Once you have made an appointment for your pet to be neutered, it is important that your pet eats as normal up to their operation, therefore food and water should NOT be removed the night before the procedure.
Once admitted they will be examined by your vet and given a health check.
Rabbits are given a combination of drugs to induce general anaesthesia. Once your pet has had a health check and the vet is happy to proceed, the combination drug is given into the muscle. This injection will take 5 – 10 minutes to take effect. They will then be under general anaesthesia. He will then be transferred through to the Prep room and prepared for theatre.
An endotracheal tube may be placed into his trachea to maintain a clear airway for us to give him oxygen and if necessary a gaseous anaesthetic to maintain anaesthesia.
Castration
Once asleep under anaesthetic he will be prepared for theatre. His veterinary nurse monitors his anaesthetic while shaving an area of hair from his testicles. Once the hair has been removed the area is then cleaned using an antiseptic soap. This procedure is carried out to reduce any bacteria on the skin and provide a sterile operation site. All the hair will grow back in time. He is then transferred to theatre.
The nurse will carefully monitor the anaesthetic during the surgery. The vet will perform the castration by firstly making an incision in front of the scrotum. Each testicle is then clamped, tied off with suture material and then removed. This is a permanent and irreversible procedure.
Once the surgery is complete another injection is then given into the muscle. This injection reverses the initial injection and can take a further 10 minutes for your pet to be fully awake. During this time he will be constantly monitored by the Hospital nurse and is kept warm.
Once he is sitting up and alert, the Hospital nurse will contact you to update you on their progress and arrange a collection time. On discharge a veterinary nurse will explain all the necessary post-operative care.
It is advised that rabbits are kept separate from entire females for 6-8 weeks to prevent any unwanted pregnancies.
We will only discharge a patient when we feel they are fully awake and are able to walk. Some pets take longer to fully recover than others and are treated on a case by case situation, so don’t panic if a late time is requested for collection.
Benefits of having your rabbit castrated:
- Improves social interaction
- Can reduce fighting with other rabbits (and guinea pigs if kept in mixed hutch)
- Can be kept with entire female rabbits
