I’m sorry to hear about this situation. I’m going to address your bonding questions, since that’s what you’re asking about, but I think you might also benefit if you posted about his teeth problems too, if you’re interested. We have a few members with severe dental issue bunnies who have happy lives and might be able to give some useful advice.

Introducing a new bunny to the family is likely to be stressful for everyone involved. I’m currently bonding a trio, and the new bunny split up my original bonded pair. This is not unusual, as rabbits are such territorial animals bringing a new one in often disrupts the existing bond. I think it would probably be quite a lot of additional stress for both you and the bunnies.

Of course, its tragic when a bunny loses a mate that it is closely bonded to, but it does happen relatively often and MOST bunnies take it okay. Often they are sad, but not totally distraught. When my bunny lost her bonded partner, I have to say I don’t think she noticed much. She knew he was ill, saw him when he was very sick at the vets, then seemed to just accept it. Some bunnies do stop eating are are very distressed, in which case they do need lots of extra care, and perhaps even an emergency bunny friend. Otherwise, when a bunny loses a bonded partner it’s good to give them lots of extra attention and be around more, but generally they will be ok until you feel up to rebonding them.

As for bonding – generally, it’s said that boy/girl pairs are the easiest, but my two boys are the happiest and easiest bond I’ve ever seen. It totally depends on their personality. It’s important that all bunnies are spayed/neutered, size and age don’t really matter, although close to their age is better to prevent early bereavement (although as you know, bunnies are fragile and its no guarantee. Generally it’s best if you can let the rabbit pick their own partner, through dates at a rescue, but its also totally possible to bond them to a bunny they didn’t pick if that’s not possible. You should let the bunny settle in for a couple of weeks, then start ‘prebonding’, where you get them used to each others scents for a month, before letting them meet face to face in a neutral space for a short time.

I have no advice to offer about the teeth issues, but one of the members on here, Wick, has teeth issues and needs them to be trimmed down every 3ish weeks or so. If you private messaged them, they’d be glad to give you advice.

I’m so sorry to hear this. Teeth issues are treatable but with abscesses as well it just makes everything a much bigger ordeal.
I am sorry you have had to come to this conclusion and I’m certain that you’ve probably wracked your brain for solutions. I know the horror of dental and abscess bunnies, having lost one myself.
Rabbits don’t do well under anesthetic and generally can’t see that you are trying to help,and sometimes it’s better to decide that we should let them pass having enjoyed their life ,before it just becomes a traumatic experience.
Getting any animal put down is really hard, but keep in mind that you are his owner and you are doing what is in his best interest

In terms of the bonding, I’d wait. A new bunny will just unsettle the current bond anyway, and upset the last while your little guy has .

Let his mate see his body after he is put down -tgis can take them a while. My girl wouldn’t let me take her husbun off of her for 12 hours. I’ve heard of others being fine after a quick sniff.

Some rabbits cope very well after they lose a partner and are content. My experience was the opposite and I needed to find a new rabbit to bond her to (this will not be sped up even if a rabbit is grieving) just try to make sure that you are there for her and keep a close eye on her. Get her a teddy that smells like you/her (not the boy) so that she has a “companion”
Mine used to follow her teddy to the hay to “eat” etc so it was a useful tool in making her feel less alone

I’m not experienced with dental abscesses, and the nature of the abscesses vary among all rabbits. There are both cases of unsuccessful and successful recovery following abscess removal for rabbits. Regardless yes, the post-op care can be long and stressful for both parties. For more complex cases like this, I think getting another vet opinion to either confirm the only options and also here another idea of the prognosis is wise. Not in any way questioning your vets ability, but getting another viewpoint can be very valuable.

Wick gets molar spurs grindings and incisor trims every 5 weeks, under anesthesia of course. He does not chew normally because his jaw is misaligned and he has an underbite (malocclusion), so he is incapable of properly grinding his teeth to wear down everything correctly. He gets the same reoccurring spurs and consistently grinds his bottom incisors unevenly. It’s high frequency, but he recovers the day of each time and he is a very happy rabbit. He’s gone through a lot of different long term stressors, like three months of antibiotic treatment for a URI, 5 month topical treatment and antibiotic treatment for ringworm, and such, all while balancing his monthly spur grindings, but he bounces back and spends the majority of his time lounging around.

If you are willing and committed, paired with a positive recovery from your rabbit after surgery, I think it’s not impossible for him to be happy, though it will take time post op for a fully recovery. Again, another opinion to confirm everything would be good, and obviously consider the time you’re able to take for post recovery care.

No experience, but Wick’s vet also mentioned that teeth extraction can be more risky and less successful than less invasive treatments (i.e. removing Wick’s bottom incisors versus just trimming them every month).

This sounds like a better approach in my opinion!