Nice behaviors after testicles descent?

[sealyah]

My rabbit has gotten extremely nice since his testicles have descended so I don’t think I should neuter him.

He is about to be 5 months old, and I am 95% sure his testicles have descended (he doesn’t really let me look down there, but I got a peep once and I think I saw them).  He is so sweet now! He licks more than he ever has, probably like 100 times in one day! He will purr when I pet him and he loves to sit beside me and put his head under my hand so I can pet him for about 10 minutes straight! He has not lost his ability to use his litter box, and he does not spray urine, nor does he nip. Should I still neuter him just in case?  I just don’t want to ruin his personality that he has right now! 

Please help!

[niniliefie]

Hahaha mango does the same! He is MUCH more cuddly now, but… The unwanted hormonal humping” also started at the same time! Some have said that soft toys serve as a good distraction but mr mango only aims for my arms,hands and feet! So I don’t know if it will change him… But mango is going snipsnip hahahaha

[Deleted User]

I have to be honest, when I first got my boy I didn’t give it a second thought tilllll……. yep, he sprayed me! and everything else that was the direction of his butt/back legs! (everytime he turned his back to us we all ducked for cover). I got him snipped quick smart! If it wasn’t for his spraying, I still don’t think I would have given it a second thought. I actually enjoyed Henry circling me (showing the love – he’s such an ignorant bun, I took what I could get). So, if your cool with your boys behaviour, leave him be – but if you wait till he starts spraying (and he may not?) be warned – the clean up may not just be you, but the walls, furniture, curtains, dogs, etc., so it’s really a hard call? My Henry’s personality didn’t change once he was neutered (he was just as ignorant before being neutered as he is now – bugga!), it really just eliminated his spraying. “BUT” that is my boy. I have heard that some others noticed changes, why the decision is so hard if they aren’t already spraying/’over’loving you, but you don’t want to be caught out ‘if’ they do? Good luck sealyah. Wishing you dry clean walls forever! Ha ha ha hah!

[sealyah]

Thanks guys! I think that I will neuter him (especially since it won’t change his personality)! I don’t want to suddenly be faced with that behavior! I will soon be scheduling his appointment.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think the niceness might be ‘love in the air’ -you’ll find that won’t last as he’ll get frustrated, and like ‘AndHenry’ said, they spray. They spray up to 6 feet away with incredible accuracy. Not ok! lol
Definitely make your neuter appointment. No it won’t be a bunny-you’ve-never-met-before kind of transformation, but he will do better with litter, likely never spray and will be less aggressive

[Eepster]

Not all male bunnies have hormonal bad behavior. Porky isn’t neutered and is at least several years old (we adopted as an adult who was abandoned without history.) He only ever humps his stuffed animals. He doesn’t spray.

Unlike spaying female bunnies, there is no pressing long term health benefit to neutering males. The reasons to do it are just to prevent unwanted pregnancy and hormonal behaviors, make it possible to bond them, etc. If you are planning to keep your bunny a bachelor and he has no behavior issues, it is optional.

[sealyah]

Thanks for the advice Eepster! He still shows no signs of spraying, except in his cage. The spraying is really the main thing I am worried about, because that would not be cool with anyone who lives here! lol  Plus he has no trouble using the bathroom where he isn’t supposed to.  He literally has not had an accident on the carpet since I first brought him home (and only 2-3 times after that). I could wait, but I just don’t want to be caught off guard with really bad behavior from him; i.e. spraying, nipping, etc.

[Starah]

As Eepster said, there are no pressing health benefits to neutering males.
If he is going to remain a single bun then I’d say don’t rush it unnecessarily, let him grow and enjoy his love!
As AndHenry said, it may not be something you truly consider unless the undesirable behaviours kick in, and they can be…fun…to deal with
BUT….
I had my first bun, Sooty, from aged ten weeks, until he died, just shy of his tenth birthday. That little fella was a perfect gentleman. He NEVER sprayed, he NEVER mounted or humped anything, he NEVER nipped or bit us and he ALWAYS used his litter tray like a dream.
When we adopted Jake at three years he was unneutered. His litter habits were a little shaky (always aimed for the litter box, but sometimes got distracted by something shiny and ended up going right next to the box but not always actually in the box). He NEVER mounted anything or humped anything, though he did grunt amorously and had a funny thing about playing in long hair. He NEVER nipped or bit us and he NEVER sprayed.
Of course since we didn’t know Jake until he was 3 there’s a fair chance he exhibited all these behaviours at puberty and they faded with age.

I just wanted to share those experiences to show that neutering isn’t always a necessity for a lone bun.

Patsy and Pascal are both snipped now, the only change to their personality is that they have mellowed out a bit, but I mean this in a positive way – Patsy was so territorial she was on constant high alert, ears forward, ready to react to whatever she imagined was about to happen. Now that that aspect of her has been reduced she’s able to enjoy exploring again and playing!
I’ve basically got my pre-puberty buns back!

[rayray]

It’s really hard to say. I got Ziggy in Aug 2013, he was 2 yrs old. He was fine, until a month or so ago. The he started marking everything with pee and pellets. Not really spraying, but just puddles. Anyways.. he was fixed a week ago and the recovery was pretty quick.
He doesn’t run around as much, but I think that he’s just getting more relaxed with the lack of urges. lol!
It’s really up to you whether you want to wait and see or prevent it all together.

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