My rabbit has only one testicles

Question
My rabbit has only one testicle.  He's about four years old. My vet suggest that because the other testicle hasn't dropped that my bunny may be at risk for cancer. Surgery to neuter and explore for the missing testicle was suggested but he said he was simply informing me of my alternatives. I bring my rabbit to the vet every 3 months to grind down a bad tooth so my vet has had opportunites to try and determine where the missing testicle has gone. In a word he can't find it. What are your thoughts?

Thank you for your help.
Joy

Answer
Dear Joy,

Did the vet actually do exploratory surgery to find the cryptorchid (undescended testicle)?  If not, then it's not surprising he could not get it to descend via palpation.  In rabbits, cryptorchids are often very small and degenerate, and can be quite difficult to find.  I know of instances in which a cryptorchid was so small (the vet described it as "a streak of tissue") that it could not be positively identified until the vet sent it to a lab for histology!

It's true that an undescended testicle is at higher risk of cancer than one in the normal position, so it is best to have it removed if possible.  You might want to check the vet listings here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

to find a vet who is *very* experienced with rabbit surgeries and even may have experienced identifying and removing those very elusive cryptorchids.

Hope this helps.

Dana