I am not sure what to do here with the whole neutering thing. I have two males and just took them to the vet. The vet told me that at their age they should be doing through maturity in a couple months. They are starting to have a very strong hint and show dominant behavior with eachother.

What are the pros and cons of neutering? What is the average cost of neutering each glider? Is it safe?

thanks!

I don't want to sound rude, but if you just took your suggies to the vet these are questions that could have or should have been asked there.

http://www.sugarglider.com/gliderpedia/index.asp?ReasonsToNeuter The cost varies greatly depending on the vet. It's perfectly safe if done by a knowledgeable and experienced vet. My recommendation is that the vet leave the poms on. This is a much less invasive surgery, and most males recover from it in a very short time.

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Originally posted by snusie

http://www.sugarglider.com/gliderpedia/index.asp?ReasonsToNeuter The cost varies greatly depending on the vet. It's perfectly safe if done by a knowledgeable and experienced vet. My recommendation is that the vet leave the poms on. This is a much less invasive surgery, and most males recover from it in a very short time.

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Yep!

The problem with giving a price is that like Jerry stated, prices can be all over the map. I've actually seen prices $300+. Mine charged $85. I've had 3 neutered and not one issue. If your vet offers laser neuter or can refer you to someone that does, that is supposed to be the most painless and easiest way. I did not have laser done on mine but there were no problems with recovery whatsoever. Be sure to ask for pain meds to bring home and have some ecollars on hand "just in case". You won't regret doing it. They'll be less aggressive and pretty much no odor. I'm not sure how old they are so I don't know if you've experienced that part of it yet. If not, you're in for a treat! LOL

Pros:
1. Less Smell
2. Fewer Abandoned Gliders
3. Less Agression, fewer injuries
4. Better attitude, less stress, more humane for animal

Cons:
1. Inexperienced vets who have not perfected glider neuters
2. Vets who don't keep them overnight after surgery to check for wound tears
3. Vet's who don't use pain killers

Look around. Ask questions. Even travel to a neighboring state if you have to for an experienced vet. Vets do speak to one another to learn stuff. Ours may volunteer to speak to yours if yours is new to this. She's done many dozens of neuters for our rescue. email me on ed@luckyglider.org if you are interested in that vet-to-vet introduction.

Hey guys. thanks for your information. its not that i have not asked my vet. I have. Its that I live in California where gliders are illegal and so i was trying to get info from people who have worked with vets that have more experience with them. My vet is amazing and works with tons of animals for movies, etc but he is VERY expensive. It was going to be around $350 per glider to neuter. I wanted to see if this was normal or not. As I am assuming it is high because he is the only one in the area who does neutering. They are about 8 months old and are starting to smell bad. Its a very distinct odor and it comes in 'waves.'They are still biting a bit and think its fun to bite me through my jeans etc. They are showing dominance etc with eachother a little. Just trying to give you a back story. I may fly to another state to get the neutering done if its significantly cheaper elsewhere.

Neutering was the best option for my gliders. My boys aren't agressive, don't smell as strong, and we've eliminated the possibility of mating and having joeys. If I were you, I'd speak to a few different exotic vets and kind of get a feel for which ones, if any, are experienced enough with gliders that you'd trust them with yours. When we first got our boys, we went to what we thought was the only exotic vet in town and it was not a great experience. After the fact, we found several other vets that could have done a much better job. If cost is an issue, some vets will give a discount for having multiple gliders...my old vet didn't but my new vet did.

If you can find someone to do it, I'd highly recommend laser neutering. I have eight boys, all of them but one neutered. The lasers were the same price in my area, and the boys were in much less discomfort afterward.

In St Louis, I was quoted anywhere from $40 to $350 for a neuter. Soooo - call around. It really pays to do so!

Flying out is one thing, but flying back would be illegal and they could get confiscated :( Luckyglider that posted above is in NV if that helps.

Thanks guys for this! My boyfriend is a pilot and we have a plane we can take so no immigration etc that we have to deal with. I will try and call a few other places in California and then maybe go into Nevada if need be.

Thanks!

You own a plane...WOW!!! Good luck finding somewhere :)

ive been though 6 neuters so far everything has went great. ive never done the laser one though. good luck i would go with neuter most def.

Thanks guys! I know its been a while since i updated. We still havent gotten them neutered but havent had any problems with them at all. I think we may wait on it as the smell has gone down and the biting has stopped (besides the normal biting when they are 'tasting' us)
thanks again!