AZ First Time Owner, Off To Bad Start

[MrRabbit]

Hi, my name is OJ… I recently took in a well tempered sideways peeing Dwarf rabbit that was 5 months old… I got him a friend after I had him for about a month… shes an unspayed female with longer hair, satin ears, and more weight on her, tho was 5 months when I got her so a month younger… they had to get through the hair pulling stage before I could let them constantly roam about together but he soon learned she was too big for him and only reacted sexually when she mounted him and retreated while grunting, even growling when he got too close but he would just lower his head below hers for about a minute, it was the adorable passive aggressiveness that I loved about him so much but I let them out two days ago to wonder the backyard, it was his third time out there so I gave em two hours before temperatures got above a light chill… by the time I checked on em for the 3rd time before I brought them in he was face down raising and dropping his face into the rocks… I quickly examined him and found no evidence of a bite from snake and immediately left him to round up the other rabbit and get her inside before she stumbled upon the same fate… I poked and felt around for inflamation and pain response but got nothing aside from open mouth head thrashing… I picked him up and he quickly became stiller and stopped thrashing his head… 5 minutes after debating whether it was worth spooking him in this condition on my motorcycle and having him die in whatever I could find to take him to the vet in… his breathing got shallow and his nose was showing an obvious struggle for air… I brought him to my other bunny who laid beside him as he passed away…

The female seems happier now that shes got the place to her self and has taken on alot more digging habbits and actually runing… currently shes jumping on and off my bed through her tunnle and binkying… I thought she was a mean bunny but shes just a solo… I figure Ill let her get used to being happy here and introduce a mate later on… really thinking about picking up two males today (one neutered) and adding them to the mix but idk… I really want to know what that rabbit got to that killed him so fast… What is your guys opinion on letting bunnies experience eachothers death? Should I introduce two new males to the mix if this rabbit is so much happier now??? Does she just seem happier because she has to fill her time with more than cuddling and getting groomed? What could have killed my rabbit so quick??? I do have a 2 year old christmas tree log, 3 huge oleander bushes, and a baby peach tree… all of which I heard are bad for rabbits but to kill them that quick? I only saw him nibbling on the christmas tree for about ten seconds before moving on… IDK…  and I want my bunny to be able to enjoy the backyard but I need to make it bunny safe… she enjoys playing in the oleander leafs but doesnt eat them…

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I wouldn’t introduce any other buns male or female until she is spayed. Intact females are much more territorial than males and can become very aggressive towards other buns.

[Sarita]

Oh, I’m sorry about your other rabbit. I hope you aren’t going to let your current rabbit outside again. So many dangers out there and you just cannot predict what will happen when you are not around. My rabbits never go out and are perfectly happy.

I think you should first get your female rabbit spayed and just spend some time getting to know her and then decide to get another rabbit. Take some time.

I think it is a good idea to let bonded rabbits sniff the body of their dead mate – sometimes that brings closure to them.

[MrRabbit]

I did end up getting the two new bunnies… they were two well bonded males that seemed to enjoy eachothers company in the very small cage their owner kept them in… one is a lionhead and other a lop… the previous owner claimed the lionhead was aggressive hence she got him fixed but the other more calm so she let him be… I have now had the new rabbits for one week and things have taken a change for the worse… upon comming home to my rabbits (who have free range of my bedroom almost 24/7) I went to pluck extra hair from the lionhead before I feed them (lots of rough housing and binkying hence hair flying when its time for greens)…. I noticed a good scratch on his nose and that he was more comfortable with being handled than normal, upon further inspection I noticed blood around the rim of his nose… Do rabbits get bloody noses? I poked and prodded at him to see if he had any pain responses but only responded around his snout, I presume because of the scratch… I cleaned him up with some hydrogen peroxide and put him in the dog bed and continued to inspect my other rabbits… my female was unscathed but obviously shaken and honking if anyone came too close… The lop however had a good nip out of his ear and no other apparrent damage… I then noticed my lionhead having a hard time grooming himself… it looked as if his neck or back just hurt too much to reach… I kept the Lop in the cage and he has remained there for the weekend… even with the door open he wont come out except to attack my lionhead if hes out of the other cage… My lionhead uwants no part in a fight and has just today decided to stop hiding in the cage all day and is back to binkying with the female and being happy… even didnt respond to the lop biting his back fur when he was pressed up against his cage… Im going to get rid of the Lop… He was too aggressive with the female while trying to mate anyways…  untill they had a good two days where the female would just let him lie on top of her for hours, then, the fighting started and im scared to see if he will harm my female… shes very nice and approches to get rubbed down frequently and I dont want him to make her a coward… I would just keep the lop in a cage near the others but he gnaws at the cage and stares at the other rabbits with an undying rage waiting for an oppertunity to get a nip in…

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Ok wow do NOT allow those boys with the girl unless she is fixed. and the girls presence has probably started stirring things up with the boys because of her pheromones, causing them to fight. I would get her spayed ASAP, wait a month and then start Bonding. I would also get the unaltered boy neutered ASAP. Even when. Oth males are fixed, the scent of an unaltered female can prove too much and cause fights between the two. I’m begging you please do not allow any further interaction between your girls and males until everyone is fixed. Hormones in the air will cause fights and continue to do so.

Also, bleeding around the nose can be a sign of a respiratory infection. He also could’ve gotten hurt from a scuffle while you were not home. You might need to separate unless you are around to supervise. And I hope someone comes by shortly to offer you some extra advise.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Also, remove all dangerous plants from where the buns are staying.

http://rabbit.org/poisonous-plants/

I’m confused as to how you were completely aware of the dangers of the plants and still allowed the buns near them? You’re aware they are toxic and your bun suddenly died. Connect the dots please. If he ate enough, it could’ve killed him pretty quickly if he decided to make a lunch out of the bushes. Please remove them before allowing the buns outside to play and I advise you supervise playtime outside at all times.

[Beka27]

Welcome to BB. You certainly have had A LOT going on.

How many rabbits do you have right now, three? The original female and two new males?

What are your intentions with this group? The one new rabbit is neutered. Are you going to be spaying the female and the other new male?

Is your ultimate goal to have a bonded trio living together full time?

[MrRabbit]

Origionally I just wanted a male for my female period… didnt care weather it was neutered or not… I ended up finding a pair of buns that were neglected by a college student who was looking to rehome them for better living circumstances… the cage she kept them in was soo small I had to get them… Ended up paying 80 dollars which I didnt mind because one was neutered and they came with a bunch of good food and treats along with hay and harnesses and were well bonded, loving rabbits with eachother just a little shy to humans unless ur just sticking ur fingers through the cage… The lionhead will only come out to binky around when im gone or on my bed with my laptop and he doesnt realize im still around… Upon cleaning of the lops ears today I noticed he had much more going on with the inside of his ear… Hes got to be in a tremendous amount of pain… but I dont have a credit card so I dont think vets will mess with me if I dont have up front cash which I wont have until friday…  Im gonna start calling around n see what I can find out I guess…

While clipping my females nails I noticed she has a rectangular bald spot on her tummy… could that be from a previous spay??? I never asked if she was spayed… Just figured she wasnt because she was 5 months old… my male has obvious stich scars but on his back….

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