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Short Answer: Should You Spay or Neuter Your Rabbit?
People spay or neuter their rabbits for a number of reasons, including:
To prevent dangerous reproductive cancers in females: The risk of reproductive cancers (ovarian, uterine, mammarian) for an unspayed female rabbit stands at is virtually eliminated by spaying your female rabbit.
Your neutered male rabbit will live longer as well, given that he won’t be tempted to fight with other animals (rabbits, cats, etc.) due to his sexual aggression, or to prevent aggression in males.
Spaying and neutering will significantly reduce aggressive behavior in male rabbits, and the general health also improves for both male and female rabbits who are spayed and neutered.
Introduction – Should You Spay or Neuter Your Rabbit?
While it may be intimidating to consider everything you must do prior to your rabbit’s surgery, there are a lot of things to think about. You must find a competent veterinarian, for example, as well as prepare your rabbit for and after the procedure.
Here are the steps you and your rabbit should take to ensure that you have the information you require throughout the procedure.
How much importance should you place on neutering or spaying your pet? Every year, animal shelters are inundated with homeless kittens and puppies. Every year, they also take in numerous rabbits, many of which are unwanted litters. Neutering (for males) and spaying (for females) can help to improve rabbit health and behavior.
Neutering or spaying your rabbit is critical. Altering your rabbit can help correct a variety of behavioral issues. By doing so, you can increase your rabbit’s lifespan by as much as two years.
It can be a little intimidating to consider everything you must do to prepare your rabbit for surgery. You must find a good veterinarian and care for your rabbit both before and after the procedure, among other things.
So, here is how to ensure that you and your rabbit have all the information you need to successfully complete this process.
Are surgical procedures safe?
Rabbit spaying and neutering have become a simple and risk-free procedure due to the improvements in exotic animal medicine over the past couple of decades. Despite performing thousands of surgeries without having any lethal incidents, an expert rabbit-savvy veterinarian can still be a safe option.
Since the neutering process is easier and less invasive than the spaying procedure, it is usually considered safer than the two surgical procedures.
It is always advisable to be completely honest when discussing a subject such as this. Even though the odds of something going wrong are extremely slim (less than 1%), there is always a chance that something might go wrong.
The long-term health risks of not spaying or neutering your rabbit, on the other hand, are much higher. Female rabbits in particular have an 80% chance of developing uterine cancer if they are not neutered.
Anticipated expense
It is difficult to estimate the cost of neutering or spaying a rabbit, as it depends on where you reside and the rates of your local veterinary clinic. Your veterinarian may charge you as much as $500 for the procedure, which includes pain medication. If your vet wants to keep your rabbit overnight for observation, you might have to pay more.
Neutering is often less costly than spaying. The male procedure is much simpler and takes less time than the female procedure, so the prices reflect that.
Getting your rabbit fixed can get expensive, but you may be able to get low-cost surgery for your rabbit. Wait times for appointments are often lengthy, but you may be able to get the necessary surgery at a discounted price.
You may contact a local animal shelter or humane society that offers medical care in order to find out whether they can meet your needs. You may also seek out House Rabbit Society (HRS) chapters in your state (see website here).
The HRS focuses on rabbits and may be able to provide you with more specific information about locating affordable veterinarians near you.
Look for a rabbit-savvy vet to perform the surgery
Because rabbits have distinct medical requirements from cats or dogs, you should seek out a veterinarian who specializes in rabbits when getting your pet fixed. These veterinarians are frequently referred to as small mammal or exotic animal veterinarians.
Seek out a veterinarian that specializes in treating small animals if you can, as many exotic veterinarians focus on birds instead of rabbits. The House Rabbit Society provides a list of small animal veterinarians across the United States, as well as some international listings.
You can try calling some of your local veterinarian or animal shelter offices and ask if they have a rabbit specialist on staff if you can’t find any nearby veterinarians through the HRS.
Preparing your rabbit for surgery.
