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Questions on getting rabbit neutered

warlepus

warlepus

Young Bun
So...after a lot of searching I have found a vet who will service rabbits and exotic pets. I've read online that male rabbits can be neutered as early as 3 mos of age while females at 4mos. My vet however does them for rabbits that are at least 7-8 mos old - to put on more weight or so he says.

I was wondering if this was okay or is this a red flag?


Additional info:
The vet also said that the rabbit will be tested first for hypersensitivity to anesthesia by gas. I'm not sure what he means. I usually get off my internship at 5 and arrive at the vet's around closing time so I can't really press him for info.

Suggested questions would be great as well.
 
That's very sound advice actually. My vet is a rabbit specialist and prefers to wait until buns are 6 months old, unless there is a very valid reason for giving a GA before. It's a big thing you know anaesthetising a bunny, and just in case there were any complications, a more robust bunny would fare a lot better. I think you are very lucky to have found such a good vet, who obviously really understands how complex bunnies can be.

A red flag to me, would be a vet that was happy to neuter your bun now, as god forgive, but if anything went wrong, you may very likely loose your bun. The fact that he is going to test beforehand is a credit to him, as he obviously doesn't want to take any unnecessary chances with your bun.
 
Oh thank goodness for telling me that! I've been searching high and low for a specialist and if Levi was indeed too sensitive, I will be referred to a center that specializes in anesthesiology.

Just the age seemed weird to me as sources have been saying it's a relatively safe and easy thing to neuter younger bunnies so I was worried why Levi couldn't be neutered right away.
 
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Here in the UK it's actually quite common for males to be castrated at around the age of 14/16 weeks (or as soon as the testicles drop) and usually around 5 to 6 mths of age for females. In the past, vets were quite reluctant to neuter at all as rabbits were very difficult to anaesthetise safely, but it's now much more straightforward - there's still a risk with any op of course, but it's quite low and the benefits of neutering earlier usually outweigh the risks.

Given where you live (as I'm guessing that not many people choose to neuter their bunnies in the Phillipines, apologies if I've assumed wrong) I'd guess that the vet is being more cautious due to a lack of experience.

There's some questions on this thread which might help you to decide whether the vets seems rabbit savvy. http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?267127-How-to-find-a-good-rabbit-vet
 
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KarenM said:
Here in the UK it's actually quite common for males to be castrated at around the age of 14/16 weeks (or as soon as the testicles drop) and usually around 5 to 6 mths of age for females. In the past, vets were quite reluctant to neuter at all as rabbits were very difficult to anaesthetise safely, but it's now much more straightforward - there's still a risk with any op of course, but it's quite low and the benefits of neutering earlier usually outweigh the risks.

Given where you live (as I'm guessing that not many people choose to neuter their bunnies in the Phillipines, apologies if I've assumed wrong) I'd guess that the vet is being more cautious due to a lack of experience.

There's some questions on this thread which might help you to decide whether the vets seems rabbit savvy. http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?267127-How-to-find-a-good-rabbit-vet
Click to expand...

Hi there, thanks for responding. Yes, you would be correct in assuming that. Most animals here are never neutered. The domestic rabbits we have are used for meat in the provincial areas although some breeders do drop by the city and sell the kits off to make extra cash - hence how I got Levi.


I'd like to ask him again next time so I can be more assured of the procedure and so Levi can get checked and we can have a baseline for his health status. I did feel a bit reassured when he offered to refer me to a specialist if Levi is too sensitive for their routine procedure. He has had some experience based on how he responds to my questions about anesthesia on bunnies. At the least, he was better than the previous vet who referred me to the internet...
 
Hi warlepus! I was just who and where do I find the savvy vet you were talking about. A vet near our house is charging too much 3000 Php actually for neutering and 2000 Php for blood test. Why do they need a blood test?
 
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