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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Frank Jr….. time to neuter?

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    • LeahM
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        Frank Jr is 3.5 months old and is exhibiting some unsavory behaviors (LOTS of humping and spraying….)  I think that is is time for him to be neutered.  I made the pre-surgery physical appointment for wednesday and I have many questions for the vet but I wanted to get an idea of things from here first.

        I’m concerned that Frank Jr is still too young.  Are there problems with neutering bunnies too young?  I know it cats they can have problems because their urethras don’t get a chance to fully develop and it can lead to chronic UTIs… is that a concern with bunnies?  His testicles are descended for sure but he is still much smaller than his mother, so I don’t think he’s fully grown. 

        Of course I’m also worried about him going under anesthesia….   I would be worried anyway but one of his siblings (not under my care) died suddenly and unexpededly so I’m worried that there may be some underlying cardiac condition.  I know this is unlikely but he was not bread responsibly and there could be some congenital issues going on… I guess the vet would *hopefully* catch these things… 

        I guess that’s really all.  I just wanted to say that I’m worried and want to know if I should try and wait until he is older/bigger for any reason!

         

        Frank Jr wants everyone to know that his bunny life is very hard!


      • LeahM
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          I forgot to subscribe…. subbing


        • KytKattin
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            I thought that you could start getting boys neutered at 4 months? That is only two weeks away, and I have never heard of anything like what you were talking about with cats happening with rabbits. Heck, even with cats, I have had plenty of them neutered at a young age and never had problems with UTIs. I didn’t know that was a problem. Maybe someone else knows about this with rabbits.

            As for the heart thing, I did have a kitten that had a severe heart murmur (that ended up killing him) neutered and he did just fine during the neuter. I know that rabbits are just so much more sensitive than cats, but a rabbit savvy vet should be able to do the surgery successfully. As for why the other sib died, without an autopsy, it is just so hard to know what was wrong and there is no reason to assume that your bun has any problems. The sibling of that kitten that died of a heart murmur is perfectly healthy, and still living with us some 5-6 years later. The vet should of course listen to his heart, and a pre-neutered check-up should be done before. If you are especially worried, maybe do bloodwork.


          • emkvet
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              Hi, Leah! It’s nice to see you back and with a new pic of Frank, Jr. He’s one of my favorite BB bunnies! On the House Rabbit Society website, it says that you can neuter males at 3 1/2 months; here’s the link, which should be able to answer some more of your questions as well: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html

              At Frank, Jr.’s pre-neuter appointment, the veterinarian will do a full physical exam to make sure all is well and that he is fit to undergo anesthesia. They usually don’t routinely do bloodwork on young animals if they check out normal during the physical exam, since there’s usually no reason to worry. Your vet will check out Frank, Jr.’s heart and lungs to make sure he’s normal before surgery. You could request bloodwork and mention his sibling’s death, but I would get your vet’s opinion. You may be worrying over nothing, and vets usually know best. If you don’t know the cause of death of Frank, Jr.’s sibling through a necropsy after death, it would be hard to determine if it was a condition that could affect Frank, Jr.

              I would go through with the physical, then take it from there. I’m sure all will check out fine, and Frank, Jr. will be all set for his neuter! They are quick and routine, and the majority of buns come through it wonderfully.


            • Sam and Lady's Human
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                My vet neuters boys at 3 months and girls at 5 months he’s recommend by rabbit.org, so go frank go!!


              • FrankieFlash
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                  I just wanted to chip in that when you meet your vet, take the questions off rabbit.org’s page about neuter’s. I did this just last week and go through them with your vet. I was very nervous too (and my bunjamin is 8 months!) but going through those questions and her answering them perfect to what I’d hope made me feel a lot better. I’m still nervous and will be until he completely heals alright but everytime he exhibits hormonal behavior I remind myself that the surgery will not only help me but help him as I’m sure the rush of testosterone isn’t fun.

