We strongly recommend getting your rabbit neutered whether they are male or female, this is usually done from 3-4 months of age in males and 4-6 months in females.
There are many benefits to neutering your rabbit including:
- Essential for bonding - rabbits should be kept with at least one other rabbit and neutering prevents unwanted pregnancy in male/female bonded pairs and reduces high risk of often serious fighting in same sex pairs
- Prevention of uterine cancer and infection (pyometra) in females both of which can be fatal
- Prevention of testicular/prostate cancer in males
- Reduced aggression in both male and female rabbits
- Prevention of false or phantom pregnancies in female rabbits
Neutering is a surgical procedure; in male rabbits it involves removing the testes (castration) and in female rabbits it involves removing the uterus and ovaries (spaying). Neutering is carried out under general anaesthesia, whilst rabbits are considered higher risk than cats and dogs the benefits of neutering far outweigh the risks of general anaesia. In order to reduce the risk all patients are health checked before their procedure, monitored by a registered veterinary nurse (RVN) throughout the procedure and recovered by a peri-operative nurse in our specific rabbit ward.
Your rabbit will go home with pain relief medication and a scheduled post op check as well as offering phone advice at any stage in the recovery if needed.
Call us today to book your rabbit in to be neutered or to make an appointment with one of our vets to discuss the neutering process and have a pre-op health check!
More information on neutering in rabbits can be found on the RWAF website: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/neutering-castration-and-spaying/
