How much will spaying affect Clover?

[Jayme]

I recently adopted Clover, my mini rex lionhead mix. While doing research I saw a ton of stuff talking about the importance of getting bunnies spayed due to their behavior. I was wondering what changes spaying will bring, and if it is truly necessary. I have pondered the idea of eventually getting another rabbit (I absolutly love Holland Lops, I had one when I was younger) and I was wondering what types of pairs bond easiest? (Female/female or female/male) And do both bunnies have to be fixed, or could I get a neutered male and be fine? Also, does anyone happen to know of a good not crazy expensive rabbit vet on the west valley side of Arizona? Thanks!

 

[Imbrium]

is clover female? behavior is the primary reason for neutering males - it stops nasty things like pee-spraying (they can spray pee six feet in the air!). for females, though, it's less about behavior and more about the fact that like 80% of unspayed females have some sort of cancer of the reproductive system by the time they're 3-5 years old. in fact, the average lifespan of an unspayed female is HALF that of a spayed female because of the cancer risks.

M/F bonds are easiest by FAR... and yes, both rabbits need to be spayed or the hormonal one could start vicious or even deadly fights. if you adopt the second rabbit from a shelter, they'll come already fixed (saving you a lot of money) and many shelters allow you to bring your spayed female in for "play dates" with their adoptable males so that you can find a promising match (and shelters who allow play dates also tend to allow you to return/exchange the bunny you adopt if the bond just doesn't work out).

I have two girls and honestly, the only changes I noticed after they were spayed is they stopped peeing outside their litter boxes and got more of their poop in there - there weren't any drawbacks or cute things that they stopped doing.

 

[Blue eyes]

Also, does anyone happen to know of a good not crazy expensive rabbit vet on the west valley side of Arizona? Thanks!

Hey there. I'm in the west valley. I haven't found a good rabbit vet on the west side, but I do have some good references from Brambley Hedge Rabbit Rescue. Here they are:

Donald Holmes DVM
Pecan Grove Veterinary Hospital
655 W. Warner Suite #111
Tempe, AZ 85284
(480)598-3669​

Mention Brambley Hedge Rabbit Rescue for a 10% Discount​

2nd office is​

North Kenilworth Veterinary Care​

342 W. McDowell Rd​

Phoenix, AZ 85003​

602-374-3091​

Dr. Carmen Bastek
Dr. Jay Johnson
Dr. Kevin Wright
University Animal Hospital
2500 S. Hardy Drive
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 968-9275​

Dr. Brad Rosonke
Hillside Animal Hospital
11495 N. 136th Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85259
(480) 391-7297​

You can see that Holmes has 2 offices. The one in red isn't too far away. He has been working with Brambley for years. I have gone to him and felt good about his rabbit savvy. You'll have to call ahead because he's only at certain offices on certain days.

Imbrium is correct. You will want to get your current bunny fixed first. Then you can arrange a bunny date with an opposite sex, fixed bunny from Brambley Hedge. They allow speed dates and I have done this with them on more than one occasion. They are on the web with photos of their available bunnies.

 

[Jayme]

Thanks so much for the vet offices! I was having trouble finding a good one. And if I get a second bunny, I'll use the cage that Clover is currently in, since soon she'll have her dog kennel cage. And I'll get her fixed as soon as possible . Thanks so much!

 

[MikeScone]

Some people have said that spaying did not have much effect on the behavior of their rabbits. On the other hand, there was a pretty large effect on Natasha Rabbitova.

When she first came to live with me, she was very clingy - I had to practically force her to get out of my lap and explore the house. After her spay, she's still affectionate - loves being petted and kissing my hands, and wherever I am in the house is where she wants to be - but she's not at all as needy of physical closeness, and she no longer likes to be held or to sit in my lap for a long time. Basically, she's acting much more like my first rabbit, Scone MacBunny, who was male (and never neutered).

 

[Jayme]

How much did you guys pay to get your buns spayed? Some places say upwards of $200, and I planned on getting her a new cage made from a dog kennel since her current one is pretty small, and adopting a male altered room mate eventually. However, all of that is a TON of money, and I'm not sure where to start with all of that.

 

[Blue eyes]

I would just call Dr Holmes' office and ask the price on a spay. If you get your male from Brambley Hedge you won't have to pay for the neuter because their buns are neutered and the price of bunny includes that. (Their single rabbits are $60.)

I thought the cost of the dog kennels were pretty high. Have you considered just using an x-pen instead? If cost is a concern, this could be a cheaper way to go and even provide more room than a kennel.

This site shows a standard x-pen configured in a 4 x 4 square:
http://www.tranquilitytrail.org/RabbitCare.html#Facts_First

You can also make it even larger by making an existing wall part of the cage like this:

I got my x-pen from amazon. Here's that link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H8YTJI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[mochajoe]

The most important thing about getting your bunny spayed is health related....unfixed female rabbits are much more likely to develop cancer! Having lost our male bunny (he was my daughter's show bunny and so he was older....I opted to NOT have him fixed as he was perfectly awesome as an intact male) to a testicular cancer....I will NEVER take that chance again. We just had our new female spayed a couple of weeks ago. Prior to being spayed, she sprayed EVERYWHERE, she did NOT like to be picked up and would even growl She was fine and liked to be held once you had her....it was just the getting her that was really tough. Since her spay, she is FAR more mellow....has not sprayed one single time...is perfectly sweet about being picked up and handled...is meticulous about using her litter box (before less than 50% of the time) 100% of the time....and is just a joy to have! Made a world of difference for our Funfetti.....and like I said....I will NEVER take the chance with not having any of my bunnies fixed again...too heartbreaking! Good luck!

 

[Jayme]

For the x pen if I don't want any exposed carpet what can I put underneath it? If I use a towel it won't cover the entire floor space....And I called Holmes, but they're closed so I'll call tomorrow.

 

[Jayme]

And I'm not 100% that I have the room to make an x-pen into a cage...I let Clover out plenty, but I feel that my space can't accommodate an x-pen, and I feel that a dog kennel would be more appropriate in my space.

 

[PaGal]

You can look for used kennels on craigslist. If you purchased a used one I would first disinfect it to be sure that nothing germ wise could be passed onto the buns.

As I said before you can look on ebay. I saw some on sale there that were new for less than a pet store. The thing to watch for with that though is the shipping cost. Some places charge less for the product but then charge a high shipping cost. We purchase items through ebay frequently and rarely have a problem. You don't have to mess around with an auction, you could just look for one listed as a buy it now.

 

[Imbrium]

For the x pen if I don't want any exposed carpet what can I put underneath it? If I use a towel it won't cover the entire floor space....And I called Holmes, but they're closed so I'll call tomorrow.

you can get an 8'x10' tarp from walmart for about $6 that works well to protect the carpet.

a single playpen that's connected into a circle (as opposed to the way the pen in blue eyes' picture is set up) is actually quite small... and if need be, you can use zipties to hook it together to where it's a panel or two shorter so that it takes up less space.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We got Lilli from Amy when she lived in Prescott and she had her neutered for $60. Neutering change how some of ours behaved and didn't seem to effect others--just depends.

 

[waite.sarah89]

Some people make a base from plywood with 2 inch trim around it and then put stick down linoleum tiles over the plywood. You could also lay down a shower curtain and cover that with a blanket or sheet if you have hardwood you're trying to protect.