"snip free" neutering??

[knuckles]

I was reading an article in my Prevention magazine about a "snip free" neutering procedure (currently only available for dogs) where zinc gluconate is injected into each testicle and destroys the sperm producing cells. The product involved is called Neutersol It sounds like a much easier procedure on the animal than "standard" neutering.

I was wondering if anybody had heard about this type of neutering and what you thoughts would be about using it for rats (when it becomes available)??  The article did say that they didn't know how this procedure would affect behavior like aggression.  

[squeaky]

I had a look on the internet for this after reading your post the first time and it doesn't seem to lower the levels of testosterone (I'm sure that's the wrong spelling) so none of the medical or behavioural benefits/reasons for neutering are there.

[kmw]

I think it would work brilliantly for those boys who only get neutered so they can live with girl rats!  But squeaky has a good point of it doesn't curb testosterone, so hormones could still be an issue.

[kim]

except neutersol is not 100% effective

i think there were past posts on this? i could be wrong...

[swub]

I've never heard of this before. In theory it would be perfect for Axle as he's so gentle, I just wanted to introduce him to the girls.

I'm not sure if it's available in the UK so this might be a waste of time anyway, but wouldn't your have to anaesthetise the rat anyway, before giving the injection? The thought of having an injection into your testicles whilst awake doesn't sound good, especially when you're only rat sized!

I'm still unable to decide about whether to have Axle neutered the old fashioned way. You've all said go for it but I'm worried about the surgery. I've also noticed on a few psts that people have been able to introduce 2 males even when there are females in the vicinity so I'm thinking of giving that a try.