Will neuturing him drastically change his behaviour/activity levels?

I have a male mini lop rabbit called Shadow. He is around 4 years old now and is not neutured. When I got him at 8 months old, my dad wanted to get him done in case he became aggressive. This never got done as he never showed any aggression, the only thing he does thats a complete pain, is that he chases everyone in an attempt to hump their legs... Its funny, but it does get super annoying as you can probably imagine!

He is full of energy and is always running about, binkying and being a happy rabbit and has a wonderful personality-very cheeky!
If I was to get him done, would there be a huge change in his behaviour at all? I have heard that if you neuter animals later on in their lives, it doesn't change their behaviour all that much? Would you guys say its true?

Here he is! :')


I just dont want him to be miserable, grumpy or lazy after we get him done thats all

Thanks!

Neutering Shadow would put a stop to the constant leg-humping! It shouldn't affect him in any other way. It would also safeguard his health as un-neutered rabbits, both male and female, are prone to develop cancer.

What would be really lovely for Shadow is to have him neutered, give his hormones chance to settle, and then bond him with a spayed female. There's nothing like seeing a pair of rabbits happily running round and snuggling up together.

I had the same concern before having my boy neutered.

But I can reassure you he's exactly the same now but doesn't have unwanted behaviours. I have heard in older animals behaviours are learned and so neutering doesn't completely remove them, but I can't say if that's true or not as I've never neutered an older bunny.

Babsie said:

Neutering Shadow would put a stop to the constant leg-humping! It shouldn't affect him in any other way. It would also safeguard his health as un-neutered rabbits, both male and female, are prone to develop cancer.

What would be really lovely for Shadow is to have him neutered, give his hormones chance to settle, and then bond him with a spayed female. There's nothing like seeing a pair of rabbits happily running round and snuggling up together.

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Thats why I wanted to get him neutured, so I could maybe pair him up with a female. I do have a female but she is 9 years old, unspayed, so I can't pair them up...

hrl20100 said:

Thats why I wanted to get him neutured, so I could maybe pair him up with a female. I do have a female but she is 9 years old, unspayed, so I can't pair them up...

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What a shame you didn't have her neutered when she was young - you probably weren't aware of the risks of uterine cancer or how much happier she would be if neutered and bonded.

What you could do, with your boy, is wait 6 weeks for his hormones to settle after neutering and then approach a Rescue: lots of beautiful Does looking for new homes, and often they will do the bonding for you. Perhaps take a look at the Rabbits in Need section. I look forward to an update!

Babsie said:

What a shame you didn't have her neutered when she was young - you probably weren't aware of the risks of uterine cancer or how much happier she would be if neutered and bonded.

What you could do, with your boy, is wait 6 weeks for his hormones to settle after neutering and then approach a Rescue: lots of beautiful Does looking for new homes, and often they will do the bonding for you. Perhaps take a look at the Rabbits in Need section. I look forward to an update!

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I know, when I got her I was only about 10 or 11 so I didnt know about the risks, i felt bad about when i first found out, but I feel i've left it too late to get her spayed... I dont want to risk her going through surgery... She gets stressed out easily anyway, I dont want to cause her unneccessary stress.

That rescue idea is a good one! I think I will look into prices about getting him done and all that, then look into rescues near me

hrl20100 said:

I know, when I got her I was only about 10 or 11 so I didnt know about the risks, i felt bad about when i first found out, but I feel i've left it too late to get her spayed... I dont want to risk her going through surgery... She gets stressed out easily anyway, I dont want to cause her unneccessary stress.

That rescue idea is a good one! I think I will look into prices about getting him done and all that, then look into rescues near me

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Yes, I must admit I would be concerned about having her spayed at that age and I'm not sure what I would do.

What I would advise, anyway, is finding a vet who specialises in Exotics or has a special interest/is experienced with rabbits so you know you rabbits will get the best care.

Hope all goes well.

Shadow looks like a lovely boy, by the way.

Babsie said:

Shadow looks like a lovely boy, by the way.

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Thankyou
He really is lovely :')

What a beautiful, cheeky boy!

Beau Belle said:

What a beautiful, cheeky boy!

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He is! So cheeky!
He's currently running around in his run right now and its really lovely to watch :') Especially when he binkys!