Sterilisation, Desexing, Neutering, Spey/Spay and Castration
Yes, you should get your rabbit desexed. If you can’t afford it, don’t have a rabbit. Simple.
A female bunny’s spay is more dangerous than a male’s neuter, but it is important to get it done both for your bunny’s health and for your sanity.
Male rabbits should be desexed (castrated) when their testicles drop at 3 months old. Females should be desexed (spey/spay) at 4-6 months old because she can get progressively more picky once the hormones kick in, and more difficult to litter train.
Never question whether it should be done or not. All bunnies should be desexed if they are not breeding stock.
Information about desexing:
Choosing a vet
Make sure the vet you choose deals with rabbits all the time. That way you will be comforted to know that your precious fuzz-ball is in good hands.
Most people prefer going to an exotic pet vet, because they specialise in small animals, birds, lizards etc. You don’t necessarily have to go to a rabbit savvy vet. Normal vets will be honest with you if they don’t deal with rabbits, don’t be afraid to ask. Some normal vets deal with a lot of rabbits and don’t call themselves exotic pet vets. You have to be smart enough about what you want to see in a vet, and have high expectations. Always ask a lot of questions and if you are happy, go with the vet.
I have been to exotic pet vets and they ultimately couldn’t find what was wrong with my bunny, and she died a couple of hours later. I have been to normal vets and they were able to look at my rabbit and explain what breeds are in his genetics and what was wrong with his digestion just by looking at the shape of his tummy. Don’t judge a book by its cover, or, don’t judge a vet by its advertising.
I’d be more than happy to go to my normal vet and get my bunnies checked or neutered, rather than going to an exotic pet vet. They cost the same amount of money, but I feel I get better service, more care and an honest opinion from my normal pet vet.
The really good pet shop vet who deals with rabbits every day, and they are much more affordable than the exotic pet vet. So, make sure you find a vet you think will do a good job and they satisfy all of your requirements.
I have two local veterinary clinics, one admitted that they don’t see rabbits and they don’t stock the vaccine. The other sees rabbits, and is basically useless when it comes to rabbit health. I only go there for the annual Filavac vaccination because it is close and reasonably affordable (in 2023, the vaccination and consultation was $167). The good pet-shop vet, the one I mentioned above, is in Pakenham, and I would recommend them without hesitation.
The Operation
Because rabbits’ innards are small, it costs more than a dog or cat to do the operation.
Bunnies are also prone to die under anesthetic because they have weak immune systems, but a good vet will know what to do and look out for. If your vet can’t pick that your bunny has an health issue prior to the operation, and the bunny passes away under anesthetic, I’d be questioning the vet a lot, about everything. It’s important to realise that the little bunny they are dealing with is your life, soul and blood, so if something goes wrong you have all the right to find out why, because it is the vet’s fault if it dies.
Some vets will also get you to sign a contract to say that it is OK for them to resuscitate the bunny if it dies on the table. Some vets don’t get you to sign the contract, but assume that is what you’d like to happen. Other vets won’t try to resuscitate the bunny and just say “Oh well, it died during the operation.”
Spaying Females
The female operation is quite dangerous because vets have to open the bunny’s undercarriage and remove the ovaries. Because of this, it costs more to desex a female rabbit. But in the long-term, it prevents them from getting prolapses, cancers and other awful things that can shorten their lives.
Neutering Males
This operation is classed as superficial, because they don’t have to open the bunny up, they just make a small slit above the genital area and push the testes out, then stitch the bunny back up. This lowers the swelling and the bunny heals much faster.
20 or more years ago, vets used to make a small incision on each side to remove each testicle separately. This caused bunnies a lot of pain and the swelling wouldn’t go down for a long time. Luckily, they have updated their procedures and bunnies bounce back better.
Post-operation
The vet should provide 7 days of pain and antibiotic medication for each bunny after the operation, and they should also book you in three days post-operation for a check up. These are requirements this day and age, because many average vets just let you go without meds and a check-up. All of these fees, for meds, post-op checkup etc should be included in the fee charged, not as extras.
Make sure the vet gives you a syringe for each medication, per bunny. So if there are 3 medications and two bunnies, you will need 6 syringes.
Syringes
Also, make sure that they are 1ml syringes that have the little inner black rubber Luer Slip Tip (circled in blue) that pushes the last bit of the medication out out of the dead space. Some vets give the normal syringe (on the right) and you can’t get the last bit of medication out of the dead space, and so you run out of meds before the 7 days is up.
If you do run out of meds, go back to the vet and ask for more. They shouldn’t charge you for it because they calculated the dosage incorrectly, by not taking into account the wastage in the tip of the syringe.
Health after the operation
Some bunnies will be OK after their operation, they will go to the toilet normally and eat as usual. Other bunnies will suffer a bit more. These are the ones you need to take notice of. If they are sluggish, not toileting properly, look like they are in pain or not eating they may be have GI stasis. They must go back to the vet to get more gut motility medication. You have 16-24 hours before it becomes much more serious than it already is and you may not have a bunny much longer.
You don’t need to protect the bunny’s wound from being licked. Most vets will coat the incision with a healing gel that withstands being licked. Just remember to keep your bunny warm, dry and comfortable. By covering the wound with fabric, may cause the wound to be damp and not heal properly.
They may not want to move too much in the first few days, that is normal.
They may also look at you like they don’t like you any more, but it’s not you they don’t like, it’s the feelings they are feeling. They want you to help them, comfort them and tell them that it will all be OK.
Prices for the operation
The average spay will cost around $500
The average neuter will cost around $400
Some vets charge the same amount for a spay or neuter, but they provide different options for post-op care.
From experience, if the spay or neuter costs significantly less than that, you’re getting bad service. You get what you pay for.
However, I do think that the operation costs are extreme, especially when the medications given to your bunny are really only worth around 50c-$2.00 a millilitre. Vets increase the price to the extreme because they know you’ll pay it if you want it. Honestly, because it’s so important to get your bunny desexed, they should charge a quarter of the price. It is only a rabbit, not an elephant.
Give me some confidence about the operation
Unusual Pet Vets are very forthcoming with information, don’t be afraid to phone them to ask questions
According to the Unusual Pet Vets in Frankston, the operation is very safe, especially if it is done with an exotic animal specialist. Vets without proper rabbit training may have different outcomes.
Rabbits are given a thorough health check prior, and if there are any issues the vets will not go ahead with the operation. Specialist vets are very good at picking up any anomalies in rabbit health, that’s why it’s important to get the operation done with an expert.
The Unusual Pet Vets perform about 2-3 rabbit desexing operations a week, and more during the summer months.
Over the past five years (2018-2023), they have not had any bunnies die during the operation. Although some bunnies do have issues with the anesthetic, they usually come good after the operation with a bit of extra care.
Always have a chat with your vet, they are there to help.
Don’t be scared about the operation
There is lots of information out there to scare you about getting your bunny desexed. If you choose the right vet, you should not have any problems. Vets who are specialised in rabbits are the best and only choice, because they are there to give you confidence.
If you have any questions, talk to your vet.