                  BTW, I LOVE FRANK JR. He’s so precious (Don’t tell bunjamin )


                • LeahM
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                    well 3.5 months it is! It just seems to me that he has quite a lot of growing left to do. It will probably be another week and a half before I can get him into surgery anyway so he will be more like 4 months anyway. I had been worried about the UTI issue but then today one of my co-workers was talking about her dog having urinary incontinence her whole life and the vet attributed this to being spayed too young and her hormones were never able to fully mature her genitourinary system. Many of the recommendations on when to spay/neuter seem to be based on doing it as soon as possible so I am still leery of being too eager.
                    I also live in a small town and I am taking Frank Jr. to the vet that “specializes” in exotics but they still only do 4-6 bunnies per month, so I want to go in with as much information as I can.
                    Thank you everyone 🙂


                  • bunnyfriend
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                      Frank Jr. is adorable!!! Seriously!

                      Now is a good time to neuter, the sooner (at a safe age of course), the better in my experience. The link emkvet provided for you is great, it gives questions to ask your vet to determine whether or not they are fit for the job. Also gives information on the anesthesia that should be used. I forgot exactly how much Wilbur’s (my female lop) blood work costed but I remember it was really inexpensive (might be different where you live) and it gave me peace of mind. My vet strongly recommended it because Wilbur wasn’t born in the greatest situation (I adopted her as a baby from the humane society) and it also gives you a good baseline for your rabbit. I was still a nervous wreck but everything turned out well

                      Also, if you aren’t comfortable with neutering him at 3.5 months you could always wait a few weeks or even a month. Always go with what you are comfortable and feel good about. My vet would have done Wilbur’s spay at 4 months but I waited until just before 6 months, I don’t regret it because it really made me feel a lot better about it (even though she probably would have been fine if it had been done earlier). 


                    • LeahM
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                        Posted By FrankieFlash on 03/19/2012 09:30 PM
                        I just wanted to chip in that when you meet your vet, take the questions off rabbit.org’s page about neuter’s. I did this just last week and go through them with your vet. I was very nervous too (and my bunjamin is 8 months!) but going through those questions and her answering them perfect to what I’d hope made me feel a lot better. I’m still nervous and will be until he completely heals alright but everytime he exhibits hormonal behavior I remind myself that the surgery will not only help me but help him as I’m sure the rush of testosterone isn’t fun.

                        BTW, I LOVE FRANK JR. He’s so precious (Don’t tell bunjamin )

                        Wow, I can’t imagine waiting until 8 months.  I am so over being peed on 6 times a day!  I had hoped to wait until around 6 months but I had no idea how hormonal he would get!  If my bare arms are exposed and Frank Jr is anywhere in the room, he comes buzzing over, trying to hump them.  I tried to give him a stunt double, but he cannot be fooled.  He wants flesh!  It’s strange too, he seems to have no apprecaition of cats, it’s almost like they don’t exist to him.  Even playful kittens (who were very interested in him) …. he just continues about his bunnyness…  But, I had a baby goat in the house the other day, and frank jr was under her feet every step she took.  He was buzzing around her like crazy!  Frank jr definately has some identity issues going on.

                        He gets has gotten so spectatcular with his spray moves too.  I don’t know how he does it but he can spray me in the eye from four feet away!!    If I wasn’t head-over-heals in love with this bunny, this behavior could be stressful on our relationship, lol.  I can’t wait to live in a house that isn’t coated in bunny pee   And he really is good about using his litter box.  He’s good as long as no one is around, but when he gets excited, it’s ALL over. 

                        I told Frank Jr what you said and he gave me a cool blink of extreme satisfaction and then flopped over on the floor

                         


                      • LeahM
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                          Posted By emkvet on 03/19/2012 09:09 PM
                          Hi, Leah! It’s nice to see you back and with a new pic of Frank, Jr. He’s one of my favorite BB bunnies! On the House Rabbit Society website, it says that you can neuter males at 3 1/2 months; here’s the link, which should be able to answer some more of your questions as well: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html

                          At Frank, Jr.’s pre-neuter appointment, the veterinarian will do a full physical exam to make sure all is well and that he is fit to undergo anesthesia. They usually don’t routinely do bloodwork on young animals if they check out normal during the physical exam, since there’s usually no reason to worry. Your vet will check out Frank, Jr.’s heart and lungs to make sure he’s normal before surgery. You could request bloodwork and mention his sibling’s death, but I would get your vet’s opinion. You may be worrying over nothing, and vets usually know best. If you don’t know the cause of death of Frank, Jr.’s sibling through a necropsy after death, it would be hard to determine if it was a condition that could affect Frank, Jr.