Prior to the operation, you should provide your rabbit with the same amount of food as usual. Because rabbits cannot throw up, and digestion occurs continuously through their systems, you should feed them as usual prior to the procedure.
It’s important to note that rabbits should never be fasted. Before a procedure, veterinary staff may request that you withhold food, which is common for most pets.
Ask your rabbit veterinarian if this is the procedure you should follow. If your veterinarian asks you to fast your rabbit before a procedure, it could mean that she is inexperienced with rabbits and would like to find a new veterinarian.
Prior to scheduling surgery, your veterinarian may recommend that a blood test be performed. This is particularly important if your rabbit is elderly (2+ years) and has no underlying conditions that would make the procedure more hazardous.
It’s best to schedule your operation just before a weekend or at a moment when you will be able to stay home and look after your rabbit post-surgically.
Your rabbit will not be functioning at his or her normal level, and you will want to keep an eye on them to ensure that they are recovering properly.
Make sure your rabbit has easy access to food and water after surgery while keeping him warm.
Postoperative care
It’s imperative that the vet evaluates your rabbit before you take it home to ensure that it is awake, eating normally, and has returned to normal behavior. If the vet feels that your rabbit requires extra care, they may keep him or her at the clinic overnight for observation.
Your rabbit will be a bit dazed and irritable for a couple of days after the operation. Your veterinarian should give you painkillers for your rabbit, and you should keep him in a smaller cage to prevent him from behaving excessively.
A rabbit-savvy veterinarian can provide you with more comprehensive instructions. Be sure to pay careful attention so that you may administer medicine on time and ensure that your rabbit recovers quickly. With my rabbits, they also give you a sheet of post-operative care instructions that you may not remember everything as they speak to you.
Your rabbit may not require a cone like a cat or a dog, but your veterinarian should be consulted if the wound appears to be damaged.
Your rabbit should be eating; therefore, you should monitor them to see if they are.
It is imperative that your rabbit begins eating and eliminating (pooping) as soon as possible, whether male or female. Some veterinary hospitals will not release the rabbit unless they have already started eating.
If your rabbit has not eaten within 10-12 hours after returning home, contact your veterinarian immediately. You may have to hand-feed your rabbit Critical Care to help them recover.
It is common for rabbits to return to their regular diet immediately after surgery, especially males. If your rabbit is not one of these, you should encourage him to eat as soon as possible.
Provide them with hay, water, and pellets. In addition to promoting post-operative eating, fresh, young green leaves can also be a major draw.
After your rabbit has been neutered, caring for him is simple.
Male rabbits tend to heal more rapidly after neutering surgery. You may notice that your rabbit appears to be almost as good as new as soon as you bring him home. He may still be a little sore and less active for the next few days, even though his actions appear normal. Continue to administer pain medicine as directed by your veterinarian, even if his behavior appears to be normal.
Neutering leaves a few stitches where the incision is made to remove the testicles. You may have to make a follow-up appointment with your vet to have the stitches removed in a few weeks. Vets are increasingly using dissolvable stitches instead.
Remember to follow your veterinarian’s instructions on whether to make a follow-up appointment. Otherwise, just examine the incision to make sure it isn’t infected and your rabbit isn’t licking it excessively to reopen the wound.
Neutered rabbits do not become infertile until several weeks after surgery. The hormones continue to run through the rabbit’s body after the procedure and slowly diminish. Therefore, avoid bringing him together with another rabbit for about a month so that the hormones have time to dissipate.
If he is already bonded to another rabbit, then you should allow the rabbits to remain together as long as they behave peacefully. They may comfort each other after surgery.
Spaying your rabbit post-surgery care
Because it involves internal surgery to remove the uterus, spaying is more complicated than neutering. A rabbit’s recovery time after neutering is usually at least a couple of days, and sometimes as long as 1-2 weeks.
Try to keep her warm and comfortable when she first returns home. However, avoid handling her as much as possible to prevent irritation. Bonded pets may interact with and comfort her. Just ensure they are calm and not trying to over-groom the injury.
