You have a pet rabbit and you consider to spay/neuter it but not sure if it will affect your pet’s behavior.I have noticed that many people worry if their rabbits will change their behavior becoming calmer and less playful.
A simple answer is YES, spaying/neutering will affect its behavior but in a good way. I have noticed that many people worry if their rabbits will change their behavior becoming calmer and less playful.
The thing is that procedures such as spaying/neutering change only the behavior linked to sex hormones without leaving any trace on your bunny’s personality.
If you consider taking your pet to the vet for spaying/neutering and you would like to know more about the mental ”consequences” of the surgery, let me share with you all my findings related to this topic. I am happy if I can decrease the level of your anxiety about this as you are really making a good decision.
Table of Contents
What Is The Difference Between Spay and Neuter?
Many people tend to get confused about the difference so let’s make it more clear.
Spay – is a surgical procedure for females, during which female’s ovariums have been removed.
Neuter – is a surgical procedure for males, during which male’s testicles have been removed.
Spaying is a little bit more invasive procedure that is why the recovery period may take a longer time in females than in males.
What Are The Benefits of Spaying / Neutering For Your Rabbit?
During my research on this topic, I found numerous pros of spaying /neutering procedures but I couldn’t find cons though.
In theory, only con is a risk that every surgery carries, not only in rabbits or animals in general but also in humans. The thing is that these are not high-risk procedures and usually are performed on young and healthy rabbits.
So even though there is a risk that the rabbit will die during the procedure, the chances for this happen are very, very slim. It is more likely that your bunny will recover and get back on track in a very short period of time.
Let’s get back to the benefits of spaying/neutering your rabbit:
- performing this procedure will reduce the possibility of your rabbit to get any reproductive cancer. There is a high percentage of rabbits (60%) that are prone to cancers after the age of 3.
- if you reduce the possibility your bunny gets cancer, you will help him expand his/her lifespan and live more quality life.
- prevent unwanted litters. I don’t know if you knew but rabbits are 3.most abandoned animals in the USA ( after dogs and cats). There are high-kill shelters that performed euthanasia on rabbits every day as simply there is no enough place for all of them. Almost 7 million of dogs, cats and rabbits are killed every year as there are no adequate homes for them.
- If you get your rabbit fixed, you help with reducing the number of bunnies in the future which directly has an impact on decreasing overpopulation of rabbits.
- reduce aggression in rabbits. This is important especially if you keep same-sex bunnies. The lack of aggressive behavior will help your bunnies to bond even more.
- helps with litter training. If sex hormones have been removed rabbits are slightly less territorial and won’t have the necessity to mark the territory with their urine or droppings.
- spaying procedure will prevent your female bunny from having false pregnancies. If you haven’t experienced it yet, let me tell you that it is rather sad to watch your loving bunny how she makes a nest, preparing for babies she won’t have. False pregnancy is also stressful for females so it is better to avoid all of this.
- minimize destructive behavior. Although fixing your rabbit will not make all destructive behavior vanish most of it will go away. All that hormonal/territorial behavior such as spraying urine, mounting or nipping will go away or reduced to a minimum.
The List of Behavioral Changes That Should Happen After Your Rabbit Has Been Fixed
If you are raising your rabbit from a baby, you certainly have noticed how he/she has been changing. That is quite normal. You cannot see the rabbit’s personality before he/she becomes an adult.
But with rabbits growing up, some problems may occur. Like in dogs, when your rabbits appear to be little tough to manage, most probably he is becoming sexually mature ( usually 3-4 months old or a bit later if you have giant breed then around 6-9 months old)
In this period bunnies can develop troublesome and frustrating behavioral patterns may appear :
- aggressive behavior – biting or nipping
- mounting on other people or things
- excessive chewing and digging
- urine marking/ leaving dropping everywhere, bad litter habits
- nervous and restless pacing or circling
After Spraying/Neutering, When Will The Behavioral Changes Appear?
It is important to know – not instantly !
For example, your neutered male can still get your female pregnant up to 3 weeks after the procedure so you don’t bring them together right after the surgery.
Behavior linked to sex hormones such as spraying urine may take weeks or even months to disappear. According to the House Rabbit Society, this kind of behavior will start to minimize in 2-4 weeks after the surgery.
In case you have neutered male and spayed female you should also have to wait to place them back in the same cage/hutch. It is crucial to let some time passes, around 4 weeks, just to make sure that all those hormones related behavior is significantly reduced.
How Does Your Rabbit Behave After Fixing?
Here we are not talking about behavior right after surgery as this is a topic for another article ”How Do Spaying/Neutering Procedures Look Like?”
We are talking about the beneficial behavioral changes that will happen in weeks after the surgery.
Your rabbit tends to be more affectionate and calmer. This doesn’t mean that your energetic bun will become a slow-motion creature. No, his/her personality will not be changed but when we say calmer that means less aggressive and nervous.
Your rabbit will be more friendly and his /her behavior will be more predictable and easier to manage.
When Is The Right Time For Spaying / Neutering The Rabbit?
The right time for males is when they are about 4 months old and for females a little bit later, when they are 5 months old.
This is approximate age only, you should contact your vet for all spaying /neutering related questions and he should give the green light for this procedure. So don’t book a surgical appointment before you talk with your vet.
Final Thought
If you are considering spaying /neutering procedure for your bunny, don’t think twice, do it! It is very beneficial for your rabbit’s health and behavior.
Don’t forget that this surgery has some advantages for you as well. You will find your bunny easier to manage, more friendly, and affectionate. You won’t have to think about how to re-home unwanted rabbit babies and certainly will have to clean less as your bunny’s litter habits will improve.
Overall – yes, your bunny will change after the surgery but as I said at the beginning, in a good way only. Good luck!
