If you are not planning to breed your pocket pet, sterilization (spaying for females and neutering for males) is recommended. The procedure also helps improve a pet’s temperament and reduces the animal’s risk to some serious diseases.

Pet rabbits, both males and females, are usually neutered or spayed when they are about 4-6 months old. Spaying is the best way to prevent uterine cancer in female rabbits. The percentage of intact female rabbits that develop uterine cancer can be as high as 60-80%.

Guinea pigs can be sterilized when they are about 5-6 months old.

Mature female ferrets need to be spayed because they will remain in estrus until they are mated. This can lead to serious problems especially ‘pyometra’, a serious infection of the uterus that can be fatal.

You can ask the staff at your Centennial, CO veterinary clinic if you have questions and/or concerns about the procedure. Here’s more pet care information on this site.