Yes, a rabbit savvy vet should not have a problem if he’s only two years old. Just be sure to find an “exotics” vet if you don’t have one already. The House Rabbit Society website, http://www.rabbit.org, has recommended vets listed according to where you live so just go to their site and follow the links to find some in your area. When you ask the vet, see if they tell you to feed your bunny the day of the operation or if the vet says to fast him. He should NOT be fasting. If they say that, they are not experienced enough.

If he’s around a female, separate them and keep them apart until one month after the neuter. Don’t let him near a female at all until then.

Most bunnies after getting fixed are calmer, and dont mark their territory as much. A female bunny also has an 89% chance of having uterine cancer if they do not get spayed. Its pretty much int eh bunnies best interest to get them fixed if at all possible. You’ll both be happier if you don’t have a hormone crazed bun

I have an older bunny (a rescue) that I got fixed and so far outside of getting better at using the litter tray he has not changed a bit! I was warned however they can be agressive for a few weeks after the surgery but never had that issue with Bugz

It’s NOT a good idea to have any pet unfixed…For bunnies, Neutering causes better litter habits, as well as reduced risk of cancer (Testicular=0 of course, but it also lowers rate of other cancers), better behavior and less territorialness or agreesion.

It’s *fine* to neuter later, I’ve seen a few six year old bunnies get neutered and they came through fine. Of course your vet needs to know how old the bun is, but it should be no problem.

Posted By i~luv~frappichino on 10/25/2009 09:03 PM
ok thank you soo much!
i also ha another qusetion..
WHAT IF YOU NEVER END UP GETTING YOUR BUNNY NUETERED OR FIXED?will it be different behivior or what?

Then your rabbit would forever live in an unsatisfied state of frustrated reproductive frenzy. This will make him less enjoyable for you. He may bite or/and spray urine at you or other people. He will have a strong musky scent and leave lots of poop in places other than the litterbox to mark out his territory.

Honestly, the only reason for not neutering that makes any sense to me is not knowing about the benefits. Well, you know now .

One of my rabbits was 2 years old at the time of his neuter and I still see all the expected positive changes in him. He was a smelly, biting, spraying menace that couldn’t be picked up. Now I can even carry him a short distance without getting little bunny hickies on my neck, haha!

each bunny is different, but I personally think each and every bun should be speutered if at all possible. For one, you don’t have to worry about accidental litters if you get them a buddy. And health benefits for females cant be beat.

I think that it’s true that every bunny is different. Because this is a forum, many people come here with questions about the challenging behaviors of their unspayed/neutered bunny. Many times surgery solves these problems. So that is why here, you will find many advocates for neutering/spaying.   Not to mention that one of the main reasons this site was started in the first place was to help spread the word about solutions to challenging behaviors.  After seeing so many bunnies being abandoned bunnies in shelters  - many of which were due to territorial and hormonal behaviors, I became a big advocate of spaying/neutering so human and bunny could live happily in the house. 

And so I agree with the reasons that Petzy mentioned, as well as to prevent accidental litters, to solve some behavioral issues, prevent cancer in females, and it can make bonding easier. Even neutered bunnies can get territorial when there are other animals in the house, but many times the hormones in unnuetered bunnies can go into overdrive with other rabbits and animals. 

So though your friend’s bunny has been just fine, that would be more of the exception here. My suggestion is to just research some more, and talk to the people you are getting the bunny from regarding any behavior challenges with the bunny you are interested in, and from there you will have to make a decision that you feel is best.

I definitely don’t think you should base your decision on one person’s bunny, but just check out many peoples experiences, and ask about the current behaviors of the bunny you want to adopt and just make a decision based on the bigger picture.

You could also adopt this bunny and give him a year and see what he’s like and if you think that neutering would be best for him, you could do it then.  4 years old is still not to old to neuter with a rabbit savvy vet. 

I would definitely advocate getting him neutered.

Ironically, I did not find BinkyBunny until after Spockie had died, and he was 8 years old.

On at least two occasions I asked different vets to neuter him, and both talked me out of it. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I have to believe that it was because they were not experienced with that surgery, rather than making the decision that was best for his overall well being. He was an unusually sweet bunny, without another bunny around, but was still very amorous with me due to hormones. If I had it to do over, I would have searched for an experienced surgeon and gotten it done anyway.

Just like people, dogs, cats…any living thing, really, each bunny is different. In general, you can expect certain behaviors from the members of a population and that’s the information you have to base decisions on. If you do get a bun, please Please PLEASE look at the advantages in general to getting it spayed/neutered. I’m glad that your friend’s bun is the way he is, but he really is the exception to the rule. And the danger of an unfixed rabbit getting testicular/ovarian cancer is very, very real. Our first rescue, Quantum, died because the previous owner did not have her spayed and by the time we rescued her from being dumped on our property, she had numerous cancerous tumors throughout her body.  Instead of having her in our lives for years (she was about 5 according to the vet), we only had her for 6 months.  If you have a rabbit-savvy vet, there really is no reason not to get your bun speutered.

Frappucino-it sounds like your really looking for evidence that you don’t have to spay/neuter. Please read what people have posted. It’s really not optional to keep your rabbit intact. And this isnt’ just for behaviors but for health as well. Trust me-we did not spend the money and go to such effort to get our buns fixed if it were not necessary. There are huge cancer risks in both males and females if they are not fixed.

This should help answer your questions if you have anymore after reading what we’ve posted to you on why you still need to spay/neuter
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html

I agree with K&K. I am sure Spockie would have had a much more comfortable, and possibly longer, life if he had been spayed.

Just to add to all the great reasons to spay/neuter…both male and female buns can develop an annoying habit…think dog going to town on someone’s leg. My bf could never wear his big furry monster claw slippers around one of our buns. This is not something most people want their cute little bunny doing.

I agree that you may be looking for reasons not to do it….it definately makes things easier that way (cost/ drama/ etc). 

I wavered for almost 2 years w/ Leo trying to determine if neutering.  I may be confusing some of the specifics, but we attempted to neuter Leo about 3 times b/f it all went through.  Initially his bloodwork wasn’t good, then he had problems w/ getting his teeth done in coordination w/ the neuter.  It was something else for the third time.  Leo was never the typical male w/ spraying, biting, aggression, etc.  Overall he generally used his litterbox or in the very least used his cage as his litterbox.  We didn’t have any major behavior problems.  I wanted to do it b/c I knew he would be a healthier rabbit for it.  After attempts that lead to failur I really wanted to not do it.  I kept looking for support to not get it done and did get some weak support…but eventually it all worked out. 

He hasn’t changed too much.  He’s still a lover not a fighter.  He was never a super humper towards Jessica, but overall he’s definately healthier and likely happier, even if it didn’t really affect his behavior.