Implant for Chemical Spay/Neuter

[violet976]

This is a new option that was brought to my attention and I'm hoping for some clarification. I have a male at home who is a poor candidate for surgery, and just rescued a female. The female appears healthy enough for surgery, but the vets in our area have very little experience with rat spays.

As such, I'm curious about the possibility of the implant for either the male or female. I've read that it's more commonly used for (and marketed for) males, but I have found forum posts from those who used it to spay females. I've also read that it provides many of the same benefits as an actual spay, which if so, makes me more inclined to use it on the female than the male.

My question is... people keep mentioning that it's good for up to a year. I see people state that you have to do it again when it "wears off", which is fine... but how do you know when it "wears off"? Given that I want to use this as contraception, this is CRUCIAL to me. I simply cannot have an accidental litter.

Any advice is appreciated. I have one vet hours from here who is willing to do the implant, and one locally who is happy to consider it. I just want to be positive that I wont have a whoopsie litter at some point.

 

[SQ]

sorry no idea
Maybe lilspaz68 can give you some info

Curious, does it have any other if the benefits that spaying has, besides preventing pregnancy?

 

[violet976]

Ok... so the great news is that I have a vet in the area willing to do the implant, if I decide to go that route. Since they have to order them in 2-packs, I would have to buy both implants. I could either save one for later or use the implant for both the male and the female.

Since I'm still wondering how people tell when the implant has "worn off" - without ending up with a litter of pups, I'm wondering if it might be smart to simply implant both. The cost to do so would be $320 or so for both rats.

 

[jorats]

I have no experience with implants. Very interesting though.

 

[violet976]

... ok, I'm jumping on the experimental bandwagon. Just paid for two implants which will be in next week (had to buy both as they come in a 2-pack). Since there is some debate as to how long they last, I'm just implanting both the male and the female. Fingers crossed.

 

[SQ]

do they only prevent pregnancy or do they have other benefits as well?

 

[violet976]

Honestly, I can't say with certainty the full benefits for the implant. I've been reading all week and there isn't a ton of information out there pertaining specifically to rats. Most of the vets I spoke with believe it has a good potential to prevent or slow mammary tumors (hormone related tumors) at least. The vet I spoke with in Bend uses it specifically for that purpose in rats. I believe it does offer some of the other benefits of a spay in terms of the reproductive health issues that can happen later in life, but since you aren't removing the ovaries and uterus, there are issues which this implant wont be able to prevent.

For myself, if I had a vet in the area experienced with spays, or my rat was healthy enough for a neuter, I would choose the surgical route. Since my current boy is too unhealthy for surgery, and the closest experienced vet for spays is 3.5 hours away, I am opting to give both rats the implant instead.

 

[violet976]

Here is the link to the best study I could find:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384284/

 

[SQ]

thank you for the info

 

[violet976]

Just wanted to update that Monster got his implant yesterday, and the new girl gets hers tomorrow. Monster required no sedation, just did a little clench when the implant was put in, and it was over in about 5 minutes. No complications or side effects that I can see as of yet.