• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Should I change my vet?

Mr Cookie Bun

Mr Cookie Bun

Mama Doe
:wave: I have a lionhead (Cookie - neutered male) and a nethie - female not spayed. Sooty is quite small for her age and my vet has told me that he won't spay her until her weight reaches 1kg. My problem is that she is displaying typical un-spayed doe behaviour - stamping, grunting, lunging at people and she tried to box my daughter the other day. Also I'm desperate to bond her with Cookie. Vet says that had she been a male he would do the op just now, but he's not comfortable spaying female's under 1kg because it's a bigger op. Should I change my vet? or is he right?
 
female bun must be spay around the 5th or 6th mth. Or else they risk having uterus cancer at age 2. There is a 80% chance of female bun having uterus cancer without spay
 
Personally, if weighing up health (leaving the spay until 1kg) verses social/behavioural, I'd always put health first. So, my personal choice would be to go with the vet's opinion and leave her to get bigger (and stronger).

It would also depend how old she is and I don't know the weight of an adult Nethie, so not sure if I'd change my mind knowing these two factors!
 
How old is Sooty? And how much weight would she need to put on?

The vet who spayed Bubbles for me goes by age, rather than weight because (as in Sooty's case) the bun could be really small and never reach that weight. He spayed Bubbles at 5 mths old, and she was tiny, definitely under a kilo.

It depends very much on the vet, and what they are comfortable with doing - the other vet at my practice (who I have no confidence in at all) didn't want to spay Bubbles at all but said that she would definitely not do it until Bubbles was 6 mths old & weighed more than 1kg. That's why I saw the other vet & asked specifically for him to perform the op.

I would ask around, particularly because of Sooty's behaviour, and see what other vets say.
 
Sooty is about 6 months old, but she was from a pet shop :oops: so I can't be sure. She was the smallest of the litter (about half the size) and even now she still fits in a piggie bed. She's going to be weighed again on Monday but I don't think she's put on much, if any weight since her last check. I tried giving her porridge but the little madam won't eat it. She doesn't bother in the slightest when I go near her - she loves cuddles, but everyone else that comes near gets the works. I do trust my vet, but my daughter is scared of her and can't even go into the garden to see Cookie without Sooty going nuts.
 
our vet wont spay until they reach generally reach 1kg but they drop a hundred grams or so if the bun is healthy. At nearly six months she is almost fully grown and may never reach 1kg. I'd have a chat to your vets again but in the meantime, try bumping up her pellet ration a bit and give her some higher calorie treats like carrots and bananna to help her put the weight on. You could also give her some wholemeal toast.
 
How old is she?

Most vets will either spey at 6 months or 1kg of weight, which ever comes first. Other vets will push for the 6 month period because they consider 1kg too low a weight to spey, or that the doe may be under developed before 6 months.

I wouldn't say refusal to spey at this stage was any indication of how good/bad your vet is....rather that they are putting her well-being first.
 
Sooz said:
How old is she?

Most vets will either spey at 6 months or 1kg of weight, which ever comes first. Other vets will push for the 6 month period because they consider 1kg too low a weight to spey, or that the doe may be under developed before 6 months.

I wouldn't say refusal to spey at this stage was any indication of how good/bad your vet is....rather that they are putting her well-being first.
Click to expand...

:wave: She's about 6 months now. Like I said though she is small - she fits in my hand. I just don't want her health put at risk in any way whether that be putting her through an op when she's so small or waiting till later to have her spayed.(shh! don't tell anyone - she's my favourite )For now I can cope with her hormones so I'll wait and see what weight she is on Monday and decide then. There is another rabbit savvy vet in the practice so I could ask her opinion.
 
Squidgy is our smallest nethie and he weighs 1kg exactly at the moment.
I think your vet is just being cautious (a good thing in my book!).
 
My nethie only weighs 900g and she is 4 years old. She was speyed before she went into the rescue so I don't know how old she was when she had it done.

I think if Sooty is 6 months old and is healthy and in good condition then I don't see why she can't be spayed now.
Nethies can be quite fiesty though so she might not completely calm down after her spay :lol:
 
Sounds like a sensible vet to me! Normally I'd say at 6 months she's probably not going to grow any more, but if she was the runt maybe she's taking a while to catch up? Some vets prefer to spay at 9 months to make sure the bun has maximum bone density before removing the hormones that help with that.

Maybe get your kitchen scales out and weigh her weekly to see if she is still gaining. If she is still gaining I would be inclined to go with your vets advice and stick it out for a bit longer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Unhappy with our vet
Replies
12
Views
510
dollyanna
D
B
Should I keep my bunnies in separate rooms before starting to bond them?
Replies
3
Views
322
BoschBun
B
EWRaven
My rabbit gave birth
Replies
1
Views
375
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
Back
Top