Neutering Cryptorchid Netherland Dwarf

[bluebutterfly18xo]

Hi,

I have a 6 month old Netherland dwarf bunny, we were waiting to get him neutered as he only had one testicle and the vets advised us to wait a bit longer to see if it would descend without the need for a more complex operation. He is only tiny, still under 1kg and I doubt he will get any bigger than this. If as the vet suspects he does indeed have an undescended testicle, would you risk the operation? I have looked into the slightly raised risk of testicular cancer but from my own research and through speaking to the vet the risk isn’t significantly higher for cancer. He’s my little baby and I’d feel awful if anything happened to him, we are not concerned behaviour wise if he wasn’t neutered, we simply wanted to be able to find him a spayed female companion in the near future.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated as we’re really unsure on what to do!

[Wick & Fable]

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer:

Wick got neutered at 8-9 months old. He is a netherland dwarf as well and weighed 0.923kg the day of his neuter. His testicle descended a month before the neuter (late bloomer), and I’m unsure when the second descended, but both were dropped by the time the neuter occurred (1 month later).

A large part of surgery success is the vet’s skill, in my opinion. If the vet feels confident in doing it and your rabbit is healthy, I think it should be considered. Many users comment how their vets cautioned them from spaying/neutering because their rabbits were smaller, and while it could be seen as irresponsible of Wick’s vet, she said “And we’re neutering him, right?” the moment she saw him at the first visit, where he weighed 422g. While cancer risks are not nearly as high as an unspayed female, the hormonal presence for male rabbits can cause some frustrating behaviors for you down the road (i.e. spraying, excessive marking) and maybe for him (e.g. feeling aggressive to defend territory, feeling frustrated by mating urges). This may also make bonding extremely difficult down the line since you are planning to get him a buddy (which is great!). Some may say bonding with an intact male is simply impossible because of the hormonal mating urges and territorial instincts. My Wick never showed any hormonal behaviors, but when one testicle descended at 8 months old, something definitely “clicked”. The week right before the neuter, Wick would spray his pee over the room and at me. Flattering, but I was happy his neuter was less than a week away. Again, no hormonal behaviors at all until that week before the neuter.

I know some facilities do some pre-op blood work to ensure your rabbit’s system can handle the anesthesia as well. This may be something worth discussing with your vet, or another exotic vet.

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.

[LBJ10]

Funny story – When Wooly was taken to be be neutered, we were like wow he’s got some jewels there. The vet then called halfway through the procedure. One was definitely a testicle… but the other one that we thought was a testicle was actually a fat deposit. She wanted to find the other testicle, so I agreed over the phone. I was worried, but he ended up being fine. It was pretty much like having a female spayed, except obviously not as much stuff was removed. He was around 9 months at the time so what was there was likely what was going to be there. There wasn’t really a way to avoid the more extensive surgery.

[Author]

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