Rabbit with one testicle (Already been to the vet and they cant find the other)

Question
Hi,

I have a 7 month old male Mini Rex rabbit. Last month on March 4th, I brought him to the vet for neutering. The vet said he only had one descended testicle and he was able to alter that one. He said to bring the rabbit back in a month to do a second surgery to find and neuter the second testicle. When I picked up my rabbit the receptionist said that the doctor spent a while looking around and could not find anything. She felt that it might be deformed or nonexistent. Is there anything more I can do? I know that a retained testicle can lead to higher chance of cancer, and I don't want to see my rabbit go through that.

Thank you so much.

Danielle

Answer
Dear Danielle,

Our vets have dealt with cryptorchids (undescended testicles) on occasion, and they have all found that the "missing" testicle is very hard to locate.  It can be very tiny and degenerate, sometimes little more than a streak of tissue.  One has to be a good detective to find it, but should not go in expecting to see a fully formed testicle.  :(

While it's possible that the cryptorchid can become cancerous, and it's better to have it removed, if your vet can't find it I'm not sure what to do.

Are there any other rabbit-savvy vets around who are more familiar with the appearance of cryptorchids?  If so, you might let your little guy recover for a few months, and then see a different vet for an opinion on a second surgery.

You can check the list linked here to find other rabbit-savvy vets:

http://www.rabbit.org/vet

Also, once your rabbit is a bit older, the testicle might become larger and a bit easier to locate.

Hope this helps.

Dana