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Forum BEHAVIOR humping/should i neuter him?

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    • tagerlilly18
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        Hi Guys I’m new here and joined because I love my male bunny Tuddie and what the best for him . He is a holland lop. He is super sweet and I got him last saturday. I love his personality. He lays around and likes getting his head pet . To me he is the perfect pet. I orignally got a female netherland dwarf I named Ruby. However she wasn’t used to people at all and the breeder told me she was, so I was dissoppointed because I wanted a bunny who seemed to enjoy people not crunch in fear at them. Therefore I got Tuddie. Now for the issue. He wants Ruby lol. He will be fine then start crying like a little whimpering dog at her cage then try to hump my knees or my cat. sometimes he just runs it off and dosen’t hump. But most of the time he does. So I dont know if he will adjust to her or if he will always be like that but I’d perfer if he didnt hump. like this morning i put my finger in the cage to pet his head and it put him in the mood and he was crying and running around like he does when he is in the mood” my issue is it seems more of a pain for him. like very instinctual not something he wants. Like i fed him when he was in one of the moods and he dove into the food hogging it down but humped for a few seconds before stopping. He wasnt on anything he was just like pelvic thrusting. I read online they can loose personality from being neutered and that would be my worst nightmare. So should I get him neutered or move my girl rabbit elsewhere? thanks in advanced!

        P.S Tuddie is 2years old and Ruby is 9months


      • Sarita
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          It would be best to neuter him especially if you have another rabbit in the house. Ruby will need to be spayed as well. You don’t want 2 unaltered rabbits even near each other though until they are altered because if they ever get loose together you could have some unwanted babies….just too much of a chance.


        • DaisyBunz
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            I agree with Sarita. Unaltered male rabbits really don’t make good pets, it’s best to get him neutered. Ruby, too. It’s good to spay females even if there is an altered male because they can too easily get female-specific tumors and cancers around age 5. But the personality doesn’t change after the bunny is neutered. Lots of sources say that, but they are wrong.


          • LBJ10
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              I don’t believe neutering changes their personality at all. It changes their behavior, so any behavior that is hormone-driven will end. Humping, circling, honking, etc. He would be much happier if his hormones weren’t making him “feel” this way all the time. He has these urges that he can’t satisfy and it is probably frustrating for him.

              I agree with the others, your girl will need to be spayed for health reasons (but behavior is an important reason too). If they are both fixed, then you could try bonding them and perhaps it would bring Ruby out of her shell a little.


            • Zombie-Sue
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                Yes, you should alter your rabbits, or within the month you’ll be posting that one of them got out somehow and now you think she’s pregnant. This happens. All. The. Time.


              • NewBunnyOwner123
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                  I agree and it’s probably going to lead to unwanted behaviors if you leave them unaltered because they will get frustrated. Even when you get him neutered you need to spay the other girl. You need to do what’s best for her as well even though you don’t like her as much. And she risks getting reproductive cancers. You took on the responsibility of taking care of her when you got her. So don’t forget about her too! When both are spayed and neutered you can even bond the two and it MAY bring her out of her shell. I see that happening a lot.

                  I don’t know about others, but my male bunny still circles my feet when it’s dinner time and will honk when he’s exploring something he’s never seen before for some reason. But he never humps or sprays or does any of the nasty unwanted behaviors anymore. Especially spraying… That was nasty and smelly and frustrating. Neutering eliminated that almost immediately. Harley was friendly before his surgery and he’s very friendly after his surgery. The only big thing that changed was he quit spraying And his litterbox habits improved as well


                • tagerlilly18
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                    thanks for your responses guys! He never sprayed yet luckily. I just was nervous about him loosing his personality. I take it you guys arent into breeding rabbits? lol thats what I was planning on doing with ruby after talking with the breeder I got her from


                  • NewBunnyOwner123
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                      No we are a house rabbit community and it’s actually against the rules to talk about intentionally breeding rabbits here.


                    • Sarita
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                        Yes, it is against the rules as NBO stated. Please don’t do that to Ruby – she sounds like she needs some TLC from you and you mentioned she was fearful too which probably was the result of her prior circumstances.


                      • tagerlilly18
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                          Oh okay I’m sorry. I hope i’m not breaking the rules by asking this quick question but couldnt you have a house pet rabbit and still breed it?


                        • tagerlilly18
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                            I really think I’m going to have my eyes opened by being a part of this forum


                          • Sarita
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                              Well we do not advocate breeding – we advocate rescue.

                              Here is a good article on why you should not breed:

                              http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/breeding.html


                            • NewBunnyOwner123
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                                We just don’t advocate breeding here. And rabbits are more enjoyable to live with when they aren’t being crazy with hormones. Females can get territorial, have false pregnancies, dig, and mark. And boys will hump, spray, circle, honk, and have a very pungent odor. This is all VERY possible since they are in the presence of the opposite sex. When de sexed they aren’t controlled with the instinct to breed and won’t feel the drive to mark, spray, hump, but can focus on just being your companion and enjoying one another. Grooming each other and cuddles. This also leads to really good litterbox habits which =more enjoyable rabbits to live with because you’re not always having to pick up pee or marking poops from your floor.

                                There are already so many rabbits being bred. And you can possibly find homes for them but there are over 100 rabbits in the shelter Here. Some have been there for years. So it’s a high possibility the rabbits you rehome, won’t be permanent homes and you never really know where they’ll go.


                              • LBJ10
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                                  You know, I honestly don’t know if you could have breeding rabbits as “house rabbits”. But if I were to guess, I would imagine it wouldn’t work very well. Like NBO said, there are a lot of undesirable behaviors in unaltered rabbits that can make them very difficult to live with. I imagine that is why breeders tend to house them in a barn or shed or whatever. Not in their house.

