How long after bringing bunny home to neuter

[arabbit]

I’ve had him for a week now and he’s starting to get comfy. He is coming out of his cage on his own but still won’t go very far from it and he is starting to let me pet him. He’s still a bit scared though. The people at the pet store said I should neuter as soon as possible. Does anyone here have a suggestion?

[Mikey]

If you can see his testicles, you can neuter him whenever. If he is still scared around you though, it might be best to wait a little longer.

[Fluffykins]

Do you have another bunny?

Why do you want to neuter him right now?

I hate this blase attitude about surgically hacking off physical parts of a living thing, *just* for our convenience.

Sure do it, if you have a female and there’s a high risk of cancer. Do it if you want to bond it with another rabbit. Do it if he’s threatening your safety with he’s territorial behaviour.

But don’t do it because someone said. Or because everyone does. Or it will help litter train them (- how selfish is that!)

You are literally putting a life that’s in your hands through *life changing* surgery; don’t think because you can’t see hormones they are not important – hormones regulate everything from mood to appetite! Mental health is MASSIVELY regulated by hormones.. So it’s not really worth risking that to get your bunny to pee in one corner (just an example).

I know some people need to neuter (for the reasons above) and that’s fine. I might be one of them. All I ask is please do this stuff with your own research and knowledge not just because it’s where the tide is taking you.

[Sleepy]

We had our boy bun neutered a week after getting him, but it was because we had a female bunny who was also unfixed and his balls had dropped and he was running high on hormones. If he’d been a single bunny, we might’ve waited an extra week to let him settle down and build more trust first, but there’s nothing stopping you from doing it as long as the balls have dropped.

I would say that neutering, though, is for more than just “your” convenience. Hormones can really crank up frustration and aggression in a bun, speaking as someone who had two teenager buns who were *very* amorous and hormone crazy before they got fixed. Both were definitely much happier once they’d recovered and the hormones had died down, but you don’t have to rush it unless you find the pee flinging or honking happening or going crazy every time you enter room.

That said, neutering is fairly low risk, if you have an experienced bunny vet and your bun’s in good health. Since their parts are on the outside, unlike with spaying, it’s far less invasive and boys tend to bounce back within a few days.

[12345ABCDE]

It can also be seen as cruel to leave a boy in tact because he will have raging hormones that he can’t ‘fulfill’ That’s not fair either. Just saying.

Anyway, once his testicles have descended, he’s good to go! If his testicles are ‘ready’ now, I’d probably wait a few weeks for him to settle a little more.

[Wick & Fable]

I hate opening debates in these forums, so all I’d like to say is as humans, we have chosen to breed domesticated rabbits. It was a choice going against the grain of nature, similar to the much longer history of breeding domesticated dogs. In order to fulfill that need, neutering a male rabbit is recommended because a rabbit pet owner does not want the territorial and reproductive hormone-induced behaviors, which are necessary for wild rabbits, but are not fitting of what humans consider a domesticated pet. Additionally, a rabbit can feel frustrated if it cannot mate, and neutering will alleviate that sexual frustration.

A rabbit-experienced vet will be able to examine your rabbit and let you know the appropriate time to neuter. Typically, it will be when the testicles descend.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Fluffykins]

No I fully agree, if a rabbit is feeling the urge to reproduce but he can’t, clearly he will need to be nurtured for mental happiness – the greater mental happiness in this case is doing the neutering vs not.

My point is wait till you get to that point. Wait until you actually have a reason to nurture rather then ‘it’s just done’. It IS just done… But that doesn’t make it ok. It’s still surgery for an animal you speak on behalf of.. you’d never ever ever in a million years do the simplest of procedures (heck even vaccinating) to a kid without at least knowing why you are doing it.. So how can you do it to an animal..

I am fully for neutering for a reason, not as just bog standard. The *only* reason it’s pushed as bog standard is for population control and irresponsible breeding – which again I agree is a dispiciple problem, but the answer to that isn’t animal surgery, its human education.

