Advice on neutering

Question
What do you think of neutering a rat? My rat bites me and fights with the
rats, tossing them around, holding them down and grooming them very hard, chasing
them around. They squeal and run away. I heard it is painful to have done and
there is a certain way to neuter them then other ways? Can I give him aspirin for
pain? He has ahlot of potential and I hate to give him back to the place I got
him from.
What way should I be sure the vet is doing the surgery on him to be sure he has
the most comfortable of the types of operations?
thanx

Answer
Hi Wendy
First of all, I am sorry your rat is biting you and the other rats. However, for a male going through puberty, this is not abnormal and can be addressed a little differently rather than invasive surgery that carries some risks.

You need to have the rats hormone levels tested for starters but I can guarantee alot of this is puberty and part of the normal process of figuring out who the "alpha male" is...the big cheese, king of the cage...that sort of thing. The fact they chase and wrestle really is a part of the normal play fighting between young rats, especially males. My two neutered males still continue to play fight only not half as rough as previously.

The part that he bites you is what bothers me. Is this aggression or is this part of puberty?  Its hard to say. I do not know how long you have had the rats and if they have a chance to get to know you. If you have not had him long and he has always bitten you, please refer to my website where it describes what is known as "trust training" so please read over how to do it before you decide on surgery.
On the other hand, if you have had him for a long time and now he has resorted to biting you and has become aggressive, this is where the blood testing comes in to play.

Now, the surgery part: For starters, You must have a veterinarian who is knowledgeable in rats and also a skilled small animal surgeon.
I am not one to support surgery on rats unless it is absolutely necessary and this should be determined by having hormone levels tested and measured to see exactly where he stands.
There are two ways to neuter a rat. One is through the scrotum, the other is through the abdomen.

A rat neuter cause more pain for the rat than a rat spay if it is done through the scrotum.

Rodents have an open inguinal canal, which allows them to draw their testicles up inside the body cavity. This is one reason why some males fool people into thinking they have a little girl rather than a little buck...they can fool even the most seasoned rat owner for a minute. Tricky little guys!

However,this means that a neuter can be done like a spay, avoiding going through the scrotum, which as said earlier, is more painful for recovery than doing it through the abdomen.

Also, doing the neuter through the abdomen like a spay helps prevent the development of a scrotal abscess which is also very common to form several weeks after a neuter that is done through the scrotum. Another complication with a scrotal neuter is a deadly infection called peritonitis.

Its best to neuter a younger healthier buck but can be done at any age as long as the surgeon is skilled doing rat neuters. If your worried about the rat being fertile, the male needs to be kept from the female rat for 3 weeks to be sure that he cannot get her pregnant.

In all honesty though I would prefer trying to see if he is just going through puberty first and doing the trust training I discuss on my website before putting him through surgery.

Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me any time for a follow up as well to see how he is doing!

Sandra Todd