                                  We are all about house bunnies here, so we encourage people to spay/neuter their rabbits so they can be good companion animals.


                                • rayray
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                                    My male is about 2yo as well. When I got him about 5 months ago, he was angel until maybe the end of Dec. Then he started spraying a marking with poop. So he may just be humping now, but it may or may not escalate to more destructive habits.
                                    In my personal opinion, there’s no need to breed. There are plenty of rabbits in shelters for people to adopt. Too many people want a cute baby bunny then once the hormones kick in don’t want to pay the vet bills to fix them. THat’s when they end up in the shelter. Again, that’s just my own personal opinion.
                                    If you don’t fix them, you will probably end up with 2 rabbits that only do 2 things, mate and fight.


                                  • Tessie
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                                      I agree with what everyone else has said.

                                      It’s important to get him neutered if you want this behavior to stop, and its important to have females spayed for their health.

                                      In terms of theoretically having house buns breed, I don’t think it would work.
                                      I don’t think hormonal/pregnant/just given birth rabbits are much fun to be around. Pregnant rabbits are also quite high maintenance as far as I’m aware.
                                      Also, buns are capable of having a litter every few months or so. So if you had them as house rabbits (ie. free range) then there would be no way for you to control how often they bred, and so you would end up with rather frequent pregnancies, and a lot of rabbits.
                                      Overall, not a very good idea in my opinion!


                                    • MoveDiagonally
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                                        I hope i’m not breaking the rules by asking this quick question but couldnt you have a house pet rabbit and still breed it?

                                        Breeding puts animals at risk. A complication in pregnancy or birth could kill Ruby. I would seriously consider why you want to breed and if it’s worth her dying. I’m not saying this to be mean. It’s a very real possibility and even experienced breeders lose rabbits. There are very few reasons to breed rabbits, imo, and none of them are worth any of my pet’s lives.


                                      • RetroSquid
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                                          Not only are there the above mentioned reasons for not breeding, but also, the one that has been my reason for adopting all the animals we’ve adopted over the years. The fact that there are SO many unwanted pets of all species and every corner of the world… Why bring more lives into that instead of offering those that need it a home?…


                                        • RetroSquid
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                                            Apologies for the length and structure of this.
                                            It’s just been shared on my facebook wall a few minutes ago…
                                            It isn’t a pleasant read by any stretch of the imagination, but it outlines why I adopt.

                                            “A Letter From A Shelter Manager I think our society needs a huge “Wake-up” call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all…a view from the inside if you will. First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the “back” of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don’t even know. That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it’s not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there’s about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are “owner surrenders” or “strays”, that come into my shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses I hear are; “We are moving and we can’t take our dog (or cat).” Really? Where are you moving too that doesn’t allow pets? Or they say “The dog got bigger than we thought it would”. How big did you think a Great Dane would get? “We don’t have time for her”. Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! “She’s tearing up our yard”. How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me “We just don’t want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she’ll get adopted, she’s a good dog”. Odds are your pet won’t get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn’t full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don’t, your pet won’t get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the “Bully” breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don’t get adopted. It doesn’t matter how ‘sweet’ or ‘well behaved’ they are. If your dog doesn’t get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn’t full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don’t have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment. Here’s a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being “put-down”. First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to “The Room”, every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it’s strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the “pink stuff”. Hopefully your pet doesn’t panic from being restrained and jerk. I’ve seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don’t just “go to sleep”, sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You’ll never know and it probably won’t even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right? I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can’t get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter. Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes. My point to all of this DON’T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE! Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one person’s mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say “I saw this and it made me want to adopt”. THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT. ~ Author unknown ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ DO NOT BUY PETS! If nobody bought and everyone adopted, nobody would breed pets, and eventually, no innocent pets would die. ADOPTION IS THE ONLY OPTION! Help us spread the message, share us! If you agree that animals feel, suffer, love and the truth about their abuse should be exposed, please “like” our page. “


                                          • tagerlilly18
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                                              Okay guys I have decided I will get Tuddie altered. I called and it will be 65 dollars so I need to figure out how to get the money for that. I how he doesn’t spray before I can get him neutered . he started doing terrortial poos by Ruby’s cage. So it only seems like spaying will come in time. Getting the money is the only issue. I might even have to sell ruby to get the money for tud. just slit to think about guys. Thanks though for your help about the humping issue=)


                                            • Zombie-Sue
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                                                DO NOT BUY PETS! If nobody bought and everyone adopted, nobody would breed pets, and eventually, no innocent pets would die. ADOPTION IS THE ONLY OPTION! Help us spread the message, share us! If you agree that animals feel, suffer, love and the truth about their abuse should be exposed, please “like” our page.

                                                If no one bred, we’d quickly run out of pets lol


                                              • NewBunnyOwner123
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                                                  I agree I don’t mind breeders. The ones who breed with purpose of high quality to better the breed breeders. Who spend thousands of dollars on their animals. It’s the backyard breeders who are the problem. Who have multiple dogs and mutts pushing litter after litter who are the problem. Not saying there is anything wrong with mutts. Both of my dogs are mutts. And I love them like family.


                                                • NewBunnyOwner123
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                                                    Ok this to
                                                    If kinda sidetracked we should get back to the issue here. I’m glad you decided on getting your rabbit neutered! 65$ is really good for a bun neuter. Be sure they have a lot of experience with bunnies.


                                                  • RetroSquid
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                                                      Ack, sorry for the huge sidetrack and unpleasantness,,, I can just get a little monomaniacal sometimes…

                                                      Aye, $65 seems like a very good price for a neutering.
                                                      And you bun will be all the more happy and loving for it! ^_^

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                                                  Forum BEHAVIOR humping/should i neuter him?