I would think that maybe the vet does not know how to deal with bunnies or someone misheard something. We got our boy bunny this past March and he was not neutered but then got a little girl a month later and they both had to be fixed. Someone else might be able to give better advice, but with all of the research my hubby and I did before getting our buns along with forums like this one, I have never heard of a rabbit that could not be fixed. Strange. Good luck and congrats on the new little guy!!!

Is there any way that you could speak with the vet or staff at the shelter and try to get the details as to why it was determined that the bunny couldn’t be neutered? I assume that they have some kind of records regarding him, and any health problems that they think he may have had. As Cari stated, it may be simply that the vet there is not comfortable with or well versed in rabbit surgery. Tell them that you want to get a companion for him if possible, which is why you really need the information.

Unfortunately, you can’t bond him with a spayed female unless he has been neutered. He would likely be humping her constantly, and that would likely lead to fighting and injuries, besides being very bothersome to the female.

It’s wonderful that you adopted Ravioli.  It would be great if he can be neutered and have a bunny companion.

Ditto to what the others have already said.

Male bunnies have a low chance of getting reproductive cancers and not being fixed would rarely shorten their lifespan under normal circumstances. They could still get testicular cancer and such but it’s generally less common compared to uterine cancer in females.

Most people neuter their male buns to curb hormonal/behavioural issues instead (e.g. excessive humping, aggressiveness, circling, bad litter habits etc). If Ravioli is one of the rare bunnies that does not display these behaviours despite being unneutered, technically you could just leave him intact without dire consequences. Many people still neuter their male bunnies as a precaution though.

Podge isn’t neutered on the advice of the rescue’s vet and his current vet as he never dropped and it was deemed too risky. He is happily bonded to a spayed doe, Gina and has been since March 2016, but he has never tried to mount her. He was caught as a jouvenile stray, so maybe there is a tiny possibility he was neutered before he was dumped, but its very unlikely, as he was too young when caught and there was no evidence of recent surgery, and its hard to see someone who would dump a young bunny paying to neuter first.

If Ravioli hasn’t dropped, that might be why, also some buns, possibly the more inbred ones, are hermaphrodites, which might mean he has male outer parts but female inner parts, making surgery very complx

I was told by Podge’s current vet that the risk of testicular cancer is higher if they are left if the abdomen, but he felt the risk of an abdominal neuter on a currently heathly bunny was higher than the future risk and said he agreed with the recue’s vet that it was best to leave things.

Podge might be the exception, but bonding an unaltered boy to an altered girl can be done, at least if the boy hasn’t dropped, like Podge, and depending on the personalities of both bunnies. Podge thankfully was allowed to come for a date visit with Gina which went really well, he was left for a longer visit which became permanent. I would say you would need to try dating to successfully find a compatable bunny! Some rescues are quite helpful about date sessions.

Along with what was suggest above, it can also be a heart condition – my friends male bunny can’t be put under for that reason.
Good for you for adopting!!!

I’m sorry you’re having a bad time with the shelter, it’s not nice for either you or Ravioli. It sounds like they may not know too much about buns so getting the second opinion of a knowledgeable vet seems the ideal thing to do, both about the skin issue (may just be dermatitis) and to ask about specific anaesthesia risks. It’d be worth saying that they’ve given you this advice, but that you don’t particularly trust it as they can’t explain it.

If you still want to adopt the little guy I hope the shelter deals with you more professionally…

Since the shelter wouldn’t give you a definitive answer about the anesthesia, it seems likely that the vet there is not comfortable performing surgery on rabbits – he/she doesn’t have the knowledge or experience. Do they have other rabbits listed there? Any shelter site I’ve ever seen always mentions if a rabbit has been spayed or neutered or not. If they do have others and none of them say that the rabbit is spayed or neutered, that further shows that the vet there just doesn’t do surgery on rabbits.

If you have a good, rabbit savvy vet, take Ravioli in for a checkup. The vet can assess his overall health and see if there are any concerns as to why he couldn’t be neutered, and he or she can also diagnose the skin problem and give a treatment for that.

Wow! The shelter does not seem very professional. I’m sorry to hear about this. Real breeders and shelters do not mind if you ask about the health of the rabbit, because they know why you’re asking. (Same with dog breeders, and I’ve seen similar things happen before in so called “professional dog breeders”)

If the bunny you like exhibits signs of illness, the simplest thing to do would be not take him home. It is advised to never bring home a sick rabbit.

I would say come back to the shelter and see if you can talk to some more people. Sounds like something fishy is going on here. If I were you I’d try to find out what! (Although, it’s up to you; that’s your choice. I have been told I have a strong personality and I don’t want to push you into anything that makes you uncomfortable)

Harveybunny may well be right about there being something fishy although another possibility is that the shelter just doesn’t have any experience, or the equipment to look after, rabbits. I have seen this before at a dog only shelter where a couple of buns had been dumped. It’s still not professional to act as they are, but it might be due to embarrassment at not knowing rather than malice.