She’s a boy???

[ridia]

So this is my first time creating a topic and whatnot, so I’m sorry if there are any inconveniences!

Anyway, I’ve had my bunny Toasty for maybe 4-5 months. She was born in July so she is around 5-6 months old. We decided to get her spayed today, so we sent her to the vets. She will be there for 3 days. But today they contacted me and told me that Toasty shouldn’t be spayed, that he was supposed to be neutered. I was confused. I asked what they meant and they said, “Your rabbit is a boy.” I was astounded, I had lived with Toasty for that long and had never realized he wasn’t a doe. I had actually never tried to check, either. When I had gotten Toasty I had been thinking that he was a girl, as that is what the person who sold him to me said. As a first-time bunny owner, I made the mistake of not bothering to check Toasty’s area. At least now we know!
Anyways, onto a question of mine: is there anything I should be doing differently for a male bunny rather than a female bunny? I’m afraid that I may have been doing something incorrectly for over 4 whole months, and I’m not sure if anything needs to change. Lastly, do I need to consider a slight change in Toasty’s name? I really think his name is neutral when it comes to gender, but I’m not sure. Thank you!

[Wick & Fable]

I actually find Toasty to be a unisex name, but also, names are names 🙂

Mis-sexing rabbits is very, very common, regardless of how experienced someone is. They are just so small and furry, and the parts themselves are generally small until they develop in an obvious way (i.e. bumps become testicles and descend). My Wick’s testes didn’t descend until 8 weeks, so often times it might not be obvious, especially because males can suck up their testes into their body, hiding them!

In terms of care, nothing different between males and females. With females, there’s a bigger push to spay, but I think that’s the main difference of tone I give when someone has a female versus a male. Diet, life style, etc. are based on the rabbit, not its sex.

 

 

 

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.

[DanaNM]

This is a super common thing! Young rabbits are often mis-sexed. I recently helped at an RHDV vaccine clinic and we had a few people that we had to tell “Did you know your bunny is a boy?”.

Nothing different care-wise (aside from the castration, which is actually easier with boys), and I think Toasty is an adorable name either way. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[DanaNM]

Oop looks like me and Wick were typing at the same time!

 

. . . 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.  

[ridia]

Thanks for replying! I’m glad that there’s nothing too crucial about it, and, yeah, I initially had trouble trying to find a rabbit whose caretaker could assure confidently the sex of the rabbit, but now I understand! I’m glad that things don’t have to change too much because Toasty is a boy. Thank you!

[LBJ10]

You could still say he’s a girl if you want. He won’t know the difference. LOL

Seriously though, nothing should change care-wise. And Toasty is pretty unisex, so I wouldn’t worry about it.

[Hazel]

The good news is that a neuter is far less invasive and easier to recover from. Are they still keeping him for three days? That seems excessive, even for a spay I would expect one overnight stay at the most, unless there was an issue.

[Author]

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