Post neuter personality worries

[Carly]

My bun, Tot, has reached the 6 month mark, and is going in to be neutered next week. 

One concern I have is his personality changing after the surgery. You see, he is the sweetest boy, perfect litter habits, no aggression, absolutely no problems. I’ve heard that neuter/spaying rabbits can have a calming effect on their behavior. Since Tot hasn’t displayed any “teenager” behaviors, I’m worried that neutering him will leave him quite different. 

Anyone have any similar experiences with their bunny? Thanks! 

[Azerane]

I can only comment on Bandit. I had him neutered at about five months. He was already litter trained, didn’t spray urine (though he may have later). He had hormonal behaviour in that he would circle my feet and honk, it was adorable more than anything but it’s possible that he may have gotten a bit more excited as time went on. Otherwise, he was normal bunny mischievous and friendly, no aggression and I could pet him and pick him up etc.

After I had him neutered he did calm down, but really only in the way that meant he stopped circling my legs and honking. About 4 days to a week after surgery is when I saw the main difference in that he was actually coming up to me to ask for head rubs, something that he had never done before. I could pet him fine, but he never really sank down and presented his head for petting before that point. He was still mischievous and playful and binkied etc. Oh an his pee stunk way less afterwards Occasionally before then he would have quite a musky smell, but that went away after surgery too.

So I wouldn’t say his personality changed, it just took away the hormonal behaviour (circling) and made him more affectionate. But for me, Bandit was just the same bunn before and after.

[Mikey]

2 out of 3 of my boys are neutered. Blue didnt change one bit personality wise. He did turn into a bit more of a cuddler but he still loves to explore and run laps around the room when the mood strikes right. He still loves playing with our other two buns as well. As for our second neutered bun, Bombur, well, he was just neutered yesterday. He was a real brat(biting, nipping, lunching, chasing, spraying, ect) before the neuter so were hoping he calms down a lot. We think his anger was caused a lot by his testicles swelling (almost had them emergency removed about two months ago). So far, he seems a lot happier to have them gone so i have high hopes he will be a cuddler and will be more friendly

[jerseygirl]

I think any personality changes people see are more to do with the rabbit reaching adult hood. Some rabbits will actually worsen {temporarily!) with undesirable habits right after being neutered. It’s thought to be because of a small surge in the hormones due to handling the testes in the procedure. So whatever happens post-neuter, just allow some time for things to settle down before your rabbits true personality is revealed.
It sounds like you have a good bond with him. Rabbits are big on routine, so keeping things the same in how you interact should help. I think your little sweetheart will remain one.

[Bam]

I agree, the changes brought on by a neuter are primarily about sexual behavior, not personality. Some people interpret bunny courtship (circling their feet and follow them around) as affection, and are sad when that goes away after a neuter. But courtship behavior isn’t really about affection, it’s about sex-drive and urge to procreate. The bunny doesn’t choose to do it, it’s “forced” by his hormones.

Aggression and territoriality are also often sexually driven behaviors, and when those things go away after a neuter, we tend to think the bunny has “calmed down”. But it’s really that he nolonger has the same need to defend his space against intruders etc. That’s really purposeful to do in nature, but for a house bun, it’s redundant – it has no real purpose since he’s not competing for lady buns, so it just puts stress on him.

My Bam just lost his urge to court my German Shepherd dog. Yohio just lost his phenomenal but really gross capacity to pee several feet up on the walls. Other than that, same bunnies as before their neuters. They’re very un-like each other, buns really are individuals with lots of personal personality!

[kmurphy]

My bunny was 2 years old when we got him neutered and he displayed little hormonal behavior. He always peed in his litter box, was never aggressive, he did circle if you had food, and he would buzz when he got excited to see a person. We got him neutered to get him a friend and his personality (and almost all of his behaviors) have stayed the same. I wouldn’t worry! And good luck with his neuter!

[LeOpalBun]

When I adopted Bjorn he had not been neutered, so I had to wait for his neuter before I could take him home. I would visit him daily at the shelter and I never saw him experience any territorial behaviors while he was at the shelter. He didn’t hump any hands or honk at anyone. He didn’t spray anything, it was weird. When I brought him home, I realized that my bun was just a little bit cray. He didn’t like to use his litter box, or at least would do his business everywhere else but the litter box. He didn’t seem litter box trained. After a week of smelly pee and a lot of poop grabbing, one positive coccidia test, and a boat load of patience we got a litter trained bun.
Bjorn doesn’t chin anything, he wont chew on cords, and he wont eat my base boards. I do not know if this was all due to his neuter but it might be. He is still so sweet and cuddles so much. No stinky pee!

[Beka27]

Yes, the procedure might cause his hormones to go haywire for a short time after (a few weeks or so), but he will be back to his sweet self soon enough! Don’t worry!

[Carly]

Thanks so much everyone!

[jerseygirl]

Adorable rabbit! Keep us updated on how he does.

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