# neutering mice



## Raindropmousery (Jan 10, 2010)

On another website i saw neutered mice for sale.
Does any one have any knowledge on neutered mice?

I did know it was possible i thought they were too small.

thanks rachel


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## Raindropmousery (Jan 10, 2010)

sorry i ment i didnt know it was possible i thought they were too small


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## julieszoo (May 27, 2009)

When I lived in london, my vet neutered buck mice from time to time for a local rescue so they could be rehomed with groups of does. He was pretty good at neutering small animals, did several rats, 2 ferrets, a chinchilla and a jird for me over the years.


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## Raindropmousery (Jan 10, 2010)

Thats interesting thank you just i have a few pet mice that are no good for showing but taking up space might look more in to this thanks


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

My vet would not neuter mice because of their small size. Some vets will do it, and some wont.


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## Raindropmousery (Jan 10, 2010)

Ok i see i originally thought they probably couldnt be done as they were so small but this person hade loads of neutered males for sale. My vets are always up for a challenge they recently neutered my male squirrel. Maybe i will look into it and see it probably quiet risky for them too as they are so small.


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## julieszoo (May 27, 2009)

It would carry more risk, but its a pretty quick op, its up to you really. If they are your pets and it is easier to keep them if they can go in with your does and you are happy to pay for neutering then it is probably worth a try.


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## Raindropmousery (Jan 10, 2010)

Well i have been thinking about it and it is probably better keeping them on there own rather than risking it as they could have too much blood loss. I think id rather have my mice alive and happy and on there own than dead.


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

If you find a vet who does it, let me know so I can go to learn how to do it! I'd be scaared operating on something so small, but they do have surgeries done a lot - don't forget they're used in a lot of research programs!


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

One of the things a lot of cat/dog vets don't realize is that mice and rats can fully retract their testes into their body at will. I forget where, but I read somewhere that this causes problems in neutering (or other testicular surgery) in rodents from time to time.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I'd suppose that vets could use instruments like the ones they use to operate on human fetuses in the womb. Microsurgical implements like those used by neurologists and orthopedists would probably be good choices for that as well. Labs do detailed dissections of sacrificed rodents all the time, so I'm sure it's just a matter of learning the right techniques to do the job. One of the more critical areas for working on a creature so small would anesthesia.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

One of the issues there is cost. It costs tens of thousands of dollars for fetal surgery, and part of the cost is the extraordinarily small instruments and the training to use them. No veterinarian is going to be able to use those instruments or be trained with them because he or she will never make the money back. Nobody's going to pay $20,000 to have a mouse neutered.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

There's no way to tell what any individual vet might have in the way of surgical equipment; my vet does laser surgery, and treats small furries; I'm curious, and I'm going to call and ask if they do this kind of thing. Just to satisfy myself, if nothing else.

I would think that vet school could easily provide experience on small animals that would be impossible for human peri-natal surgeons.


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

Actually, it's fairly common knowledge - we don't do mice, but we do do rabbits. guinea pigs, ferrets etc and the ability to suddenly suck them back in after lots of patient scrubbing and clipping is frustrating to say the least!!!


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## Raindropmousery (Jan 10, 2010)

If i find one i will let you know my vets are quiet good at doing unusual ops as the neutered my male squirrel the other week and and one of the vets neutered her own baby rats.

Wow kallan you have a magpie?


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