Possible Hermaphrodite

[Ciara]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with a hermaphrodite rabbit. I recently posted on the bonding forum, regarding my two male rabbits (Herbert – 15 weeks and Percy – 13 weeks) who had been split up because they began fighting (expected due to hormones). However, Herbert went to the vets today and it turns out although he is definitely male on the outside, but it appears that he doesn’t have any testicles – so they are either hidden in his stomach and need to come out (multiple vets couldn’t feel any) or he has female sex organs. The vet said by 3 months old they expect to be able to feel testis in their abdomen and Herbert is almost 4 months. 

The behaviour he has been displaying really does suggest he is hormonal, such as starting a scuffle with Percy (although now separated) who does have testis but is not yet old enough to be neutered, Percy never started these scuffles but did fight back. Herbert has never appeared to spray urine but he is very ‘moody’ at the moment so I’m not sure what is happening.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

The vet advised to wait 4 weeks and if nothing changes, they will need to operate what is going on. 

[Sirius&Luna]

I don’t personally have experience, but I know that hermaphrodite bunnies are pretty common.

They’ll need to be neutered/spayed either way, but there’s no reason why it would be anymore invasive than a regular spay. Do you have an experienced bunny vet?

[Wick & Fable]

Well Wick’s were not there until 8mo, so no experience with a hermaphrodite, but waiting may be a good route. Either way, spay and neuter when applicable should be done!

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.

[tobyluv]

I agree that you should wait a while before determining if Herbert is a hermaphrodite or not. Some rabbits develop later than others. There have been one or two other members here who have had hermaphrodite rabbits. If you use the search feature, you should be able to find their posts.

[Ciara]

He will be spayed/neutered whatever the outcome, because his behaviour has changed and I know its best for the rabbit. We see a different vet each time but from the ones I have seen I am very happy with how experienced they are with rabbits.

What type of rabbit is Wicks please? I hope I don’t have to wait until 8 months because I wanted to rebond me them sooner rather than later (only when safe). Could you feel Wick’s in his stomach though?

[Wick & Fable]

Wick is a Netherland Dwarf, and he is a runt, so he was half the size of his litter mates. Presumably, he’s slow to develop (is the reasoning I’ve decided for why it took so long). He’s a tiny fiend.

Neither myself or vet could feel them withdrawn in his stomach around the typical neutering time for a rabbit. Wick was in to see the vet weekly for his URI, so I imagine my vet would have told me had the testes been felt in the stomach. The two skin “bumps” were present at 9wo to identify he’s probably a male, so my vet was confident that those would eventually develop into testes. I pick up Wick multiple times daily (for various reasons), and so I’m quite confident I found the first dropped teste within the hour it dropped. The second came after about 3 days. With how often I handle Wick and how often he saw the vet, it’s highly unlikely his testes were there much earlier.

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.

[Ciara]

I also pick Herbert up frequently and can never feel anything, not even in his stomach area. He is definitely showing behaviour that he is hormonal, such as he is now scent marking by rubbing his chin everywhere. Just no sign of testes…

Im 99% sure Percys are there, I have never had a rabbit before and he’s very wriggly so I wouldn’t say I could 100% confirm (as silly as that sounds). But he is not old enough to be neutered because the vet will not do it until at least 4 months old.

I’m concerned that if Herberts aren’t there in 4 weeks time there may be something not quite right… the vet definitely seemed concerned and I don’t think she would want to let us wait until he is 8 months old incase he does have testes and they’re stuck somewhere!

The vet thinks he is a good weight and of a normal size, and he definitely wasn’t a runt. Maybe just slower at developing! I suppose only time will tell.

[Wick & Fable]

The testes are surprisingly large in comparison to what you’d expect (at least for me). Wick’s seemed so large for how small he is… When I picked him up, I literally felt a fleshy thing there that wasn’t there before, so I immediately put him down and checked it out, and behold, 1 teste, haha.

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]

Good old fashioned cryptorchidism is a possibility as well. Wooly was “missing” one testicle. The vet had to go find it during his neuter.

[Ciara]

Wick – That is confusing then because what I can feel on Percy (mini lop) are very small…

LBJ10 – The vet does think it could be this. How long do you think I should wait? Because surely by 5 months old there should be some sign of them… I don’t want them to operate if its not yet necessary but I also don’t want any harm coming to him if they are stuck somewhere.

[LBJ10]

Honestly, I would think that if they aren’t there by 6 months then they aren’t going to be. I’m trying to remember how old Wooly was when he was neutered…

[Ciara]

Is there a difference between a male hormonal rabbit behaviour and a female hormonal rabbit? He hasn’t sprayed urine, but will he not do that until he’s got testes?

[Wick & Fable]

Not really to my knowledge. As I said, wick wasn’t neutered until about 9mo. He didn’t spray until literally the 3 days approaching the neuter, so lack of or presence of the behavior is quite varied.

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.

[Ciara]

It looks like I’m just going to have to wait and see then! Thank you both for your help.

[tobyluv]

Posted By Ciara on 10/14/2017 2:23 PM

Is there a difference between a male hormonal rabbit behaviour and a female hormonal rabbit? He hasn’t sprayed urine, but will he not do that until he’s got testes?

Most males like to hump a lot, either people or stuffed animals.  I think that females will probably only hump during bonding sessions, if they hump at all.  Not all unneutered males spray, so you can’t really go by that to determine gender.

[Author]

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