Is there a point in neutering an old single rabbit?

[Sparky04]

 We recently found a rabbit in our yard. We have’t had any luck finding his owners so far. We took him to the vet and was told he was about 6 years old and a male. Should he be neutered even if he’s older and not around any other rabbits? This is the first time I’ve ever looked after a rabbit and I don’t know much about them. 

[Bam]

There is a greater risk with anesthetizing older bunnys.

Other than that, yes, there is a point. My bunny was single when I had him neutered. It makes them much easier to litter-train and to keep up the good litter-box-habits. There is less risk that they spray urine to mark their territory if they’re neutered. They also scatter less droppings around (they scatter poop to mark territory). If you have other pets, an un-neutered male may fall in love with them and start courting them (happened to my German Shepherd dog).

[kcomstoc]

I agree with Bam, my bunny is a single bunny and he is neutered. It also makes them live longer because they can’t get cancer where their genitals are. It’s less common in males than females but can still happen. If I’m correct…..I’m also new to bunny ownership.

[LittlePuffyTail]

It’s not as necessary to neuter males as to spay females. The health risks for leaving a male un-neutered are quite low as far as I know. If he is not displaying any negative behaviors and will never be around another female, then it is up to you and your vet to decide whether to neuter him or not. If you do opt for the neuter at that age, I strongly recommend pre-neuter blood work to make sure he is healthy enough for the anesthetic.

[Stickerbunny]

My vet doesn’t push neutering for males that are single unless they show hormonal behaviors that make them living in the house difficult. There aren’t the same health risks with leaving a male intact as a female. The only reason I had Powder done is because I was going to bond him to Stickers, otherwise he was a perfect gentleman even without being neutered.

[Beka27]

It is really hard to correctly “age” a rabbit, what made the vet think he’s 6? After about 1.5-2 years old, they don’t change until they are much, much older and may start to lose weight or develop other health issues.

How is his behavior and litter habits in the house? That is going to be the biggest determining factor with whether you neuter. Males can spray urine, be destructive, and have a very bad odor if not neutered. If none of that is an issue, and he is housed indoors 24/7 with no other rabbits, neutering isn’t imperative.

[Roberta]

Hi Sparky, Firstly thankyou so much for giving this little man a new life and taking him in. The home page has lots of good tips on diet and care. You mentioned you don’t know a lot about rabbits and most people aren’t aware that hay is a very important part of their diet, then green leafy veg (certain types, check the list for safe and unsafe veg. Never give potato or peelings, many leaves are toxic and should be avoided whilst many common herbs like coriander, basil, parsley and other aromatic herbs are good for them) If he has been vet checked and is healthy neutering would be a good idea especially if you are going to keep him indoors (the best place for a rabbit especially as they are such clowns when they have a willing human audience) however I would not see it as essential. The home page also has info on habitats and grooming.

[Sparky04]

Hi, thank you everyone for responding. The vet said he could estimate his age by looking at his teeth. Anyway, the rabbit does pretty good with his litter box. He doesn’t spray around the house, he always pees in his litter box. We have no cats or dogs he could want to mate with, just birds. Also he’s living indoors, but we bought him a harness and leash and take him outside for a little bit. But when he’s outside, he’s always on the leash and is carefully watched. Thanks for the diet advice as well. The vet told us to feed him hay, so we’ve been giving him timothy hay. Does he need a pellet food as well or just hay?

[Bam]

Unless he pees and poops all over the place or becomes aggressive or fall in love with f ex your feet (yes, they can apparently mistake human feet for other rabbits and try to start families with them), I’d not neuter him. And should he later on develop bad habits that are hormonal, you can always have him neutered then. There are no or few health benfits to be had by neutering a single male bunny. Testicular cancer is rare. It’s a whole other story with female rabits and the risk of uterine cancer.

A grown-up rabbit doesn’t absolutely need pellets, but if you don’t feed him any at all, you need to give him a good variation of greens so he gets all the nutritients he needs. That can be tricky especially in winter. But 80% of his daily intake can be hay and that’d be excellent for him and his stomach.

[Sarita]

I would give him pellets – it’s true they don’t need pellets but you really have to give a large variety of greens and pellets are a very minimal part of their diet. I would only give him 1/4 cup or less per day – if he eats less pellets, that’s fine too.

Hay should be the largest part of his diet – good for the teeth and for the gut.

[FlemishMom]

I vote with Sarita on the pellets. Pellets are usually scientifically formulated to be pretty balanced. Early on I had a vet who was a great enthusiast for a non-pellet diet. The problem here is that in the wild a rabbit is DIGGING up its food — it gets roots and it gets bit of soil, all of which can have important nutrients and micronutrients which an all above-ground vegetable diet can’t give them. One of my b/wDutches so much like darling Sparky04 actually gained a lot of very puffy weight because she was not getting the degree of nutrition from it that she needed. Variety is always a good idea but I tend to have a base of the same brand/maker/mill of pellet that I trust and then build around.

[Eepster]

We didn’t neuter our single male.

Since we have no female bunny, there is no risk of unwanted pregnancy. He has a wonderful personality and disposition, so we don’t need to control any hormonal behavior. He was easy to litter train, basically I just moved the litter box to the corner of his condo that he peed in a couple of times and he never peed outside it again. Though every now and again he gets a slightly male scent to him, it isn’t strong or terribly offensive (actually it reminds me of one of my exboyfriend’s aftershave.)

Since none of the usual reasons for neutering a male applied to us, it didn’t seem worth the pain and risk.

Even though a bunny doesn’t need pellets, many bunnies enjoy them immensely, and it makes assuring balanced nutrition easier.

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