# Personality Change After Neuter/Spay



## Jocelbug (Mar 31, 2012)

Nervous about getting my new baby, Skeletor, neutered. My first rabbit, Ibis, completely and totally lost his entire personality after i had him neutered. he went from being an opinionated and inquisitive playful pal to being a complete vapid zombie. he literally lost the expression in his eyes too. i felt like the biggest jerk on the planet, so much so, that i didnt spay Ibis' mate, Murphy, at all. 10 years later with my new pair, im terrified of what will happen to my little guy....


----------



## ZRabbits (Mar 31, 2012)

Welcome to the Forum!


Sorry to hear about your experience. 

And if you are that nervous, why do it? Maybe spaying the female would be a better way if you think neutering makes the males lose their personality. Or even keeping them separate and addressing them as individuals. 

There are a lot of different avenues that you can travel. 

But don't be afraid. Maybe it was just him or him feeling you worried about him. I have two bucks that are neutered and their personality actually flourished after the hormones were removed. 

Rabbits are individuals. Wishing you luck. 

K


----------



## Jocelbug (Mar 31, 2012)

thanks for the reassurance. thats y i posted this thread. I need to hear other fellow rabbit lovers tell me that i am in fact being a good, responsible mommy, and not some horrible genital-hacking monster mommy....i never did spay my first female cause i was so nervous about it, but i may just go ahead and have my new female Shee-ra spayed first, as her personality could definitely use some improvement :biggrin: and once i see that shes ok, i might feel better about neutering my Skeletor


----------



## katnanw (Mar 31, 2012)

Welcome to the forum :biggrin: 

As Karen said, rabbits are individuals. What happened after sterilization differs for each rabbit. 
My Donut (5 months turning 6 months) who used to be the most sociable lil guy in the world, suddenly became wary and is now terrified of human contact. 
Cookie (Donut's brother, also turning 6 months) however, suddenly became nicer towards me. He used to run away when he sees me approaching but now he'll stay where he is and let me pet him. 
Chestnut (4 years) was neutered when he turned 7months. I don't know what he was like prior to living with me (he's a rescue) but his previous owners said he used to be really nasty and tearing furniture apart. Now all I know is that he's the loveliest amongst the trio and my personal favourite. He comes up to me for pets and loves it when I hug him :] 

Long story short, sterilization isn't a bad thing. In fact, rabbits are more prone to diseases and cancers if they're not sterilized. Whatever the outcome is, you're a good person and I'm sure your rabbits will appreciate what you do for them  all the best with your lovely girl an tell us how to goes :biggrin: x


----------



## LakeCondo (Mar 31, 2012)

According to what some report, neutering isn't the life-prolonging event that spaying is, so you can leave him intact if his behavior doesn't turn obsessive at puberty.


----------



## katnanw (Mar 31, 2012)

LakeCondo wrote:


> According to what some report, neutering isn't the life-prolonging event that spaying is, so you can leave him intact if his behavior doesn't turn obsessive at puberty.



Boys do get testicle cancer too >.< neutering helps lessen the risk :L


----------



## Jocelbug (Mar 31, 2012)

Skelly is a year old and never humped anything until we got Shee-ra. He hunched her for about a minute then quit and hasnt really bothered her again in 2 months. she wasnt mature yet so she just sat there, looking at the wall rather vacantly until he quit vibrating, and then they cuddled....it was quite sweet actually...Skelly has been his same pleasant self since we got him at 8 weeks old, Shee-ra however was an absolute love until about a couple of days ago (when she started doing the chicken noises) she turned into a total grump, kicks and chatters angrily when u pick her up, and has been completely saturating their whole litter box, and she even started throwing their bedding out of the sides of the cage and spreading it all over the kitchen so im fairly certain spaying her can ONLY bring an improvement in her personality. My husband used to adore her, now he says he doesnt like her anymore and wants to know where his sweet little apricot-colored puff went....


----------



## LakeCondo (Mar 31, 2012)

*katnanw wrote: *


> LakeCondo wrote:
> 
> 
> > According to what some report, neutering isn't the life-prolonging event that spaying is, so you can leave him intact if his behavior doesn't turn obsessive at puberty.
> ...


What someone said was that the risk of testicular cancer was nearly offset by the risk of the neutering surgery itself.


----------



## katnanw (Mar 31, 2012)

Looks like someone's got a tantrum. I do agree spaying will help with that missy temper. But IF you don't want to , you can always consult a vet for other options . Best you get her spayed, the agressiveness will tone down A LOT (trust me, especially for female rabbits.) 
:biggrin:


----------



## katnanw (Mar 31, 2012)

LakeCondo wrote:


> *katnanw wrote: *
> 
> 
> > LakeCondo wrote:
> ...



