Bunnies are hurting each other!!!!!!! Help!

[bunnyfever]

I have two male lops.  I bought them nearly 2 months ago.  The pet store claimed they were neutered. I don’t see any testicles so I assume they are too.  They have lived in the same cage since day 1.  I let them roam around my bunny proof bedroom numerous times throughout the day.  They were doing so good for so long.  They have even become litter box trained.  Mounting has occured from time to time.  Just recently, as of a couple days ago, the one bunny (Binky), started humping the second bunny (Boomer).  This is happening a lot not.  Id say it happens close to 80 times a day.  Boomer fought it at first, but has come to accept it.  Now, as of yesterday, Boomer has begun fighting back.  It’s an awful thing to see. Boomer now has a cut on his side and a bleeding mark on his ear.  I have seperated them because this can’t keep happening.  I dont know what to do.  They are well past the bonding stage.  All the internet tips  I read are about newly acquainted bunnies.  These bunnies have been living happily together for quite some time.  It just started progressively getting worse.  I dont know what to do?

[bunnytowne]

After I got Laith neutered Cotton started fighting with him.  HE could have been jealous too cause I was giving Laith a lot of attention post surgery.

Are you sure they are boys?  Could they be girls? How old are they?

As they get older like 7 months to a year this can happen out of the blue also. They mature and can rework out dominance issues. Causing these problems you are having.

You can let them together a few minutes at a time and start all over bonding them. When the humping starts up seperate them Make the humper get off the humpee.  Stop them from fighting.  Perhaps sit and pet them both at the same time or give treats when they are not fighting.  That may help too.

Hmm someone who knows more may show up soon and give you more info.

[Sage Cat]

A lot of people have posted here saying they got neutered buns from a pet store – and it turns out the buns were not neutered. In fact, pet stores often get the sex wrong too.

If they are doing the “Scratchy Back” that often – it sounds like they are NOT neutered.

How old are they?

It could be jealousy, puberty or dominance.
I don’t know much about bonding either – I’m sure some one experienced will be here soon.

I know of 2 buns at my local shelter – a male & female – who were bonded. After being together for about 6 months the male attacked the female so badly she had to have emergency surgery. They had to get divorced.

[Beka27]

have they been seen by a rabbit savvy vet yet? it is possible that they are not neutered and not the sexes they said they were. that being said, humping is not uncommon even with altered rabbits. it is how they determine dominance, and who is “top bun”… your first step is getting them into a vet if they’ve not been seen yet and clarifying they are the sex you think they are. it’s a good idea to do a regular check-up with the vet each year anyways, so have them fully examined when you go. can you contact the petstore and ask for a neuter certificate (documentation) with the vet’s name, address, phone number? they should be able to provide this to you. did you spend a lot to purchase them, like betw/ 80 and 100 dollars for each one?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Seperate, and take them to a vet asap to ensure the sex is correct and that they are fixed. Phone the petstore and tell them you want to know when/where and by whome they were neutered.

Welcome here!! {{ VIBES}}

[LittlePuffyTail]

FYI- it’s often hard to determine the sex of a male rabbit, because they sort of keep “everything” tucked in.

I would also suggest taking them to a vet. A check-up shouldn’t cost you very much and then at least you’ll know and can decide your next step.

[rabbitsmba]

Yes, you definitely need to get to a rabbit-savvy vet to figure out exactly what sex they are and if indeed that have been neutered. Contact the store you got them from and tell them you need the records and proof of the neutering.

The behaviour you are describing resembles teenage hormonal behaviours. Keep them in separate cages for now until you can sort things out.

[bunnytowne]

OH I notice here when  a bun at a petstore is spneutered it will have a green dot in it’s ear. 2 dots male neutered  1 dot female neutered.  If you don’t see the dots and you didn’t pay 100.00  each they are probably not neutered.

And yes this can be maturity dominance reworking teenager type behavior too. 

[bunnyfever]

Thank you all for your replies so far. I called the pet store and the person who actually knows about the bunnies was in today and told me they were not neutered (the other girl who sold them to us does not specialize in bunnies and didnt really know what she was talking about). Also, she gave me an age estimate and so now they would be about 3.5 months old. This is still pretty young…is it normal for the hormones to be kicking in already? I am confused as to why I cant see any testicles, but regardless I am now in the process of looking for a rabbit-savvy vet to take them to, to confirm their non-neutered status and probably schedule an operation. Any knowledge on costs for checkup and the 2 operations so I can be prepared???

I guess this would explain why all of a sudden the two best friends started attacking eachother if the hormones just started flaring up.

They are in separate cages now and both seem very depressed and lonely. Its very sad, they were constantly cuddling and following eachother around all day, and the whole reason I got 2 was so they could keep eachother company when Im not home. Im hoping after operations they can be re-bonded and be best friends again, without any dangerous fighting.

