Another question about neutering…

[Leukay]

I know I know, these threads get old an annoying, but every rabbit is different and I don’t think every answer is the same. I adopted my 3 year old Oliver a couple months ago, and he has not been neutered. Ill explain him in a list since that would probably be easiest to read.

• Very skittish, but pretty comfortable around me
• Can’t pick him up or hold him
• Never bitten me, no real aggression towards me that I can see
• Loves to be pet (on his own terms)
• Seems to like being brushed, but when I put the brush in front of him after a brushing session, he hits it to the ground with his paws and throws it around with his mouth (I don’t know if that is aggression or playing)
• He always pees in his litterbox (thank goodness), and most of the time he poops in there too, except when he is playing around my room, then he poops everywhere
• Seems to be very happy, binkying everywhere, lounging around, sleeping almost on his back

So with these facts, should I think about getting him neutered? Would it help with his skittishness? Would it help with him pooping all over my room when he’s playing?

I’m thinking about adding a baby bunny to the family next year, and if I do that, I’m assuming I should definitely get him fixed. What do you all think? Thanks in advance for your help!

[Sarita]

It won’t help with the skittishness – it could help with the territorial pooping eventually.

If you are adding another rabbit, baby, young or old, you definitely need to get him neutered. Though neutering is no guarantee of bonding with another rabbit.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Some rabbits are just skittish until they are comfortable with you, alteration won’t change that not liking being held/ picked up is a normal rabbit behaivior, fixed or no.

Introducing another animal or rabbit can bring out some behaiviors you haven’t seen, spraying, aggression, more pooping/ marking.

I’m a big believer in getting any pet altered even if they are well behaved and there isn’t a chance of being with another pet, I just think its better for their overall health and there won’t be any surprises down the line if they do suddenly decide to be hormonal, which isn’t unheard of.

[Elrohwen]

If you’re going to get another bun, then you should absolutely 100% neuter him. Unfixed bunnies only want to do one thing and they aren’t interested in having a friend around except in rare cases.

I won’t help with his skittishness, but it very well may help with his pooping. Since you just got him, the pooping all over might not be a habit at this point and altering will make him less territorial.

[peppypoo]

If you are comfortable with his current behavior, there is no absolute need for him to be neutered. However, like everyone else has said, it definitely needs to be done if you’re thinking about adding another bunny.

Just a word on the possible second bunny though – if you intend to bond them, then maybe your best bet might be to go on “bunny dates” with older bunnies. Sometimes, try as we might, two randomly picked bunnies just don’t get along and you run the risk of having two bunnies living separately permanently. Of course, that isn’t to say that it never works out…oftentimes it works fine, but this is just something to keep in mind. However, to maximize your chances of having a happy bunny pair, consider letting Oliver meet a few potential buddies and pick his own friend .

[bunnyfriend]

I agree with the others. Another thing is that uneutered males are notorious for spraying urine which is pretty gross. Not all bunnies will do it though, so maybe you’ll be lucky .

As fr the skittish behavior, most rabbits hate being picked up, it’s just scary for them. The best way is to let everything be on his terms, he may warm up even more after a while.

[Malp_15]

Everyone has covered pretty much everything, but I just wanted to add a note. I have a 3 yr old intact male (due to health reasons) and I wish he was neutered just for the smell alone! He is wayyyy stinkier than my other neutered male. The neutered one lives in my room and I don’t notice his litter box at all. But the intact one lives on the other side of the basement I can smell him all the way in my room.

[Author]

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