Was the decision hard for you?

[kgarver]

I got Sasha when he was 4 months old. So thatwould leave him a little over 2 years old now. Originally I was againstneutering for several reasons but mostly out of fear of him notsurviving and I felt "bad" for taking his "manhood" away :? Now thatI've researched and read more and I understand the benefits, I amthinking about having it done.

He doesn't spray and isn't aggressive but he's been really "active"lately and I feel bad. He's been humping EVERYTHING and this reallydidn't start until this month. Before he would only do it once in awhile. I feel bad because it's really not fair for him to have allthose hormones racing through him when he'll never have a chance tomate. I guess orginally, I thought it was "unnatural" toneuter but when I got to thinking about it, I realize he is a petrabbit, not a wild rabbit and I need to think of it that way and dowhat's best for his mental and physical health. I also want to getanother rabbit for Sasha to (hopefully) bond with in the future andI know I want a girl so both need to be fixed.

I've found a vet here who works with exotics and comes highlyrecommended. But the issue is I'm SCARED!! :shock: I've read somethread about rabbits not making it and if that happened, I don't thinkI could live with myself...I guess I just need a little positivereassurance or something.

 

[jordiwes]

Don't worry, we all go through doubts. Losing arabbit through this type of procudure is very rare. When I talked to myvet, I asked them their survival rate. They said they they have yet tohave a bunny die from this procedure and that they do 100s per year.You also will want to review whether they will use internal dissolvingstiches, and the after-care information.

If you are getting a mate, you will have to neuter for sure! Sasha might love a mate to play with.

 

[bunnydude]

Losing a rabbit in a neuter is very rare. It isactually much safer than a spay. Everyone is entitled to their ownopinion on whether neutering is morally right. My opinion is thatneutering is the best thing you can do for your pet. If he is neutered,then you can get him a mate and they can live together naturally,without the risk of pregnancy. Another advantage to neutering is thatit can prevent certain types of cancer. But in the end, the choice isyours.

 

[CorkysMom]

Be sure to ask the vet how many they do a yearand how many they've lost...that will help ease your mind a bit I wouldthink. From what my vet said putting them under is a liltrickier than dogs and cats..so you'll want to make sure they areexperienced...as already stated, its rare to have one die during theprocedure.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll make the decision thats best for you and your bunny.

 

[Alice]

As has already been said, a bunny dying during aneuter surgery is *very* rare. If the bun isn't neutered,OTOH, he's got a chance of developing potentially fatal reproductivecancer, and his constantly raging hormones will increase his generalstress level & lower his overall immunity.

Still, it's perfectly natural to worry about your bunny having any sortof surgery (I know I was a wreck when Meat went in for herspay). I highly recommend getting a blood panel done beforethe neuter... the HRS recommends them for rabbits over 2 years of age,but Meat was less than a year old when she was spayed & herbloodwork came back w/ elevated liver enzymes. They weren'tbad enough to cause *too* much concern, but high enough to postpone thespay & feed her milk thistle for a few weeks. Hernext bloodtest came back normal, & her spay went off w/o ahitch. Even w/o the bloodwork, she may very well have beenfine if I'd gone ahead & had her spayed at her firstappointment -- & multiple bloodtests & office visitsadded over $100 to the final cost of her spay -- but the peace of mindthe bloodwork gave me was well worth it. :}

 

[kgarver]

thank you all

i've talked it over with his "dad" (my boyfriend, lol) and we boththink this is the best thing for Sasha. I'm still nervous, but the vetwe found has had years of experience with rabbits and the other vet atthe clinic, his wife, specializes in feline medicine but she keeps herknowledge of rabbit medicine & surgery techniques current sothat she can offer even more help to her husband. They've had their ownclinic for over 10 years. I haven't met with them yet but I will writedown all of the questions you guys mentioned to add to the millionsthat i already have lol.

@Alice...I will definitely have them check Sasha out fully beforegetting him neutered to ensure that there's nothing wrong with him.Thanks for sharing about the bloodwork because I want to have anythingthat needs to be done, done

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Here's a good link from House Rabbit Society:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html

It has a list of questions you should ask the vet. It helpedease my mind a lot when I got my first rabbit spayed.

Laura

 

[pamnock]

It can be very stressful to make the decision tohave an elective surgery done. Bassetluv lost Scooby duringthe neutering procedure, however as others have mentioned, this is veryrare for vets who have experience with rabbit neuters.

There is a health risk of testicular cancer as the rabbit ages as wellas behavioral issues. It is important to weigh the pros andcons, and do as much research as possible.

I do strongly urge neutering for pet rabbits, but do also want pet owners to be aware of possible risks (as in any surgery).



Pam

 

[dyky71]

Pamnock or anyone else who can answer, do youknow what the research shows on how common testicularcanceris in rabbits?

Andis there acertain age rangeat which it seems to show up more often?

 

[pamnock]

dyky71 wrote:

Pamnock or anyone else who can answer, do you know what theresearch shows on how common testicularcancer is in rabbits?

Andis there acertain age rangeat which it seems to show up more often?

The risk increases with age. I'll do some searching and seeif I can come up with any numbers for you. I've had two buckswith testicular tumors.

Pam

 

[FlopsnWills]

i had my boy, william neutered at 4 months oldbecause he's a blue netherland dwarf and i heard dwarfs can usuallybecome really aggressive once they hit puberty. he never got thatchance and ive never not known him as a sweetie he did however startpeeing on my bed, AFTER his neuter and i could not get him to stopuntil i brought home charlie (who was already neutered) i think for petrabbits, its the best choice you can make for them, you just need tomake sure the vet knows what they're doing. charlie was actuallyintended to be william's bond partner, but william adores him andcharlie hates him, so im looking forward to getting william a spayedfemale in the near future. i think it relaxes them a lot more than theywould be if unaltered, sasha is most likely focusing on humping thingsand he cant focus on relaxing (but then again, those pics i saw of himin his bed show he's pretty darn relaxed) my first rabbit was a minilop named flopsy and i had her for 5 years, i never got her spayedbecause i could not find a vet in my area that was comfortable enoughdoing the procedure. i ended up losing her to uterine cancer, i believefemales have an 80% chance of developing it after the age of 2. she wasthe best bunny and i really wish i could have found a rabbitexperienced vet. sorry this is so long but i definitely believe its thebest choice a pet rabbit owner can make.

 

[dyky71]

Thanks for checking Pam. How old were your bucks when they came down with testicular cancer?