DFW Vets?

[Khanh]

I live in Arlington TX and called the nearest rabbit specialist and another vet that says they do it. The prices average probably near $200, but I found the Texas Coalition for Animal Protection that does rabbit altering for about $50 and $15 for antibiotics and pain medicine each I believe. I was wondering if anyone here has tried that place or have any suggestions or ideas I should consider before taking my 3.5 month male rabbit there and later on my 3 month female rabbit.

I’ve had them since they were 1-2 months and now they are getting hormonal. They are currently in the same cage, should I split them up until they are both altered? If not, should I split them up post surgery? The male is also mounting and nipping the female’s fur off more recently as well, and the female has been nipping at us lately as well (probably hormonal).

They currently share an outside cage under a patio because one of them is spraying the area too much to be inside. We plan on building an inside pen for them once they stop spraying or to split them up if we need to.

Thank you for your help. This is our first time owning rabbits.

[Sarita]

The only vet in your area I know is Dr. Amanda Neece in Mansfield. I am familiar with the Texas Animal Coalition but have never used them but I would definitely consider them if I had to spay/neuter another rabbit.

I think it would be worth contacting them to see how many rabbits they see for spays/neuters – remember you do not fast your rabbit before surgery like you do cats and dogs too.

I know it is getting hot right now too so make sure they have plenty of shade and water.

I would make this decision soon too as your male is ready to be neutered and although your female is young she can very likely get pregnant soon and you do not want that – it would be smart to separate them at this point.

[Linette]

Split them up, if they are a small breed she could get pregnant already.

Chances are with the spay clinic, they will use the same methods and anethesia they use with cats/dogs. I am not a vet, but I hear that it’s not as good for rabbits. That being said, back in the day before there were such a thing as rabbit vets I had some rabbits spayed and neutered (and rats too) and had other rabbits have surgery and never had any issue with it.

I cannot be sure that is the case here, but I have been told the high cost of rabbit surgery is due to the special anethesia.

Talk to the clinic and find out what the situation is. Then make your decision based on the info, your gut, heart and pocketbook.

Rabbit cannot vomit so they don’t need to fast prior to surgery.

Also ask which antibiotics they give and do some research to find out if those are ok for rabbits.

[manic_muncher]

When I worked at a vet 20 yrs ago, we used isoflurane as the gas anesthesia for all of our surgeries, which is safe for rabbits. For older or more fragile animals, or those like rabbits that couldnt use the normal injectable anesthesia, we’d mask them down, then have to do a quick intubation before they woke up again, to put them on the gas properly. The reason to use only the isoflurane is that once it is turned off, the animal begins waking up within seconds of breathing just oxygen or air. They still are groggy and need help, but within 10-15 minutes, the animal is awake. I suspect these clinics that do many neuters in one day, back to back to back, for those low prices may do something similar. With so many surgeries to do in a short time, space is a premium. The sooner an animal can leave out, the better.

I would definitely check out that Coalition if I were in your shoes.

[Khanh]

They use isoflurane and they only neuter the rabbits at 6 months.

I am going on vacation for a week whenever the male turns 6 months. I am planning to take him in around 5.5 months to neuter so I have about 2 weeks to be with him before I go on vacation in case something happens. The female would probably be after the vacation, but I was wondering how long I should wait until I put the neutered male into the same pen as the unspayed female.

The female recently made a nest but hasnt laid in it yet. Since they’ve been separated, when I let the male and female run together they both try to mount each other now; it used to be the male just mounting the female. So I have to let them run separately now as well. Would this be a problem later on after altering the male/female or should I slowly reintroduce themselves by having their cages next to each other and eventually swapping them or just putting him in her cage (the bigger cage).

[manic_muncher]

If she’s made a nest, she’s either about to have babies or going through a false pregnancy. You shouldn’t put them back together until both of them have had their neuters done. They both are going to smell different to each other and will need to be re-bonded, hopefully successfully. Oh I hope you aren’t going to have to deal with an oops litter!

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