been spayed because its a huge operation and she will need time to recover from that. You won't just be able to put them together, you will have to go through the full bonding process to make sure there are no fights and no injured bunnies.

Well done on making the decision to get them fixed though, it will hopefully be worth it in the end

 

[LadyOnslaught]

Flashy wrote:

I would suggest not putting them together until 4 weeks after she has been spayed because its a huge operation and she will need time to recover from that. You won't just be able to put them together, you will have to go through the full bonding process to make sure there are no fights and no injured bunnies.

Well done on making the decision to get them fixed though, it will hopefully be worth it in the end

I believe in spaying and neutering almost everything. Unless you're a good breeder I think they all should be spayed and neutered. I would have had it done sooner but my husband lost his job and I thought they were girls. Even if they were both girls I would have had it done but didn't think there was a rush.

 

[purplepeacock]

you could ask the vet too how long before they could go back in the same cage. i'm not sure how long it takes to heal from a spay. liffey was right as rain the next day after his neuter and i could keep him from running around like crazy 3 days after. it's been a week and he eats more now then he did before the surgury and he's more active than ever.

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

I would keep them separated for about 2 weeks. If you do laser surgery for the spay, maybe 10 days. We do a lot of spays/neuters and while there is some debate in the vet community of the benefits of laser vs. conventional....we always do laser for spays. The doctors aren't that familiar with the follow up after surgery. Laser is a much cleaner cut which will heal quicker and with less chance of infection. There is also much less blood loss just due to how the laser works. We have internal self dissolving sutures and the final close is with tissue glue only. You will most likely have to do some rebonding anyway. Rabbits identify each other by scent and the surgery will change the scent immediately. Depending on the age of your male, it could be months until his hormones completely purge. It is possible for males to store sperm and can still impregnate a female for several weeks after a neuter. But this is totally different than the hormone levels. And he will most likely continue to exhibit mounting and other territorial behavior well beyond several weeks....the older he is at neutering, the longer it will take to purge the hormones.

And have things planned out with your vet prior to the surgery. You do not remove food as many front desk people will tell you. If the front desk people tell you that, advise the vet since some additional education is in order. If the vet tells you to remove food, find another vet. We do remove pellets early in the morning of the surgery but they still have hay and water at all times. Insist on pain meds. If the vet refuses, then I suggest you refuse to have your rabbit treated there. Many will give Metacam, which is better than nothing, but a narcotic aspect will greatly speed the recovery especially with the girls. We do not administer antibiotics post-op unless there was a pre-existing infection related to the surgery.

And I totally agree with your views on responsible spaying and neutering and responsible breeding.

Randy

 

[JadeIcing]

Awesome response again Randy.

 

[Flashy]

Randy, would you say its ok for a recently spayed female to be humped by a recently neutered male?

I'm only asking because that was the main reason I said four weeks because his hormones will still be there and I didn't think it would be good for a recently spayed girlie to be humped. However, I'm thinking you might be able to tell me otherwise, which is always of use when doing my RSPCA stuff so the more different view points and ideas I can gather, the better