This someone is a vet? I'd recommend the House Rabbit Society and a rabbit savvy vet for information (not an expert myself so get a second opinion! ) :biggrin:


----------



## ZRabbits (Mar 31, 2012)

*katnanw wrote: *


> LakeCondo wrote:
> 
> 
> > *katnanw wrote: *
> ...


House Rabbit Society is an organization that promotes rabbits as pets and does not promote procreation, meaning more rabbits. They would want both males and females neutered/spayed. 

But I've talked to Rabbit Savvy Vets and have read many reports (Sorry, I'm a nerd when it comes to research) and what Lake Condo says is true. There are more cases of cancer in females than males. Males can go their whole life with no problems other than hormonal surges to procreate. It's hardwired. The only real reason to neuter a male is to stop that dirty habit of spraying, which is a dominance/territorial issue. Also it makes them more mellow because those hormonal surges come on them. But it doesn't guarantee the mellowness after neutering. 

Females do have a higher risk of getting uterine or ovarian cancer so if you don't plan to breed, a female would benefit health wise by spaying. Especially for pet rabbits. And even after the breeding cycle of a female rabbit, spaying should be considered. 

Females do get a raw deal when it comes to health issues, especially cancer. 

K


----------



## Vulcan (Jun 3, 2019)

katnanw said:


> Welcome to the forum :biggrin:
> 
> As Karen said, rabbits are individuals. What happened after sterilization differs for each rabbit.
> My Donut (5 months turning 6 months) who used to be the most sociable lil guy in the world, suddenly became wary and is now terrified of human contact.
> ...



My bunny, Vulcan, who is about 9 months, also changed after being neutered. He went from being comfortable and friendly around me to being wary and skittish, of a lot of things. It's like the hormones kept his anxiety down. At first I thought it was because he detested the pain medicine, and I had to syringe feed him a 'bunny power shake' the first two days after surgery to help boost his appetite, but it's been several weeks and he hasn't warmed up any. Went from sitting for over an hour as I rubbed his nose to barely letting me pet him. Makes me feel bad because I feel like me being there and spending time with him makes him skittish. Not sure what to do.


----------



## TreasuredFriend (Jun 5, 2019)

Thank goodness we got all our rescues spayed and neutered. The amount of male (and female) obnoxious behavior, spraying, marking was difficult to handle, in addition to (unplanned or oops) pregnancies by having more than 2-10 pets in our home; fosters, rescues, and several adopted from the shelter that were slated to be euth'd because of various reasons. 

At the shelter we saw Oops pregnancies as a reason to surrender. Basically humans are unaware of how quickly rabbits mature. 

And one can search overpopulation situations where a few rabbits abandoned turn into 50 to 100 rabbits. Rabbits DO have individual personalities. Typically you might get a kisser/groomer early on, but their behavior can change after a surgical procedure. Hormones drive them to be lovey; then the switch is altered. Later on, the affection may return based on their care. Our elders, and those who previously had or did not have a bondmate throughout their life, have become more mellow and groom or lick us a lot. Some buns choose certain people (ie. the 2-legged male or female in their home) to groom. Yes, they can play favorites. 

One of our abandoned/captured rescues snuggled up to hubby, but didn't like my female scent. After (and before) her spay, she readily jumped into hubby's lap when he sat in an easy chair, and parked there for leisure carresses. She dug and nipped my abdomen; as she matured she became way more mellow and accepted me. Perhaps a female human in her past did not treat her well.

One of our 4 y.o. females will ONLY kiss and wash hubby's face. // A rescue Tan breed bun from a high-vol shelter in IL fought vehemently when I first handled him or picked him up. I needed to pick him ujp to take him to the DVM for wellness exam and his neuter. Who knew the conditions he lived in prior? As he matured, he became part of a loosely-bonded trio with a spayed Fe, neutered M Potter. Barkee especially loved being near Potter. As Barkee matured, he became a regular kisser; just needed time to mellow or trust. 

Find a vet who's competent along with the staff. Make sure they speak bunny language and have done hundreds and hundreds of successful surgeries. 

Individual personalities is true.


