Any clues as to how old bunny is?

[FooFoosMommy2]

Is there anyway to tell how old a bunny is? I know if you get your bunny from a breeder, they would have some idea, but like many of you know, I found Foo (or she found us, depends how you look at it). Obviously, when I post a question here, people ask how old the rabbit is, and I don’t like saying I don’t know. The popular theory with our families is that Foo was an “Easter bunny” from this past Easter, which would make her between 5 and 6 months old. Granted, I don’t know how big a bunny is by 6 months, but I feel like Foo is a little big for being that young. Also, the sexual behavior that many people have said they have seen in their rabbits around this time isn’t present with her. I don’t know if she has been spayed, and that’s why, or what. Our vet said that when she sees Foo again, she’ll look at her teeth to have some idea. Foo’s teeth, if going by size, are not big at all. Along with the sexual behavior not being present, when we first got her inside, Foo knew how to drink out of her water bottle and as soon as we bought her a litter box she knew what to do, like she was used to using a litter box before. For it to be ingrained like that, I would think she would have to be more than a baby. So is there anyway to know or at least guess at how old she is? Any information would be great, because if anything, I’d like to be able to celebrate her birthday when it comes around.

[Sarita]

Not like with cats and dogs. You can’t pin it down exactly. Teeth can change texture and color as they age (really age) and their nails may become more brittle.

[TH004]

Both my rabbits were adopted and the vet gave me an approximate age. For both of them, I celebrated the day I got them as their birthday, I just added the previous years to it

For my current rabbit, he is a Rex/dwarf mix and the vet was able to tell his age by his teeth and his fur (Rex rabbits get a super soft fur when they are adults). He was so playful, I tried to argue that he was younger than 2, which she said, but she stood by it. Now at 4, he is still just as playful. It’s just my buns!

My first rabbit, they could tell by her size and teeth.

FYI: Since your rabbit is a girl, getting her fixed will likely increase her lifespan by YEARS! I didn’t know that until my first girl buns was too old for a vet to want to operate on. Also, getting fixed makes their pee not stink as much at all!

[FooFoosMommy2]

We have talked about getting her spayed, but we are hesitant only because we don’t know if it’s been done and don’t want to make her go through the surgery only to have the vet open her up for nothing and because our vet told us that since bunnies don’t react well to anethesia, there’s a 30% she’ll die. And worst case scenario, we will opt to do, have her already been spayed and she’ll die. We would feel beyond horrible about that. Right now, we have to save the money and will probably revisit the discussion next time we go to the vets. I know that’s not what anyone wants to hear, but I think not knowing anything about her history is what is making us iffy.

[TH004]

If you do it, I would make the drive to a vet who has done it a lot ON RABBITS (maybe ask local animal shelters who they use). It is risky and it only gets riskier as they get older. I personally don’t know if I could be brave enough to do it either. We got our 2nd rabbit from a shelter, so he was fixed. It is a very hard decision. With my unspayed first buns, I didn’t know the health benefits and knew I couldn’t afford it at first. By the time I could and knew, she was older and the vet said she had a high change of dying. She ended up dying around 6/7 years old, but of something other than the cancers rabbits likely get if not spayed. Don’t let anyone pressure you on spaying! Just know all the benefits of both. Only you can make that decision.

[peppypoo]

After a bunny matures and fills out by about 6-8 months (depending on breed) it can be difficult to judge how old they are until obvious signs of age set in. Like Sarita said, a vet can tell sometimes by looking at teeth and nails.

A spay is actually a pretty safe procedure when performed by an experienced rabbit vet – the mortality rate should not nearly be 30%. Likewise, rabbits respond well to anesthesia when administered by a knowledgeable hand. I would follow the House Rabbit Society guidelines for questions to ask your vet to make sure that he or she is experienced in rabbit medicine, and if not, to find a vet who is. Also, do try to talk to the vet and not the receptionist when asking questions, because sometimes the receptionists give the default cat/dog answers which may not apply to rabbits. http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html

[FooFoosMommy2]

Thanks everyone! I talked to my mom about spaying Foo when I was at my parent’s today. It’s just hard to know what the “best” thing to do especially not knowing how old she is. Our vet has experience with rabbits but told us she hasn’t had a patient for a number of years before she saw Foo. There’s an exotic/small animal vet in town somewhere, and the House Rabbit Society has a chapter headquarters within an hour or two of where we live outside Philly.

[bunnyfriend]

Hi, I noticed that spaying came up so I just wanted to give you this link from the House Rabbit Society that gives really good information on spaying and how to find a rabbit savvy vet (a lot of vets claim to know about rabbits, but they are very different from cats and dogs). FAQ: Spaying and Neutering With a rabbit savvy vet, the success rate (meaning the rabbit not dying) should be over 99%. The exotic/small animal vet in town or one the HRS chapter headquarters sounds like a good option

[Sarita]

If she was a stray, I think it’s highly unlikely she has been spayed.

I think you need to find a vet who has more experience in spaying rabbits because it’s not correct that there is a 30% chance she’ll die. You will want to get bloodwork done though to make sure she is able to go under anesthesia. I have put many older rabbits under anesthesia without incident. Not spaying is a much larger risk than spaying her.

[Elrohwen]

Definitely get her spayed! Her life span could be severely shortened if you don’t do it. A good rabbit vet will have a very very high rate of success, so for your vet to say 30% chance of mortality it sends up red flags that she’s just not comfortable or experienced with the procedure. Definitely find another vet to do it. It’s unlikely she’s been spayed, since many bunny owners still don’t have it done and you found her as a stray.

It’s tough to tell age, because teeth can change in color and texture, but it’s often over years. Your vet can probably tell you whether your bun is young, middle aged, or old, but not more specific than that, unfortunately. It’s impossible to tell by litter habits too. My boy was perfect from the first day I got him at 8 weeks. His breeder didn’t use litter boxes, but he instinctively knew what to do and never had an accident. My girl was 3 years old and had lived her whole life with a litter box and knew how to use it, but she marked semi-frequently for the first few months we had her. Even now she’ll sometimes pee next to the litter boxes, while my boy never does. These things just vary by bun!

[FooFoosMommy2]

I’ll definitely look for a different vet because I thought that her saying 30% was odd and yeah, had me scared away from really wanting to risk Foo being spayed. Which sucks because I don’t want to have her for a few years and have to have her put to sleep because she gets cancer-not that that would be an easy decision now since I’m in love with her after only a month and a half. And I guess I’ll have to settle for knowing she’s a young rabbit and just celebrate her “bithdaversay” on the day we found her. =)

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