Well...I can tell you my bad times and good times when I neutered my boys...
The first time I neutered one of my boys, ended in tragedy for this simple few reasons: 1. I'm starting to suspect he was just too small for the procedure (however if he was, then why would my vet say it was ok?) 2. My vet didn't do the surgery and was replaced with someone who never did it before, and 3. it's not often they neuter rodents, though they have before but not often. Sadly he passed away after the first surgery going wrong, they tried to fix it, but it was unrepairable what they did, to which I got my money back for.
Now the good stories: I took all my three current boys to a vet that had over 20-30yrs experience with rats and neutering. They were far more cheaper then my other vet too, plus very friendly and very confident in their work and were extra protective of my boys
The first two of my boys who got neutered did have some complications: They ripped opened their sutures which was glue sealed after their surgery, opening up fatty tissue they cleaned up themselves. This was terrifying to see for me, and it may actually look serious, but you gotta keep in mind, rats are freakishly fast healers, and as long as they have pain medicine they usually leave their sutures alone, but if they don't (this being worst case scenario after their surgery) and they open themselves up, STAY CALM, clean them up with some safe ratty lotion or antibiotic cream thats safe for them, and keep them in a clean place. As long as their openings aren't bleeding alot or oozing, then you should be ok. That is worse case for you if your ratties don't leave their incisions alone.
But on a brighter note, my third boy who was the last to be nuetered, didn't mess with his sutures at all, infact he didn't seem to notice he had surgery! After a day away from his bros, he was ready to play again! Granted, I couldn't allow him to climb or go bouncy bouncy till at least 2 days of healing. By then he was ok, still healing, but not in any danger of ripping himself open.
Every rat is different and may handle these surgeries differently I learned from my experience. I also know that every surgery will make you nervous too. With every surgery there is a risk no matter what, but the best advice I can give you to help you relax is this: make sure your vet does have some experience. Make sure your boys are old enough for the procedure and big enough, big nuts means easier surgery for the vet to remove I found out lol, have a temp cage thats clean and away from noise to make sure they have a good enviorment to heal in with food and water. Make sure you get pain medicine, no pain for your ratties will likely mean they won't mess with their sutures. If they do mess with their sutures, DONT PANIC, make sure they don't bleed or ooze a whole lot, if they do you need to take them back, if not, make sure they stay clean and keep their wounds protected with rat friendly lotion or cream. Keep an eye on them and stay calm, if you're calm, so are they
I hope this helps, and at the end of the day, the neuter will be worth it.
My three boys were aggressive to each other despite they grew up together, now they are all neutered there is peace in the pack lol
See how happy they are now? :cheeky:
Playing Tackle lol
Synced in mommy kisses