----------



## TreasuredFriend (Jun 5, 2019)

We took in a five-year-old female from a family that didn't want her any longer. They had 5 small dogs and the dogs got priority over the rex rabbit. When our savvy DVM did her spay, she showed me a surgical snapshot. We had fortunately caught the reddened, abnormal, pre-cancerous growth signs that were developing. A few days ago a rescue-focused person posted pics of a captured, abandoned gal that went immediately to a vet to treat the large lumps protruding from her abdomen (seen upon capture). The uterine cancer picture and abscesses are locked in my mind,


----------



## Stepho (Feb 6, 2020)

Jocelbug said:


> Nervous about getting my new baby, Skeletor, neutered. My first rabbit, Ibis, completely and totally lost his entire personality after i had him neutered. he went from being an opinionated and inquisitive playful pal to being a complete vapid zombie. he literally lost the expression in his eyes too. i felt like the biggest jerk on the planet, so much so, that i didnt spay Ibis' mate, Murphy, at all. 10 years later with my new pair, im terrified of what will happen to my little guy....


There are many benefits to speying and castrating your rabbit. They can live a longer and healthier life as the risk of cancer and urinary retract infections are greatly reduced. I’m a vet nurse and I see it so often.


----------



## Tracy Davies (Feb 8, 2020)

Stepho said:


> There are many benefits to speying and castrating your rabbit. They can live a longer and healthier life as the risk of cancer and urinary retract infections are greatly reduced. I’m a vet nurse and I see it so often.


I have to agree. I have spayed two bucks and thier personality and spirit is zero. I have paired them up with females though, so they make great companions. I wouldn't rush to neuter a male. Regarding females, yes there are health benefits to prevent cancer but it is a big procedure and I hear of many not surviving. Just my opinion.


----------



## Donna Standar (Feb 8, 2020)

I had my male neutered two months ago, he's the sweetest loving bun I've ever had. He kisses me, loves attention. He would spray all over before. Then that quit but he's still a lovebug. I just had my girl bun spayed Wednesday, and her cage is beside his and now he's marking all over again. Mark his territory front of his baby's cage and hers.
Thought that was the end of it.
Everytime he goes near his baby's pen, the baby (10 weeks old now) lunges at him and grows.. Fiesty little thing. Not sure the sex yet. But it's beside mom that was spayed. Hoping to put them back together after her two week recovery


----------



## TreasuredFriend (Feb 9, 2020)

https://www.houserabbitga.com/spay-neuter-rabbit


----------



## TreasuredFriend (Feb 9, 2020)

During my volunteer years at the shelter, we advised potential adopters to wait at least 4 weeks for a female to begin dates with a neutered male. Male hormones take 8 weeks to subside. 

Look on Petfinder and you will see that 5.2 thousand rabbits are unwanted. Need to find homes. Unwanted, surrendered, can't keep, allergic, daughter lost interest.... 

Spay and neuter by a knowledgeable rabbit-DVM is critical to prevent the daily amount of euth's that occur at shelters. 

We have completely different experiences with our house bunnies. They keep their spunk and personality well into their senior years! Our 5 y.o. ~ to golden agers (10-13 year old house buns) still periscope, still come hopping over for a leaf or treat, and still give plenty of affection! Hubby would cradle one of our 12 y.o. neutered malse in his arms, and he tooth-purred.


----------



## TreasuredFriend (Feb 9, 2020)

Youngsters typically are kissy. And a 10-week old baby who grunts at another, is coming of age. We had five and six week old siblings born in a barn at a horse farm who NEEDED to be separated from each other because of spats, dominance mounting, aggression towards their mother.

We have a 12 y.o. spayed female who excels at giving out kisses! Many of our house bunnies doled out kisses well into their senior years! They have different ways of showing their affection.

Q: What kind of environments do your bunnies live in? 
Q: Do they have reasons to be wary and skittish? Other pets? Loud noises, hectic environment? People raising their voices? 

http://rabbitadvocates.org/careinfo/current/RabbitSpeak.pdf


----------



## TreasuredFriend (Feb 9, 2020)

Rabbits will mark territory around other UN-bonded rabbits. Some do more so than others. Some are exceptionally good when around un-bonded companions.

Plus they know exactly where the litter box is!! And their guardians instruct them to "use the litter box, Penney, use your litter box. That's a good girl." errant marbles will occur now and then.

At the shelter we saw marking occur when the surrendered rabbits were in xpens. Gratefully the darn spraying subsided AFTER they were sp/eutered.


----------



## TreasuredFriend (Feb 9, 2020)

Stepho, rabbit rescues will all tell you the benefits of spay and neuter. Thank you for being a vet nurse and explaining what you see when rabbits come for exams, or see during surgical procedures.


----------