Any more advice or comments are appreciated. Thanks!!

[MarkBun]

Oh yes, bunny hormones can kick in after 2 months. You should get them neutered as soon as you can.

Keep the cages near one another to help reduce the effect of the seperation.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

May I ask what they charged you at the petstore, since they said they were neutered? I hope you didn’t overpay for fixed rabbits that aren’t fixed!!

Finding testicles and even sexing rabbits is very hard to do, so don’t worry that you can’t see the ‘boys’. You may in fact have females or one male and one female.

Checkup and neuter/spays can cost really really cheap to really expensive. I paid about four hundred for my spay, but i believe that’s at the top dollar range. I’ve read on here someone paid thirty five for a neuter. It really really depends on the clinic and where you live.

If you can post the city/town you live in, we can assist you in finding a good vet!

We can also help you through the re-bonding process once they are speutered, so any questions there we can help guide you!

If there are any tears or nicks on them from fighting you can certainly put some polysporin/neosporin (not the plus kind, but the triple is fine) on them.

[Beka27]

i’m very glad you have them separated now. keep them apart at least until you have a vet sex them for you. do you need help finding a rabbit savvy vet?

[bunnyfever]

The bunnies cages are right next to eachother, they spend a lot of time sniffing eachother, and when I let one out to play he usualy spends most of his time trying to get into the other’s cage. I think the poor babies miss eachother I hope they dont forget eachother while they are separated. I already have an appointment with Dr. Adamcak of All Creatures Animal Hospital in East Amherst, NY. She is supposed to be very knowledgeable with rabbits and was recommended on a list of rabbit-savvy vets. The checkup alone just to determine sex is $120 for both…yikes. I can only imagine how much the surgeries will cost! At least I know they are getting good care. I would still appreciate any info on local vets that are good with bunnies, maybe I can find somewhere a little more affordable for the operations. I am outside of the Buffalo, NY area.

 

One other thing, the bunnies have been successfully litter-box trained for over a month now and all of a sudden Binky has started pooping EVERYWHERE all over the room every 5 seconds again like he used to when I first got him. Is this some sort of rebellion? Or is the stress of missing his buddy making him forget his potty training??? Binky seems to be the most affected by this separation he is very down in the dumps. He just wont use the litterbox when hes out of his cage anymore and before he was perfect about it…

 

Thanks again..

[Beka27]

this is what HRS lists as far as vets in the Buffalo area.  from this page:  http://www.therabbitresource.org/recommendedvets.html#buffalo

Vets in the Buffalo Area

Dr. Laura Wade, Dipl ABVP (Avian)
Specialized Care for Avian & Exotic Pets
Broadway Veterinary Clinic
5915 Broadway
Lancaster, NY 14086
716-681-4440

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Dr. Doris Campbell
Cornerstone Veterinary Clinic
781 Davison Rd
Lockport, NY 14094
716-433-8670

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Dr. Michele St. Pierre
420 Erb St. West #6
Waterloo, Ont. N2L 6H6
519-747-2020

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All Creatures Animal Hospital
6429 Transit Road East
Amherst, NY 14051
716-636-3600
Dr. Adamcak specializes in exotics.

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Dr. Scott Nachbar
459 East Main Street
Springville, NY 14141
716-592-PETS
Dr. Nachbar also does acupuncture.

 

you would of course need to call and interview them beforehand to make sure they are still at that location and are still seeing rabbits.

don’t rule out traveling a bit further for the neuters either.  sometimes people will drive further (an hour away) and they can save a substantial amount of money.  you can do this just for the surgeries if you’d like but then begin seeing a closer vet for regular check-ups.

also contact any local rabbit rescues/shelters in your area to see who they see, they might know of low-cost options.

the pooping sounds territorial.  when puberty sets in (at 3-4 months for boys) the hormones begin raging and that’s what causes change in behavior and litter habits.  continue to reinforce the training by picking up poos and depositing them in the box.  clean up accidents ASAP.

[bunnyfever]

Yep, I have an appointment with one of the doctor’s you listed . I have a feeling the bunnies are going to hate this whole process~! But thanks for the advice and help everyone

[MooBunnay]

That pooping behavior you mentioned can also be tied to the hormones kicking in. It sounds like what you are going though is very normal for two bunnies that are not fixed, it is very normal for their hormones to kick in and cause some fighting. I would be concerned about what genders they are – if the person that sold them to you didn’t know too much you may have a boy and a girl. Definitely keep them separated until they are both fixed and then both have time to recover because they might have a few little spats when re-bonding.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Keep us posted!! I think that’s about average, I pay 65$ for an exam as well

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