neutering my 2-year old boy - advice please?

I,ve had Ben for a year now, having got him from a friend of the family who'd had him since xmas '08 - one of her kids got him and, somewhat inevitably, had since got bored. Well, I really don't like the idea of keeping any animal alone and let's be honest, rabbits hardly get a reputation for being prolific breeders by being loners, so it was a foregone conclusion that a girlfriend would follow at some point. Firstly, though, a trip down the vet was in order (I don't do babies - cute but deadly!:evil.

So, as soon as I could afford it and had the time to spend with him afterwards having finished college, I phoned up the vets for an appointment. 'Name' said the receptionist 'Benjamin Bunny' I said. ' Reason for visit' enquired the receptionist. 'The snip' came my rather delicate response. 'Age?' came the next question. 'Nearly 2' came the reply (estimating that he would've been about 12 weeks old the xmas he was bought). 'Oh', she said, 'he's getting on a bit isn't he?' At 2?! She then went on to terrify the wits out of me with risks of not waking up from the anaesthetic :shock: The upshot of it all was that the appointment was made but not kept as I chickened out and decided to ask your advice before proceeding. Is he a bit old for this procedure? Has anybody out there had a bunny his age neutered? How did it go? Please advise me, I really want to get him a girlfriend but am terrified of taking a decision that will harm him. Many thanks everyone

Caz

:wave:

2 is still considered a young bunny. Yes, there are risks, but with a good rabbit savvy vet, they are minimal. Might it be worth looking for a vet recommended by someone, who is known to be good with rabbits?

Just month I had a 3 year old neutered and I know many people have had older bunnies neutered. Its not a hugely invasive operation so he should bounce back ok.

If you are worried you could have blood tests run first to see how healthy he is.

On my website (link in my sig) there is a section called 'Rabbit Info articles' there is an article on neutering which may be useful for you.

Yes, there is always a risk with an anesthetic - but it's not huge and at 2 he is in no way "getting on a bit". I don't have any exact figures but I've been working at a rescue for nearly two years and in that time only one buck passed away due to neutering.

It might be worth asking them for statistics on how many of the rabbits *they* neuter, don't make it - maybe they're not doing a very good job!

It's possible that she wasn't intending to scare you but is just obliged to make you aware of the risks so you can make an informed decision.

Best of luck getting him done and finding him a companion, he will be so grateful to you for it

Jingle was 3 and he sailed through apart from bald patches on his fur from the chemicals - and he was a sprayer - so hormones must have been raging - it's the risk you have to take I think, he could have another 6 years with a doe all being well.

Cazanne said:

I,ve had Ben for a year now, having got him from a friend of the family who'd had him since xmas '08 - one of her kids got him and, somewhat inevitably, had since got bored. Well, I really don't like the idea of keeping any animal alone and let's be honest, rabbits hardly get a reputation for being prolific breeders by being loners, so it was a foregone conclusion that a girlfriend would follow at some point. Firstly, though, a trip down the vet was in order (I don't do babies - cute but deadly!:evil.

So, as soon as I could afford it and had the time to spend with him afterwards having finished college, I phoned up the vets for an appointment. 'Name' said the receptionist 'Benjamin Bunny' I said. ' Reason for visit' enquired the receptionist. 'The snip' came my rather delicate response. 'Age?' came the next question. 'Nearly 2' came the reply (estimating that he would've been about 12 weeks old the xmas he was bought). 'Oh', she said, 'he's getting on a bit isn't he?' At 2?! She then went on to terrify the wits out of me with risks of not waking up from the anaesthetic :shock: The upshot of it all was that the appointment was made but not kept as I chickened out and decided to ask your advice before proceeding. Is he a bit old for this procedure? Has anybody out there had a bunny his age neutered? How did it go? Please advise me, I really want to get him a girlfriend but am terrified of taking a decision that will harm him. Many thanks everyone

Caz

:wave:

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:evil: I am outraged! Try asking on here for people who have bunny savvy vets in your area, somehow I do not think that she could know too much about bunnies if she thinks 2 years old is 'getting on a bit' which says to me that they probably dont see many rabbits.

Many Thanks!

Thankyou everyone for responding, you've been a huge reassurance. I shall be making another appointment soon and keeping to it this time! Watch this space for news and an introduction to my new bunny-girl when I get her - I've decided on her name already, just got to find her now. A visit to the bunny rehoming forum is in order methinks...

Caz

Hi Caz, i was going to ask the same question on the forum,i have an identical dilemma for Mr.B only that i live in Italy where rabbits are not really taken that seriously as pets and so it's alittle difficult finding a good vet who has plenty of experience with rabbit problems etc. So good luck with Ben and i look forward to reading about how you get on

My advice is always ask to have a talk with the vet who will be doing it. Ask them lots of questions and if you're not happy find a new vet and start again.

Good luck.

rachylou said:

:evil: I am outraged! Try asking on here for people who have bunny savvy vets in your area, somehow I do not think that she could know too much about bunnies if she thinks 2 years old is 'getting on a bit' which says to me that they probably dont see many rabbits.

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You have to remember that's only the receptionist though. The vet him/herself could be a bunny expert.
Definitely worth asking on here for opinions but don't write a vet off just because the receptionist isn't very good. I have real faith in my regular vet but it's a good job I know better than to listen to the receptionist - she told me not to feed my Eli for 24 hours before the neuter when a) that's a very bad idea & b) she's not authorised to give out any advice like that.

Jenova said:

My advice is always ask to have a talk with the vet who will be doing it. Ask them lots of questions and if you're not happy find a new vet and start again.

Good luck.

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good advice :thumb: