BUNNY HIT HIS HEAD HARD!!!!

[Deleted User]

My bunbun runs into walls on a daily basis. But today my dad told me he hit himself pretty hard! Will he be okay? Can rabbits get concussions? Especially since he’s a dwarf and he is smaller? He’s only four months old! Could he have hurt himself really bad and I don’t know of it? Honestly he runs in and out of rooms and doesn’t watch where he’s going! Poor thing looks a little confused.

[Mikey]

Why does he run into walls often? How often? Why is there no protections on walls? Yes, repeatedly hitting unprotected walls can cause health problems and pain. Yes, hitting the wall hard enough can cause life lasting damage. You really need to see a vet asap to talk about this.

[Bam]

Give him cage rest and check on him often. The room should be quiet and not brightly lit. It’s what you do for concussions in humans. Repeated head trauma is very dangerous, it’s what causes brain damage in foot ballers and boxers, so he should rest a bit now.

It is worrisome that he runs into walls like all the time. Do you think he has poor eyesight?

[SaRa]

My Poe did this a lot when he was a baby. When out of his enclosure he would run around as fast as he could and sometimes smash into walls or furniture. I consulted my vet because I was worried he would hurt himself. She told me it might have something to do with hormonal changes when they hit puberty. Poe is a boy, and he was very hyper right before he was due for neutering. Things quickly changed after the operation, and he is much calmer now. Perhaps you can consult with your vet about it. Best of luck! 

[Deleted User]

Hey sorry I haven’t answered. I’m yeah it’s stopped a lot now. I don’t think he has poor eyesight he catches my every movement and I test his vision out a lot and it seems fine. His eyes are clear too. I think he’s going through puberty now. He’s five or six months old now. I don’t know if I can get my bun neutered? Does he really really need it? I don’t have a vet around here. All the vets here are for cats and dogs. None for bunnies.

[Bam]

Hi again and thank you for the update!

If your bun is a single bun, you don’t absolutely have to have him neutered. We neuter our male rabbits for behavioral reasons. Neutering helps with the sexually driven behaviors that can be very bothersome for the human and stressful for the bun. Pee spraying, pee- and poop marking, relentless courtship (circling, nipping and mounting) are all examples of such behaviors. If your bun doesn’t exhibit any of that, you can leave him intact. The risk of testicular cancer is small. Testicular cancer is the only disease that we know neutering a male prevents (for very obvious reasons). It’s very different with girl bunnies. They should be spayed for health reasons, because their risk of uterine cancer is high.

If you’re planning to get your bun a bunny friend, he does have to be neutered though.

[Wick & Fable]

FYI Wick didn’t show signs until 9mo (spraying me), so sometimes it can take a while. Monitor to see if any of hose behaviors develop.

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.

[tobyluv]

Even if you don’t get your rabbit neutered, he will need health care throughout his life, from a rabbit savvy vet. Sometimes you have to travel outside your area to find a good vet for a rabbit. It’s better to go ahead and find a good rabbit savvy vet now, instead of waiting until some health problem arises.

[Deleted User]

Yes I agree with that. Is there a website I can use to find my bunny a vet? I don’t see any around my area.

[sarahthegemini]

If you let us know your general area, we can advise

[tobyluv]

Assuming that you are in the U.S, here is the link to the vet list on the House Rabbit Society website: http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

Here is another link where you can search for a vet in your area: https://www.bunspace.com/vets/search

These lists aren’t always up to date, but some members here may have some good recommendations if you don’t mind saying where you live. You don’t have to list your exact city, but the state and area of the state you are in would be helpful.

[Deleted User]

Oh that’s great! I live in South Texas so if anybody has any recommendations for rabbit vets around here then that would be great. I found a couple vet clinics nearby thanks to those websites so thank you that was helpful. Now that I know a place I can get my bunny neutuered I have an issue with bonding him with another rabbit. I am planning to get another rabbit after he is neutuered which should be in five to six months from now because if my parents are already in love with the bunny we have now they would love another bunny too. The problem here is this bunny is going to be too young because the pet store sells only young rabbits. I can’t spay her. So can they still be together or not?

[Mikey]

The new bunny will need to be kept completely separated until two months after she/he is spayed/neutered.

[Deleted User]

Oh dear. That is a long long time. Does it matter if a girl is near him when he will already be neutered? She can’t be impregnated. Can two males be friends if they are both neutered or will they instantly try to kill each other? I know my baby is a sweetheart but I can’t predict what he would do to another rabbit. Or what the other one would do to him.

[Bam]

Bonding two rabbits isn’t an exact science. But it is often quite a lot of work and not all buns will bond. A girl bun needs 2 weeks for her spay wounds to heal – it’s a pretty extensive surgery. After a spay/neuter there’s often, but not always, a period of hormonal adjustment during which time the bun can act “out of characther”. Hormonally driven behaviors such as circling, grunting, nipping, pee- and poop marking can become more intense. This “post-neuter craze” should die down within 2-8 weeks for a boy, but a girl can need longer time.

Two neutered boys can bond, but they should probably both be neutered at a young age for it to work really well.

A neutered boy can sometimes bond with an intact girl. This used to be the standard constellation “back in the day”, before girl buns could be spayed safely.

[Deleted User]

Hmmm. Can I at first try to bond then while the girl is intact and then see how that works out? I of course want both of them to have longer lives and I know girl rabbits can get cancer and stuff so I will definitely spay and neuter both my bunnies. If it goes wrong and they hate each other I will just get her spayed and try again. I just know my boy won’t stand more than a couple weeks when he smells the scent of another rabbit in the house. Speaking of which, can that bother them? Like if I put one in a cage and let the other out and then switch will that work out or will they get mad at me?

[Author]

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