questions about neutering

[GreenEyes]

Hello all! I used to post on this forum all the time under the name SqueakersMom about a year or so ago. Anyway about my question.... I've had many rats in my time and they've all been girls. Well today I bought a cute little baby boy that I named Templeton. And I've heard about people neutering their boy rats. Is that a good idea or a bad? What is the diffrence in them after? And around how much does it cost? Thank you so much for your patience and time!

[tunes]

Well, I got mine neutered because of aggressiveness.  I could not cage the boys all together because one in particular would fight all the time.  So, I decided to get all three of them fixed just in case the other two might pick up the aggressiveness as they got older.  There were several changes afterwards.  First, no more aggressiveness!  It was great.  Second, hardly any smell anymore in their cage.  Third, no more dripping every time I picked them up.  

As far as cost, I paid $85.00 apiece, whether it was male or female.  IMO, it was well worth it.  

[quellykin1]

I don't think people neuter boys for health benefits like spaying for the girls. (Although there are supposedly some benefits.) It's probably not necessary if he's alone, and why put him at potential risk during surgery. But I've been through some fighting rats, and always just go ahead and get them neutered now. It has helped aggressiveness, but not entirely -- that's for sure! It was over a hundred dollars, seems like (but not much more).

[liza]

I had started out with one boy, then I got him a companion and after three months of getting along, they started fighting. I had them both neutered. It didn't change anything as far as their relationship was concerned. They just never liked each other again. Dante became more and more settled, Vino became a couch potato. Both were still very playful. Vino died when he wasn't even two years old. I regret it very much that I neutered them. Just the whole operation procedure, the waking up... I was very scared and couldn't sleep for three days. Then, both developed abcesses. It doesn't have to happen, but it can. And every operation is a risk -just like with us humans.
Could I go back in time, I wouldn't do it again. But for sure there are others on the board with a more positive aspect to this. You need to know why you think about neutering him and if it is really necessary.
Good luck with whatever decision you take!

[umbrella]

I had Rusty neutered b/c he was aggressive to the other boys. He still is, but he's no longer aggressive to people (yay!) and he loves the girls and is indifferent to the babies. He also seems to be so much calmer than the other boys, and have a generally more pleasant, personable disposition than the others. Also, he doesn't get scared as much as the other boys, and doesn't pee-mark me. He's really wonderful, though it took several months for us to be totally comfortable touching him, as he almost took off our fingers several times. I want to get the other boys snipped, to prevent more accidental litters, but mostly to get the great calm personality Rusty has developed. (And so I don't get peed on. That's always nice.) I paid $110, but later found out that an experienced vet in the area would have done it for $40  

Jessi

[popeyes_cat]

I've had a total of 14 male rats during my lifetime, and they've all been neutered.  One of them passed away during surgery because he had fluid in his lungs.  The rest of the rats had no problem under anesthesia and woke up quickly and safely.  Anesthesia is always a risk; you just have to weigh your options and decide for yourself if it's worth it.  I personally feel that it's worth the risk.  My reasons:

1.  No babies.  I have a mixed population of males and females, and I've heard WAY too many stories about escapes resulting in pregnancies.  

2.  If they don't have testicles, they can't get testicular cancer.  Since rats are little cancer factories, I prefer to minimize their chances of getting cancer as much as possible.

3.  Less urine marking -- neutering does not always eliminate this behavior completely, but it can help.

4.  Less aggressiveness toward me and other rats -- again, neutering doesn't always eliminate aggressive behavior, but it can help.

The negatives, besides anesthesia risk:  

1. If the vet doesn't know what he/she is doing, serious complications can develop, some of which may be fatal, such as severe bleeding.  They aren't little cats or dogs, and while neutering a rat is similar to neutering our more common small animal friends, it isn't exactly the same.  Most vets are plenty knowledgeable, you just have to know your vet is trustworthy.

2.  Infection of the surgical site.  Almost half of my boys developed abscesses at the surgical site, which I had to lance and drain, then wipe clean twice daily with saline-moistened gauze sponges.  The rats also had to be on antibiotics for a couple weeks while their incisions healed.  I believe my rats' abscesses developed because the rat cage had plastic platforms, so they'd pee on the platforms and then drag their butts through it.  You have to keep your rat's cage good and clean after surgery.  

Cost of neutering at the vet school is $84, and the vet school generally tends to run expensive.

