spaying/neutering

[khellendros05]

hello, was not sure where to post this question, so sorry if this is in the wrong category.

So my question is who has had their rabbit spayed and who has had their rabbit neutered?

I have a male holland lop and a female rex (seprate cages ofcourse). They seem to get along well enough. when they get their time out of the cage (sepratly) they will hang out near the other ones cage sometimes and they do not seem to be agressive to one another. My goal is to be able to have them out at the same time so they can each have their "outside the cage time" without it being cut short b/c i only have limited time they can be out and so i have to split it between the 2.

I am concerned b/c i know not alot of vets specialize in small animal care so thats the first thing to do is find a vet experianced in it.

I am going to have to neuter Thor, I am sure freya would not appreciate him trying to hump her all the time even if she was spayed.

1. will having the male nuetered prevent him from feeling the need to hump
2. if i get a experianced vet with him being a holland lop is it a safe procedure, i do not want to lose him just b/c i wanted him nuetred.
3. should i get them both fixed or just the male?

any other tips and advice will be helpful

 

[CDiana]

my opinion is get them both fixed. Females can get nasty when their hormones are raging sometimes attack my hands, Mine tried nesting once they reached rabbit puberty even though I had no males at the time, and one of them attacked my hands. Rabbits both male and female are calmer when fixed. and the female can get pregnant by a male even if they are in separate changes. I have heard several times since joining rabbit forums of unexpected rabbit pregnancy's. So I guess bucks must be able to throw their sperm.

 

[michaels4gardens]

in 30 to 45 days after being "fixed" the humping should be over, and as mentioned above, the female will need to be "fixed" also, if you want trouble free "togetherness"

 

[bantambunnies]

As I understand it... healthwise, it's more important to have does spayed than bucks. Does are at a high risk for getting breast cancer, uterine cancer, etc. The risks can at least be greatly reduced by spaying. And as CDiana pointed out, their temperaments may improve as well.

I would think that neutering would be safe enough even for a Holland Lop. Neutering is usually a fairly simple procedure.
How old is your buck? I would guess that the older he is, the less likely neutering is to fix behaviors like humping and spraying, but you never really know. It seems to vary from rabbit to rabbit. Even does, however, will hump each other to claim dominance.

 

[khellendros05]

my buck, the holland lop is about 3 1/2 he doesnt really spray, i just dont want him to attempt to hump the doe and her get angry and hurt him.

temperment wise, even during heat freya has been great she loves being petted and has never attempt to be agressive since i got her out of the shelter enviroment.

that is a good point about the cancer though. i knew this to be a issue in female rats and was unaware its the same for rabbits as well.

I will still keep them in their seprate cages but i want them to be able to be outside of their cages together and because she is so much bigger than him i dont want him to upset her and her retailiate (once they get spayed and nutered)

anyone know how much it costs?

 

[Marinea]

Unfortunately, I would not count on a spaying/neutering preventing any fights. Even bonded buns can have their bad moments. And as long as the buns have nails, injuries can happen, and happen quickly.

As far as the cost, from what I have read, it can vary greatly. As can the vets' proficiency with rabbits. Ask around. Do your research carefully.

If it were me, I would be thinking about making an exercise area that I could divide into two sections. It would allow both buns to be out at the same time, it would still prevent any injuries, I wouldn't have the risks that go with surgery, and it would be much less expensive.