[jerseygirl]

I’m just copy/pasting arabbit’s post from the another thread they started with this question. It has a little more detail.  I’ll lock the other thread since this one has more replies. 

Posted By arabbit on 11/03/2017 9:26 PM 
My bun is finally getting used to his new home. I’ve had him a week now and he’s getting more comfy and let’s me pet him. I was told he was somewhere from 3-4 months old so I know he’s about the age to be neutered. I just don’t know if I should get it done now or wait a little while longer for him to get more comfy. Does anyone here have any opinions?

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

It’s going to be difficult to bond with a bun high on hormones, so I’d say: as soon as possible. A bun in full puberty has exactly 1 thing on his mind, and that isn’t friendship. During puberty rabbits are also likely to show unwanted behaviour like agression, destructive tendencies and a lapse in litterbox habits. Do yourself and your bun a favour and call the vet

[arabbit]

Thanks for all the responses! I am a little worried he will start getting territorial soon as he sometimes seems angry when I get close. I think I’ll wait a little longer for us to get closer before we neuter him.

[12345ABCDE]

I think the reason why so many people suggest neutering also is because unfortunately an intact bun can exhibit undesirable behaviours and not everybody cares about their rabbit as much as we do on here so spraying urine for example can be a ‘dumpable’ offense. That sort of behaviour can also prevent a bun being allowed much freedom too. Hope that makes sense

[jerseygirl]

Posted By arabbit on 11/04/2017 1:36 PM
Thanks for all the responses! I am a little worried he will start getting territorial soon as he sometimes seems angry when I get close. I think I’ll wait a little longer for us to get closer before we neuter him.

Is that if you move your hand or an item directly in front of him, by any chance? Rabbits often react when we do that as its a blind spot for them.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 11/04/2017 3:04 PM

I think the reason why so many people suggest neutering also is because unfortunately an intact bun can exhibit undesirable behaviours and not everybody cares about their rabbit as much as we do on here so spraying urine for example can be a ‘dumpable’ offense. That sort of behaviour can also prevent a bun being allowed much freedom too. Hope that makes sense

Sadly this is all too true. Many rabbits are dumped when they’re past their cute baby phase, because that cute baby suddenly turned into a “problem rabbit”. The behaviour change from baby to teenager can be striking. People often weren’t prepared for this and think that their rabbit is unsociable or dangerously agressive and get rid of their rabbit. A little more insight and a trip to the vet could have fixed that all

[arabbit]

I think he just gets a bit territorial. I’m always careful not to approach from his blind spots. I deffenitly don’t want him desperately hormonal and looking for a bunny to love. I think neutering is the best option for us. I really want him to be able to roam the house but I can’t do that as easily if he’ll be peeing everywhere. I’m gonna wait a while and try to find a really good vet before I get it done! Thanks for your help.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

I think that’s an excellent plan! You’ll definitely get a happier and calmer bunny. Now to find a rabbit-savvy vet, because not every vet knows how to treat a rabbit safely. most vets know surprisingly little about them, so it’s best to have an experienced one. You can find one in the Vet Resources topic: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/116849/afnp/276220/Default.aspx

If there isn’t one in your area on the list, call vets and ask them how frequently they perform spays/neuters on rabbits. It’s vital that a vet has the procedure down to a routine, because an operation is always a risk. A sign of a bad vet is very simple to spot: if they ask you to fast your rabbit before the operation: take your bun and run!
Dogs, cats and humans shouldn’t eat before a surgery because we can vomit. Under sedation we might end up choking on that (which doesn’t look good in the obituaries), so we have to go in sober. Our digestive systems can take a break as well, 1-2 days without food is no problem.
With rabbits it’s the exact opposite: rabbits can’t vomit so that risk is nonexistent, but the worst is that their digestive system may shut down after 1 day without food. Sadly, when it shuts down, chances are that it shuts down forever. So whatever you do, never fast a rabbit before an operation. They’ll also need the energy to get back on their feet quickly. A good vet will encourage you to bring along a rabbit’s favourite food to help him/her eat again after the operation. I hope you’ll find a good vet

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