Rabbit Neuter at 3.5 Years Old

[FloppyBunny]

Hi everyone,

I have had my rabbit since he was 10 weeks old and he is currently 3.5 years old. Normally people neuter much earlier, but he never had a lot of hormonal behavior other than trying to mate with my arm, so I didn’t want to make him undergo surgery. However, now he’s started trying to mate with my chickens and spraying urine, so I will call the vet tomorrow to schedule his surgery. My question was since he is already an adult, will his personality change? I don’t want him to start avoiding me, as some people have experienced after a neuter. I want him to stay cuddly.

Thank you

[Bam]

I don’t think his personality will change. That’s generally the case with rabbits, having them neutered only stops the unwanted hormonal behaviors. My first bun was well into adulthood when he started displaying unwanted hormonal behvaior, having him neutered stopped that but didn’t otherwise change his personality.

A bunny that isn’t young when he has surgery can need a little bit more time and care afterwards than a very young bun. You might have to syringe feed him Critical Care or pellet-mash if he doesn’t start to eat on his own and you should be prepared to give him an hot water bottle or snuggle-safe to keep him warm when he comes home. I had to do those things with my Bam, he was rather out of it, but only for about 24 hours.

[LBJ10]

I agree. But I suppose it depends on what behaviors you consider part of his personality. Sometimes people think certain hormonal behaviors are cute, like circling their owners feet, etc. This isn’t really part of the bunny’s personality though and neutering could put a stop to such behaviors. Otherwise, no, it really won’t change his personality.

A 3.5 year old bunny would do fine being neutered. Shelters neuter older bunnies all the time. If you’re worried, you can have the vet do pre-surgery bloodwork just to make sure everything is functioning properly. He might not bounce back quite as quickly, as Bam suggested.

[FloppyBunny]

Thank you for the replies. As you said LBJ10, I do find the circling the feet a bit cute, but I knew that would go away. I don’t really mind as long as the rest of his personality stays the same. I wonder how he will act once his hormones are gone because he usually comes to be pet, then a minute later tries to mate with my arm. For a couple months last year he never wanted to mate with me or circled my feet, and although he still came to see me and loved being pet, most of the time I had to go to him. He was a lot more “lazy”. I guess I’ll see.

Btw, I’ll be asking my vet tomorrow at the consult, but in case anyone has experience with this, my bunny normally has access to a whole room in the house and our backyard. I’ve read that normally they should be kept caged in for a couple days after surgery, but he’s been free range since he was a baby and is miserable when caged in. He’s normally sleeping most of the time when he’s inside but runs around when he’s in the backyard. Obviously I’ll keep him inside for a while after surgery, but does he really need to be caged in? Also, does anyone have an idea of how long he should stay in the house before being let outside? I don’t want him to get hurt by a branch or something.

[Bam]

Keeping him inside is of course wise. A boy generally doesn’t have to be caged for a long time, but you could keep him in the carrier right when he comes home so you can keep an eye in case he feels miserable, the risk is he goes and hides somewhere where you don’t have easy access to him. He shouldn’t be allowed to jump and climb the first few days, and you should inspect the incision-area daily and keep an eye so he doesn’t chew or excessively licks the area. The surgery is not very invasive and most boys cope very well.

Ask your vet when he can go outside again. I think a week would be fine but your vet might think a couple of days is enough unless there are some complications. You don’t want him to get soil-bacteria in his wounds (which will be glued shut though).

[FloppyBunny]

He had the surgery today and he ate a bit after the surgery, but so far it’s been a bit more than 8 hours since he last ate. The vet said to keep him inside for a week, and then he should be fully healed. He’s pretty swollen right now and isn’t really moving. I gave him a bit of water an hour ago with a syringe just to make sure he was hydrated, and he kept licking it to get more, which I gave him (he wouldn’t drink it on his own). He perked up a bit afterwards and groomed himself and hopped a couple steps before going in his cage and pooping.

He feels cold so I gave him a blanket (which he takes off after about 10 minutes each time) and I gave him a hot water bottle but he won’t stay on it and it’s heavy to keep on him. I just sewed him a hot rice pack and will see how it goes.

[Stickerbunny]

Wait, circling feet is meant to go away after neuter…? Both my spayed doe and my neutered buck do that. haha

My male changed for about a month, while his hormones surged. Then he went (mostly) back to normal, except he picked up a slight chewing habit from the hormonal spike time.

When my male got neutered, he WANTED to be cold. We had air vents that came out the wall, so he backed his tail up to one, lifted it and just laid there letting the A/C blow cold, cold air right on his incision. So, not wanting the warm bottle or blanket is understandable.

