Charlotte and Caramac

Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS. SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED. We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best.

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 3sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 3 years ago by DanaNM.

Viewing 2 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 10/30/2021 at 8:44 AM
  BunBun10
  Participant
  3 posts
  I recently got a second rabbit and I have been having some issues bonding them.
  
  My first rabbit, Mister Charlotte is a neutered male who is about 11 months right now. I reccently got a 4 month old un-neutered female rabbit, Caramac. The breeder I got her from said that I should just stick them in the same cage and they will work it out. I questioned this immediately because I did a lot of research and watched videos, which told me that I should have them separate at first then bond them slowly. However, I followed the breeder’s advice and stuck them in the same pen. They are getting along all right, no fur pulling or fighting. My male rabbit, Charlotte, is chasing Caramac around and grunting, mounting her, and spraying her with pee.
  
  He is getting better about the chasing and mounting, but the spraying seems to be getting worse! He was previously litter trained and was very good about using the litter! He only sprays when she is around. If I let him out of the cage by himself, he doesn’t spray. Caramac isn’t litter trained yet and since I have carpet, I can only let her out in certain areas and certain times.
  
  I have had them together for two weeks now. Any advice? Should I separate them now and then try boinging them slowly? Charlotte already seems somewhat attached to Caramac despite the peeing. But both of their paws are yellow with pee! And it is a pain to clean up daily!
  
  Ps. I checked with the vet and Mister Charlotte is definitely neutered!
  
  Thanks!
- 10/30/2021 at 8:49 AM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  So, I hate to say it, but the breeder gave you terrible advice! You are pretty lucky that they haven’t seriously hurt each other. I don’t mean to be harsh, I have just seen rabbits first hand that have been injured very badly due to just “putting them in a cage together”.
  
  You should separate them and get your female spayed. Because your female is not spayed, it will be very difficult for a true bond to form, because your male will harass her relentlessly (as you are seeing with all the hormonal behaviors).
  
  It sounds like you have done some reading on the bonding process. There are many ways to go about it, but the first step is to make sure both rabbits are castrated (spayed or neutered). It sounds like yours are getting along OK, even with all the hormones involved, so hopefully once that happens the process will go smoothly for you.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
  - 10/30/2021 at 10:34 AM
    BunBun10
    Participant
    3 posts
    Thank you for the advice Dana! They are both giant rabbits. I have been told not to get Caramac spayed until she is at least 6-8 months since they take longer to mature. Seems like until she is spayed and then recovers, I should keep them separate then…
- 10/31/2021 at 8:27 AM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  Yes that sounds about right for giant breeds! And yes separate them until after spaying and her hormones have settled (usually this takes between 3-6 weeks). It’s also recommended to do “prebonding”, where you have them live side by side and swap who’s in which cage every day or two for a few weeks. This helps them get used to each other’s scents before you put them together, and I’ve found it really does help things go more smoothly. So you could separate, spay, let her heal for 2 weeks, then do a couple weeks of pre-bonding and see how they do. If things are still crazy in bonding sessions with mounting etc, then pause and do a few more weeks of pre-bonding, which will also let her hormones calm down more.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
Author

Messages

Viewing 2 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.