Routine neutering of rabbits and rodents

CONSIDERATION should be given to neutering rabbits, guinea pigs and rats to prevent unwanted litters, limit undesirable behaviours that accompany sexual maturity, prevent disease and treat reproductive disease. Numerous surgical approaches, using a variety of safe and effective anaesthetic and analgesic agents, have been described for the routine neutering of rabbits and rodents, but these may be less familiar to veterinary surgeons in practice than the techniques used for dogs and cats. This article illustrates how to conduct an ovariohysterectomy and castration in rabbits, guinea pigs and rats, reviewing the surgical techniques that the authors have found to be particularly successful in these species.