[Bam]

He should have the opportunity to choose himself if he wants a hot water bottle etc, but if you see him get like lethargic, sit him in your knee with a light fleece blankie on him, your body is an excellent source of warmth that won’t get him too hot. My Bam wanted a hot water bottle, my Yohio absolutely didn’t.

Hydration is very important, great that you could syringe him water. It’s great that he ate a little bit right after the surgery and that there’s been grooming + poop, but if he doesn’t start eating on his own soon, you should syringe him some food. I used pellet-slurry (crushed pellets + water) with Bam. Generally a bit of food perks the bunny up a lot.

Stickers, I know Moxie’s bun Moxie circles her – and grunts! And Moxie the bun has been spayed for a long time now. The story about the air-vent is so cool, clever bunny, he knew how to reduce local inflammation =)

[FloppyBunny]

I ended up going back to the vet since it had been 24 hours since he last ate and refused any treats. He got subcutaneous fluids and Oxbow Critical Care. That was earlier, and I gave him a bit more now. The vet said there was not a lot of activity in his GI tract. I have 4 medications to give him + food + water, and he refuses to let me give it to him. It takes about 30mins each time. Anyways, he’s feeling better now. I really hope he’ll eat on his own tomorrow because it’s hard to feed him while holding his head with only two hands (he keeps tucking it into his chest to block me).

[Mikey]

Poor little bun ((((healing vibes)))). I hope tomorrow will be an easier day for him

[Beka27]

It can take 24-48 hours for them to get back to normal… I am guessing he should be much better tomorrow! Keep close watch on him and offer him his favorite foods!

[Bam]

Sebnding him many vibes!
It’s good you got meds for him, I’m guessing you got motility drugs and a painkiller perhaps? Try to make him move around a bit, that helps the intestines to move too so gas and poop can pass along. You can also give a very light tummy massage like in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnuxGLa2reg

It really can be difficult to syringe feed a bunny, but a bunny-owner gotta do what a bunny-owner gotta do. It gets easier once you (and the bun) have gotten the hang of it, but it is of course best if you could get another person to help hold him while you do the feeding. Never put him on his back for feeding, he could choke.

[FloppyBunny]

Thank you for the kind words everyone! He’s been doing a lot better today. He started eating and drinking on his own this afternoon (before I was giving him critical care and water with a syringe).

Bam, I got two medications for pain (since he was still in pain with just one) and two for motility. I think he might metabolizes it faster since he has a lot of muscle (which increases metabolism). Our vet said she’s never seen a rabbit as muscle-y.

He’s been moving normally today. Not a lot since he gets bored inside since he’s normally always in the yard. He’s a bit less swollen, but still looks like he has 6 testicles. The vet says older rabbits usually swell more.

I’m so glad he’s almost back to normal!

[Bam]

I’m so glad to hear it! Good vet! Poor little darling, I hope he’ll just go upwards from now, my Bam also had swelling (he was fully adult when he was neutered, I don’t know his exact age though) but it went away just fine. Keep an eye out for seepage or foul smell or other indications of infection- I know you will, of course. It sounds so great that he’s muscle-y, means he has reserves to draw on.

You can still give him a little critical care mixed with sth yummy (baby fruit- or veg puree, canned plain pumpkin etc) but served on a plate or a spoon, just so he get all his nutritional needs met in case he’s not up to full appetite yet.

[FloppyBunny]

Now that he’s been feeling better, he’s fighting me a lot more about the medications. He now refuses critical care, but he’s been eating a bit on his own. This is how his testicles look 4 days after surgery (it looks a bit bigger in person though). The vet says he had a lot of tissue in there so he might never be fully flat, but it should decrease by next tuesday.

[LBJ10]

Yep, they will look like that for awhile. As long as there is no redness, oozing, or swelling around the incisions then you should be okay. Things should shrink over time.

[FloppyBunny]

He’s back to normal now! He’s eating and drinking well and I think he might be a little bit less swollen (or I’m just getting used to it). However, now he wants to mate like CRAZY. It seems to be a bit more than before. I hope it stops soon. I’ve read that for some people it doesn’t even after surgery. The reason why I spent the $400 for the surgery is because of that, because he can no longer go outside since he keeps mating with the chickens and scaring them. But it’s only been 5 days, so we’ll see. How long did it take with your rabbits?

[LBJ10]

They often experience a spike in hormones shortly after neutering. They will start acting crazy and hormonal behaviors and general naughtiness may actually intensify over the next couple of weeks. By 4-6 weeks post-neuter, things begin to balance themselves out and the behaviors should lessen and (hopefully) subside altogether over time.

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