                          I would go through with the physical, then take it from there. I’m sure all will check out fine, and Frank, Jr. will be all set for his neuter! They are quick and routine, and the majority of buns come through it wonderfully.

                           

                          thank you for the link and the encouragement! 

                          Do you know what the bloodwork is generally for?  Liver and kidney panel?  I don’t know what else they would be looking for…  

                          I will check out that link.  I did find one list of questions to ask the vet, but I think I will print one out in case I freeze up at the vet!


                        • Beka27
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                            A vet seeing 4-6 bunnies a month in a “small town” is pretty high actually! And it’s not necessarily about the number of buns he sees, that speaks more for the surrounding demographic, not the vet’s skills. If you are concerned, I would do bloodwork prior. It’s not usually necessary until a rabbit is over 2 years, but since you are worried there may be an issue, this might be something that would show up.


                          • FrankieFlash
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                              haha I got lucky with bunjamin and he has never sprayed *knocks on wood*
                              But I’m sure if he did, we would’ve been getting him fixed sooner. Cute story with the identity crisis. Bunjamin thinks my boyfriends feet are his mate. Luckily he’s never humped or sprayed them but he’ll dance around them and then release a smell from his anal glands. But anyway, let us know how the appointment goes!


                            • Sarita
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                                Got some very good advice! I agree with Beka about the vet as well.

                                Frankie sure is cute.


                              • RabbitPam
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                                  Just want to add that I LUV that pix!


                                • LeahM
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                                    This thread is old, I know, but I thought I would update.

                                    Frank Jr’s surgery went great!  They wanted to keep him overnight (standard) I said “HA! not a chance.”  And they were totally fine with that.  I think that policy is more geared toward outdoor bunnies.

                                     There was a whirlwind of things that happened (not with Frank Jr, but other animals) on the day that Frank was neutered so I never got to update this.  

                                     I was so scared when I dropped him off.  They said it would be “quick” and they would call me.  Well, I called them 2 hours later and they were kind of annoyed that I called.  They said they usually call at lunch time but that Frank was out of surgery and waking up.  

                                     They let me pick up up and 3:00 and he was still pretty groggy and just wanted to sit in my lap.  

                                    By later in the evening he was totally himself and I was supposed to “keep him confined” so I did leave him in his cage for the most part, but when I wasn’t looking, he flew up onto my bed.  oops.  He also sprayed me, and I was nervous that it was going to cintinue, even though I knew it took a while for the testosterone to get out of their system.

                                     About a week later, I would say, was the last time he has sprayed me, and even though he is basically a free-rage bunny during the day, 98% of his poops are in the litter box and 100% of his pee.  It’s just the stray poop that comes flying out when he’s hoping around or whatever.

                                     

                                    No more humping, no more spraying!  YAY!  AND, he still buzzes around my feet and begs to be picked up.   


                                  • tobyluv
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                                      Thanks for the update. I’m glad that Frank Jr. did fine with his surgery and that the humping and spraying have stopped. He is so cute in that photo!


                                    • Madrhy
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                                        Thanks for the update. Beefa is about 5 mths old and at his initial vet check and vaccination (when we got him a month ago) we agreed to getting the erm…job done… around 6 mths because she said he was still quite small but the last week he has taken quite a liking to my 4yr old’s leg lol I think it’s time to do something about this before he gets any worse.


                                      • LeahM
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                                          I would encourage you to go for it!  It would have been really hard for me to wait longer.  I would have had to cage Frank Jr, which would have been miserable for both of us.  Plus, humping and spraying can become habitual, rather than just hormonally driven.

                                           

                                          What vaccinations did you get your bun?

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                                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Frank Jr….. time to neuter?