Make sure your rabbit has food, water, and fresh greens to eat and drink when you settle her in. It may take a couple of days to get her back on her regular diet now that she’s here.
The poop from your rabbit may be smaller or deformed during the first few days after her surgery. However, as long as she is eating and moving around normally, her feces should return to normal after a couple of days.
Veterinarians nowadays utilize surgical glue or dissolving stitches to reconnect the rabbit’s tummy incision. You do not have to make a follow-up appointment to have the stitches removed. However, you may want to make an appointment to ensure your rabbit is healing properly.
Your rabbit will be much better off in the future if you heed any advice your veterinarian gives you now. Keep a close eye on your rabbit until he or she is feeling better.
Health beneficial
The number one health reason why it’s so crucial for you to get your rabbit fixed is that it balances out its hormones, resulting in a longer life expectancy of 1-2 years.
Beginning at 2-5 years old, unaltered female rabbits have an 80% chance of developing uterine or ovarian cancer. Once your rabbit is spayed, the risk of uterine or ovarian cancer drops to almost zero. Male rabbits are also at risk for testicular cancer if they are not neutered, but once they have been neutered, the risk drops to near zero.
Having your rabbit spayed or neutered can increase its lifespan and improve its health, although there is always a risk when undergoing surgical procedures. While there is always a risk when undergoing surgical procedures, the low fatality rate is worth the risk if you consider the risk of your rabbit getting a deadly disease several years down the road.
Behavior has advantages.
Once rabbits become sexually mature, they usually become increasingly hostile and obnoxious. They may still urinate around the house, even if they have been litter trained, and they may chew or dig more frequently. Having your rabbit neutered will help reduce the odor of their urine, as well as prevent stress from phantom pregnancies in females.
Rabbits that haven’t been altered are also more likely to display aggressive territorial behavior toward you or any other rabbit that shares the same space. They will bite, swat, lunge, and growl at you. You may begin to wonder where that adorable rabbit you adopted is hiding.
Once your rabbit has been neutered, these hostile actions should diminish or vanish together. Afterward, they will use their toilet more regularly, and their territorial behavior will disappear.
It’s likely that these actions will fade away over the next one to two months as your rabbit’s hormones gradually fall out of balance.
After your rabbit recovers from surgery, you will discover that many of these hostile and territorial behaviors cease completely. Because their hormones have calmed down, rabbits that have been neutered are much calmer. They will once again be your friendly and sociable friends.
Are there any side effects to be concerned about?
Your rabbit will be less active and dazed for a couple of weeks after the injection, but there will be no long-term consequences.
An incision from the surgery might become infected. If you notice redness, swelling, or pus around the wound, take your rabbit to the veterinarian for treatment.
Because shelters are unable to take on an additional litter of baby rabbits, they often become filled with animals and cannot take on any more.
The prevention of overpopulation and unwanted babies is what is needed.
Rabbits reproduce like, well, rabbits. A single rabbit can have up to 12 litters annually, so if you have two rabbits, you may end up with a lot of baby rabbits. After that, you have to care for them. Then, you must find places to take them.
Many shelters become overcrowded quickly, so they cannot accept as many cats as they need. You may not be able to rely on one to help you, therefore.
Does a rabbit’s personality remain the same after being fixed?
After being neutered, a rabbit’s personality won’t be altered significantly. Spaying and neutering may decrease a rabbit’s grumpiness and aggressiveness.
If they liked licking you and cuddling with you before, they’ll still like doing that. Because they’re not sexually frustrated anymore, a rabbit might become even more lovable than before.
Do rabbits have a bad odor?
A rabbit’s litter box and habitat should be cleaned regularly to prevent a smelly house, but most rabbits do not smell bad at all. Rabbit pee, however, can be a little smelly and especially if your rabbit hasn’t been neutered.
Are rabbits calmer as they age?
As rabbits grow older, they tend to become calmer. They sleep more and become less hyperactive and are less likely to get into trouble. In addition, elderly rabbits may suffer from arthritis, which will make them even slower, necessitating even more care from you.
