Adding a new bunny? Good idea or bad?

[Pixie.rosa.love]

So i have a Holland lop/dwarf bunny, His name is Cotton and he is a little over 1.5 years of age. I also have 2 dogs, but they can be a bit to rough for them to be around cotton all the time.
I have been thinking and thinking about getting Cotton another little male bunny (since he is not fixed and i think he is too old to get him fixed without risking his life from what i have been told) and was thinking of getting a baby that way Cotton can bond with it and not really be mean to it, since he has never shown an aggressiveness or territorial behavior, just kind of introvert.
I feel bad, since i do work, not a lot but i do, and i wish he had a friend to play with and cuddle with and not be alone.
He seems happy to me, and he had lots of brothers and sisters, and was never mean to them, but i think he gets bored because he has no one to play with.

I have looked at posts similar to this but non really match what im looking at in my situation. Please help!

Below is my baby boy <3

[tobyluv]

You cannot put two rabbits together unless both have been spayed or neutered. Even if one is a baby. There is going to be aggression and fighting. When rabbits fight, they can severely injure each other. One and a half years old is certainly not too old to be neutered. One of the rabbits I have now was neutered when he was 4 years old. If you want a companion for Cotton, you should go ahead and get him neutered now. After his surgery, you will need to wait a month for the hormones to die down, before you can start bonding him with another rabbit. The other rabbit will have to be spayed or neutered, also with a month passing since the surgery before bonding is attempted. Many rescues and some shelters have rabbits that are already spayed or neutered so maybe you could find a companion for him in a rescue. It’s usually easier to bond a neutered male with a spayed female, but you can bond same gender rabbits. But they definitely need to be spayed or neutered first.

[jerseygirl]

Definitely not too old to be neutered!

With a rabbit-savvy vet, it should be no problem.

[Vincent]

Okay so.. a couple of things

1. Bunnies that aren’t neutured have a very hard time bonding with other bunnies (fixed or not) because of territorial issues and agressive nature towards other bun because of this

2. Male x male is one of the harder pairs to bond and that’s when they are both neutured as it is!

I would recommend getting a vet appointment with a rabbit savvy vet and ask them what they think about your bun getting neutured. If he’s in good health it shouldn’t be a problem getting him fixed safely from a good vet

If you can’t get him neutered it would probably be best not to get him a friend though because it will probably be basically impossible to bond him correctly (even if they act bonded his hormones might make him get into a fight and rabbit fights csn lead to injuries or death if no one is there to stop them)

If you do get him neutured and a new bun I would actually suggest seeing if any shelters around town have bunnies and let them do bunny dates (you’d have to wait a month after your male heals though) cause this way the bunny is more likely to already be fixed as well and therefore you will have a better idea if it will work out (bunny dates are when you bring your bun to the shelter and see what bun he gets along with)

If shelter buns aren’t an option though you should get a female wait till you csn spay her and then wait another month at least toll trying to bond them so her hormones can die down

Again only if you can get your bun neutured

During the wait time for both the baby to grow up get spayed and healed for a month you should pre bond which includes switching the buns in living areas so they get used to each others scents

Never bond a baby with an adult because the baby will get hormonal amd then most likely agressive towards your male rabbit and if they fight because of this it’s almost impossible to re introduce them because rabbits hold grudges

So basically though if he can’t be neutured it would be safer to not get him a friend. To many risk factors

Edit: As others said above though it shouldn’t be a problem getting him neutured

[Pixie.rosa.love]

Thank you for the responses, i dont know if there are many bunny-savvy vets in the area and i know for 100% that my shelters dont have any rabbits, they only have cats and dogs.
There is a pet store with rabbits, but from the sound of everything, i think i will just leave it be. Cotton isnt depressed from what i can tell, and he is very healthy and active. He eats and drinks regularly and his poo and pee look completely healthy from what i have researched.
Thank you again for your responses

[LittlePuffyTail]

Are you in the US? If you want to give your general area we could possibly help locate a rabbit savvy vet.

Your boy is adorable

[Pixie.rosa.love]

Thank you he has quite the personality.
I live in Montana (yes in the us lol)

Im still debating this mentally. If he is fixed does the female have to be fixed as well?

[Luna]

Yes, both buns will need to be fixed. I love his name by the way .

[Mikey]

All bunnys will need to be neutered/spayed before you can bond them. I also want to add that the sex of the new bun you get really does not matter, despite popular belief. Its personality that matters. If your rabbit is rather dominant, youll want to try to find a naturally submissive bun to bond with him. Visa versa if your rabbit is often submissive. If your bun is independent, youll want to find another independent bun to bond with him so he doesnt get overwhelmed.

*I had a trio of males, and a current bonded pair of boys

[Pixie.rosa.love]

Ok thank you, i called a vet they are called Best Friends Animal Hospital, and they have performed the surgery before and have a very good success rate – but they do know its a risk and said more often then not the bunnies make it out just fine and have had a few who haven’t.
I set up an appointment for a wellness check up – then if i like these people and how they treat my baby boy, i may consider it. It will cost me a pretty penny ($150) but if i can get him a little friend and know a place where they will be well cared for, i may just do it.
On a side note – cotton got his first grooming secession today (since he is now shedding worse then when i first got him) and he did wonderful

Yes his name is cute, i wanted a black bunny and wanted to call him Jack, but when we were going to get cotton he was going to be my bunny and my moms, but she backed out. So my fiance got him for me, and i just kept the name my mom picked but i love this little fella
<– this is a little while after i got him, i made the blanket he is hiding under. He loves that blanket

[LittlePuffyTail]

Good luck at your appointment!

[Pixie.rosa.love]

Thank you – i already found a cute little girl i really want >.< so this may be happening

[Pixie.rosa.love]

I did it, i got another bunny, this one i saw. she stole my heart and i got her
her name is Bendie she is a dwarf curly coated rex
she is so tiny!

[Author]

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