Do I get Flash neutered yet?

Hi,

My bunny is between 10 and 12 weeks old now (I would say 12 weeks). He is a big boy already, he is starting to smell now. We live in a flat and the whole area he is in smells. I have cleaned him out loads, his litter tray every other day and scrub his cage twice a week. I was just wondering whether I can get him neutered yet and also will this smell stop? It isn't a urine smell it is more like BO :shock:

Please can somebody advise me on this as I have read that Miss Blondebunny is going to wait until her bunny is 5 monnths old - I dread to think how my bunny will smell at 5 months unneutered!

The vet has to be able to see something to remove it so usually the testicles have to have descended - the best thing to do would be to take him down and get the vet to check him over only they can decide whether it is too early.

Otherwise have you thought about changing the litter he is on as a different variety may mask the odour better. Also since cutting out feeding cabbage I have noticed Zeus doesn't smell half as much as he used to!

Neutering will help with the smell but there are risk with anaesethtic if the bunny is too young.

Caz

ah now you see the only fresh food my bunny seems to like is spring greens (type of cabbage) - what would I feed him that is fresh if I don't give him this? He will eat a bit of cucumber, but doesn't eat tomatoes, carrots or apple???

mine likes carrot, parsley, coriander, apple.
As caz says best to check if he is old enough yet as depends if his testes have descended. Most vets will do this for free with the vet nurse.

There is a topic in the Useful Topics (section link at the top) which lists all the bunny safe veggies we have tried - hopefully he will find some tasties in there!

Caz

well i took him on Friday to the vets for his myxi jab. I asked the vet to check him all over and he just said I should let my bunny settle in for about 4 weeks before booking him in for the castration. So I presume his tesicles are there but my vets concern was to let him settle in longer??
I was just surprised that people can wait 5 months before having this done and it made me question the fact that my Flash was far too young for the op :shock:

p.s you just reminded me Dideen I do need to get some parsley I keep forgetting, think I will try celery too

hi matie

my young males were 4 months old when the were neutered, the vets will NOT do the op any earlier than that and dont really like doing it before 5 months for a male, but because i have so many they thought it would be best at 4 months and that was only that there testicles have dropped.

has flash testicles drops?

you will have to wait until he is 5 months old to get the op done. and i would mine were young and their are risks to the op because off the anesthic because they areyoung, mine even pulled at their stitches when they awoke from their op and had to be put out again to restitch them up :shock:

eve x

oh god - 4 months :shock:

i need to come up with a solution for the smell for 4 more weeks :?

i am going to go and get a different litter for his litter tray today. i will try and cut out the spring greens (or just give him a leaf a couple of times a week) i will go and get some parsley and celery today and try him with that.

any other suggestions for eliminating smells?

Caz - I have just got a couple of ideas from the veggie suggestions link - thanks

Do bunnies generally like Parsnip?? None of Tree's bunnies do - do yours?

no not four months its FIVE!!! :shock:

mine love parsnip apart from kymber he never eats it!!!

I guess I must be lucky as Thornton is now 10 months old and I haven't as yet had any problems with 'male' type behaviour or male bunny smells,there's no smell associated with him or even his litter tray, I really must be lucky, neither is he aggressive, thankfully. Thornton is however off for the snip at the beginning of April so he will have a had ample chance to settle back down before the new bun arrives

cool thanks Eve I will get him some parsnip, I would feel mean not giving Flash spring green leaves as he not only loves to eat it but plays with them too

birdie bun have you tried spinach or baby corn or kale mine love that, celerys a good one and herbs another!!!

well i thought that if spring greens are the cause of this smell, wouldnt spinach or kale have the same effect? or do I just give him small amounts of both? at the moment he is only having 4 large spring green leaves a day, maybe I should just give him 1 leaf?

i would say 4 large leafs a day is a little too much of the same veg and if thats the only veg hes eating then thats probably the reason for the smell, i would try him on a variety of stuff and you will probably find the smell goes. you just need to find stuff he likes!!

well this is the thing Eve he only seems to like these greens, and a bit of cucumber. He doesnt like carrots, tomato, apple - fussy little b*gger :lol: :lol:

maybe if I take these greens away he will have to get to like other fresh veggies wont he

yep or try him on some new stuff!!!

eve x

Birdiebun you read about Bunberry on the other thread and he did not smell nice :shock: . He was in my daughter's room too so I had to keep pacifying her and promising he wouldn't always be like that :? . His brother Tarragon didn't smell or spray and they were identical ages on exactly the same diet. I waited till six months because they were so small and came from an inbred background and Tarry still had major problems with the anaesthetic, as did his sisters, though Bunberry was fine. The last few months were HARD smell wise though (and that spraying thing :x , I can laugh now )
I use Woody Pet which was recommended on an American forum, it's sold over here as bedding for horses, but safe for cats and all small animals including rabbits. As well as being completely safe it's not expensive and does the best job of cutting down on smells possible. I tried all the rabbit safe litters on the market before I found out about this stuff and it has the bonus it smells great too. I sound like an ad, but I love it. It's been treated to have all the dangerous phenomyls (sp?) and so on removed. Having said that the place still smelled a bit round him (well he was spraying everywhere he could reach), but not nearly as badly. If you're interested I can give you the distributors phone no. to find if they sell it near you.
In sympathy

You cold try giving him the herb dill to eat ..........my buns loved it so much they would've killed for it!!! :lol: :lol: .......not only does it help against wind but after eating it their pee smells of it (in fact their litter tray smells so strongly of it you'll never be able to eat it again!!! :lol: :lol: )

You could also try putting some dried lavender under his litter tray. Or getting one of those essential oil burners and some pure lavender oil .....you know the type where you put a couple of drops in a lot of water at the top and have a tea light underneath to heat it.......only do this if you're in the room because of the candle and the fact that you don't want the bowl to dry out.

Lavender essential oil is probably the best as it is a natural deodorant and also a seditive so he might even spray less. You could also try putting a few drops in water and soaking a handkie in it and placing it above the cage near his litter tray.

wow thanks Katerowan and Conny!

I would like the phone number you mentioned Kate as I am willing to try anything

Conny - I had thought about an oil burner as my mom has loads of them and they do smell lovely. Lavender oil - will do this

Thing is I dont think he is spraying. I have never seen him he only appears to wee in his litter tray, and like I say it isn't a urine smell it is like a sweaty smell, is this how spraying smells??

Hiya, I think the reason why your rabbit smells is the build up of gases in his tummy.
I would not recommend feeding a young rabbit cabbage or greens at all, as there digestive system is so delicate.
We do not feed our adult rabbits greens either as they too risk bloat and upset tummies.

I suggest that you pop your bunny on a hay and small amount of dried food only diet for a few months, and i think you will see a change in the smelly situation.
Masking the smell is all very well, but there is an underlying reason why he is smelly, and it points to his digestive system and what he is eating.

Also, if you buy some probiotic and pop it in his drinking water, go to Vetark as they sell probiotic online.
This will help settle his tum.
Herbs are classed as a green , so again, whilst he is smelly is is better to take him off everything that can contribute to the situation, herbs, greens, grass alike, and just stick to hay and dried food.
Cucumber is not good either, as it is gas producing :?
A tiny slice of carrot as a treat is okay, but again, I would ensure hay is his main diet.
Hope that helps, best wishes.