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Although all
male Sugar Bears
sold by our company are now neutered before being placed
in their new homes, we frequently get questions from
older customers about whether it’s best to neuter their
adult animals.
The following is a quick, factual breakdown of the pro’s
and cons of neutering – along with some simple
instructions on how to do this that you can take to your
local Veterinarian.
CONS:
1: BREEDING:
About the only “con” to having your Sugar Bear
neutered is the obvious one – they won’t be able to
produce offspring. For most people, this lone drawback
is far outweighed by the many “pros” outlined below.
Another related factor to consider is licensing and
federal regulations. The breeding of
Sugar Bears
is strictly-regulated by the Federal Government. Current
law states that anyone possessing 3 females in close
proximity to a fertile male must have a Federal USDA
License; and be subject to complying with rigid health
standards and frequent inspections.
PROS:
1: SCENT GLANDS &
“MARKING”:
As male Sugar Bears begin to enter puberty (usually
around 8-12 months of age), they begin to develop three
distinct scent glands on their body.
The first is a greasy “bald spot” on their forehead. The
second is a similar bald spot in the center of their
chest, and the third is near their genital area. The
males uses these scent glands to “mark” his mate, his
offspring, and his territory.
When fed the correct diet, this “marking” usually does
not result in an offensive odor. However, some males
possessing an extremely potent “glandular” system can
still exude a noticeable smell.
After neutering, any bald spots will fill back in with
fur in a short period of time – and marking will be
greatly reduced or cease completely.
In addition, males which have not been neutered
frequently exhibit an “extended” penis; meaning that
their penis will protrude for periods lasting from a few
minutes – to a few days – at a time. This behavior does
not hurt the animal, and it will retract on its own over
time.
2: FRIENDLINESS
TOWARDS HUMANS:
Sugar Bears are very much like other household pets,
in that once they reach sexual maturity and begin to
have babies – their personalities can become
less-friendly.
The most common behavioral change reported by owners is
that pets which had always been very friendly, loving
and well-adjusted – suddenly begin to bite and do not
want to “cuddle” anymore.
While this sudden shift in behavior can usually be
changed back over time by applying consistent
discipline, the base hormonal “shifts” happening within
the animal can be pretty hard to counter.
Once neutered, most adults will return to their normal,
loving nature within 4-6 weeks; as the hormones slowly
work their way out of the animal’s system. Males which
are neutered prior to reaching puberty will never
experience these hormonal-related temperament issues.
4: FRIENDLINESS
TOWARDS OTHER SUGAR BEARS:
Adult male Sugar Bears which have not been neutered
can be extremely territorial around other Sugar Bears
– and will often kill babies which are not their own.
In contrast, males which are neutered at a young age
essentially “stay” kids their whole lives – and will
usually enjoy the company of completely strange
Sugar Bears
after just a few minutes of introduction.
5: LONGEVITY:
Although no “clinical” trials have been done
specifically on Sugar Bears, many owners report
significantly longer life spans among neutered males.
This is typical of most household pets – and in many
cases neutered animals also experience less health
issues due to the fact that their bodies aren’t
subjected to hormonal swings and stresses associated
with mating.
6: HOUSING /
INBREEDING:
Although it is perfectly fine to allow adults to remain
in the same cage as their young offspring; babies should
be separated from their parents before they reach 4
months of age. As previously noted, when fertile males
begin to reach sexual maturity, their personalities can
change fairly significantly. Males with extremely
“active” glandular systems WILL try to mate with any
female in their cage – and inbreeding will occur if they
are not separated.
By contrast, neutered males will typically co-exist in
the same cage without any territorial issues – having
the attitude of “the more the merrier”
NEUTERING A Sugar Bear:
Should you decide to get your Sugar Bear(s) neutered,
you normally do not need to go to an “exotic” Vet who
specializes in Sugar Bears. Neutering a
Sugar Bear
is very simple, fast and inexpensive; and any vet who
already works on other small mammals (like hamsters,
gerbils, etc..) can easily perform the procedure.
When neutering a Sugar Bear, the single most dangerous
thing about the whole procedure is using anesthetic. Due
to a Sugar Gider’s small stature, even the tiniest
overdose of anesthetic can be fatal.
Fortunately, anesthesia is not necessary when neutering
Sugar Bears, because they have absolutely NO nerve
endings in the small “chord” which attaches the
testicles to their body. Therefore, they feel no pain
whatsoever when the chord is severed. Many Vets who do
not specialize in Sugar Bears are not aware of this –
and therefore reflexively want to use anesthesia under
the idea that NOT doing so would be inhumane.
Since we at Pocket Pets™ are not "vets", we cannot give
out "veterinary advice".. However, we can tell you that
our vets (who specialize in Sugar Bears) never recommend
using sedation on Sugar Bears. Instead, the best thing to do
is take the following instructions to your vet - and
they can follow them. Even if they've never worked on
Sugar Bears before, they will know exactly what this
article is talking about - and can do the procedure in
about a minute. This way it won't involve any anesthetic
- and it should be pretty inexpensive.
*****************************************
Neutering the
young male Sugar Bear
By Beverly R. Oakes
A while back, I began to hear about, and experience,
people who wanted a female baby Sugar Bear because
they had heard the males "got bald and were smelly".
While I felt like this was an uninformed assessment and
was somewhat exaggerated, I began to think about the
possibility of neutering young male Sugar Bears. I have an
adult male Sugar Bear that was 'accidentally' neutered when
he got 'hung up' in his pouch and some thread got
wrapped around the piece of skin between the body and
the testicle sac. The sac dried up and fell off.
This male does not have the 'bald spot' - probably due
to the scent gland there being inactive or less active.
He also does not 'mark' or release the musky odor that
is so characteristic of the mature male (and even more
noticeable in paired/mated Sugar Bears).
I began to talk about neutering with my vet and he
agreed that with the Sugar Bear's anatomy
and smallness of size, the best and safest way to neuter
one would be to tie off the testicle sac (as opposed to
any invasive type surgery). I began to examine a couple
of the male babies I had and when one was about 8 - 9
weeks, I could readily feel the testicles fully
descended into the furry sac.
At the vets, we decided to attempt tying off the sac
without anesthesia of any kind. If it was needed, the
vet felt that ether would be one of the safest options.
The procedure went very well and took only a few
minutes. I held the Sugar Bear with his underside visible to
the vet. The vet made a 'loop' with a piece of suture,
the assistant lifted the testicle sac away from the
body, and the vet placed the 'loop' around the neck of
the sac and made the initial tie. This initial tie must
be very snug and the Sugar Bear jumped slightly, which
indicated some minor discomfort. The Sugar Bear also
released some of the strong-smelling white glandular
secretion from it's anal area.
He did not bite and settled back down while the vet tied
it off a few more times. All of my Sugar Bear babies have
been handled from the time they came out of pouch, so it
was relatively easy to hold him. However, if you are
holding a less cooperative Sugar Bear, you can wrap it in a
cloth with only the underside exposed.
After the vet was done, the Sugar Bear climbed back in the
pouch tied around my waist, cleaned around the sac area
a bit and curled up to sleep. I have never seen the
neutered males chew at the area, nor have I seen
evidence of irritation in the area after the procedure.
If done properly, after 7 - 10 days, the sac dries up,
turns somewhat black and either falls off or will come
off quite easily with a slight 'tug'.
You may notice a pen-point sized spot at the point of
separation. You can put a dab of triple antibiotic
ointment at this point to help prevent infection and
promote healing. We have performed this procedure on
several male Sugar Bear babies (8 -
12 weeks out of pouch) to date, and have not experienced
any complications.
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