[Kismet]

I recently (2 months ago) had my little guy done.  The reason for it was that he reached puberty and became very aggressive, the biting he was doing was pretty deep.  After awhile nobody wanted to handle him and that made him even more surly.  I am so glad I did it, it took about 1 month for the testosterone to leave his system and now he's a peach  The only reason I did it was because of the aggression, some males don't act out and some owners seem able to wait out the puberty period.  I have kids and I couldn't risk them getting bit and I didn't think it was good for him to be rejected.  So, if your boy is still a baby I wouldn't do it yet, wait and see how he behaves.  Kismet went through the surgery just fine, no abcess nothing and now he's great!  Oh and yes the peeing thing is greatly reduced.

Good-luck

[frostywolf]

I have had four of my boys neutered.  Nick was severely aggressive.  Not just to Justin, his cagemate, but to ME!  As he entered teenagerdom (yes, I make up my own words   ), he became extrememly territorial.  Foofing, rubbing against the side of the cage, pawing at the ground etc.  I had to separate him into the bottom level of the cage and block it off to get the food bowl into the cage.  So, I got him snipped.  I got Justin snipped so they could recover together.  And I am happy to report, Nick became a regular snuggle-bug after the neuter.

As for Ludo and Artex, I had absolutely no intention of getting them neutered.  Fizz and Atreyu aren't so I know that Nick's behavior was unusual.  But then Kira happened along.  She came into the mspca with two cagemates (sisters possibly), and no one wanted to adopt them.  Finally, the shelter director decided to adopt Kira's two sisters.  But not Kira   I couldn't leave her there all by her lonesome, so Ludo and Nick recovered while Kira was in quarantine.

If I did not have excellent vets (yes, plural...there are multiple doctors that I will see at the hospital I go to), I would not have gotten Artex and Ludo neutered just to live with a girl.  I would've tried to integrate them with Fizz and Atreyu, then moved Kira in with Nick.

[hyper_muse]

Another question i would like to add to this thread is.....

What are complications and problems that people have experienced from neutering on this board?

I'm about to get 4 of my boys done in a few weeks (still bubs) and having more rats to do will increase the chance of problems.

Thanx.

[furryfeet]

This are not something I have seen in my own personal rats, but the most common complication is probably abcesses.  Some vets give antibiotics as routine, my vet does not and the rat she neutered for me healed up in a matter of days, very neat, no complications at all.  I have seen a couple of rats with abcesses after a neuter and it is NOT NICE at all.  If this happens the abcess may have to be lanced, they will need antibiotics and in a really severe situation may have to be knocked out again for it to all be cleaned up.

Another possible complication is a haematoma.  This is where there is bleeding into the wound area which does not bleed out, but solidifies under the skin as a huge blood blister.  This is not nice to look at but seems fairly harmless from my experience.  This happened to a rat I now own before I got him (he was neutered by the rescue centre).  In his case it did split the skin and leave him with a bigger scar.

[-Kelly-]

I have had 2 boys nuetered myself, and 2 from Kim's Ark that were nuetered before hand. All the surgeries were fine. I had to have Odin's incision cleaned at the vet because an abcess would have come about, but I watched carefully and it thankfully got it cleaned out before it could turn into one. (It was so sad watching it get cleaned though, my poor baby sqeaked away like there was no tomorrow  )
I must say, they don't stink, and I thought boys would be big stinkers. And it's a lot easier doing intros without all that testosterone in the way!   Dax was just nuetered yesterday (see post: 'Nueter Party in Maine' in Rat Tails)

Now on the other hand, I was going to adopt a boy and he was to be nuetered, unfortunately, he didn't make the surgery. There were complications. I never got to adopt him, but I did adopt his son (Dax), and I'm sure some of his traits live on in his children.

So 4 out of 5 nueters went well, just be choosy about the doctors and ask them questions, make sure they have worked with rats before. Good luck!  

[Kathleen]

I have one neutered male. His surgery went well and he now lives happily with 6 girls.

If you decide to get your boy neutered, you should be sure to find a vet who has neutered small animals before. I also strongly believe in post-surgery antibiotics to prevent infection. I won't agree to have surgery done on any of my animals unless I know they're getting antibiotics afterwards; I had a very bad experience with an infected incision after a spay.

[Yavannasgrandmom]

I've had one boy neutered. No complications-- the area was sealed with surgical glue, and no infection resulted. I don't recall if he was on antibiotics afterwards- possibly, but I think he was not.

I kept him in a small cage on a frequently changed towel, until he was healed.

It cost me $100, which in my area (it seems to vary with the area you live in) was one of the least expensive (another place wanted 260 dollars!).  Least expensive for vets who knew what they were doing, that is! I probably could have had it done more cheaply at my local dogncat vet, but I didn't want the risk. The vet I used knew what sort of anesthesia to use on a rat.