Bunny lost her mate

[TFBunny]

Hello everyone. I am in need of some advice. I brought home two holland lops (8 weeks old) two weeks ago. They are sisters, Barbara and Betty. Unfortunately Betty died two days ago. I am devastated but Barbara even more so. They were inseparable. Barbara is a female ten weeks old and my question is this: do I get her a replacement rabbit to bond with right away or do I wait until six months after she is spayed? I know because she is so young and unfixed it makes things more complicated. I just hate to think of her being alone and sad for another two and a half months. Please help. My family and I are devastated. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

[DanaNM]

So sorry for your loss.

Since babies cannot truly bond, it would be best to wait until Barbara is spayed, then you can try to take her dating to find a mate. Is Barbara eating OK? Did you allow her to spend time with the body?

In the meantime, you can get her a “Stuffy” to snuggle with, and spend lots of extra time with her. Just be sure she doesn’t chew the stuffy, so it’s best to let her access it only when supervised (but you can have it near her cage/condo all the time so she can see it). When Bertha lost her mate recently, I got a stuffy and made it groom and snuggle her, and she would groom it back, so I think it was helpful. I ended up using a rabbit dog toy for mine.

Now, you could bring home another bunny, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to bond them or housing them together yet, as you would need to separate them anyway once Barbara gets hormonal (which would likely be in a couple weeks…), and especially once she is spayed. You could however, house them near each other. Bunnies are so social they often find comfort just having another bunny nearby. The downside is that you won’t have the benefit of letting Barbara choose her future mate (her “tastes” now will likely be different than once she is mature and spayed).

If she is so depressed that she isn’t wanting to eat, that might be the way to go… In that case I would suggest getting an already neutered male.

So yeah, don’t actually try to bond her until she recovers from her spay, but having a companion (either stuffed animal or already neutered bun nearby) should comfort her.

Sorry again for both of your losses

. . . 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.  

[TFBunny]

Dana,

Thank you so much for your advice. Unfortunately Barbara wasn’t able to spend time with the body before we buried her. We tried putting Betty’s scent on a stuffy and even grooming her with it but she doesn’t seem to be taking to it. We are spending a lot of time with her and offering her all the fresh hay and food but she is still losing weight. I’m considering getting another bun (to keep in a separate nearby cage until after she is spayed) just to have the comfort of her knowing another friend is around. The breeder offered to replace the bun we lost (same color and everything) but that just seems cruel. Or would it be more helpful if the new bun looked the same? I would do whatever would help Barbara the most. We are watching her constantly. The vet even gave me the go ahead to try offering very small amounts of veggies today to see if that helps entice her.

[DanaNM]

I don’t think color or any of that matters at all. Even if they look the same to us, they will smell very different to Barbara.

Poor girl. You might want to offer her critical care. If she isn’t eating and keeps losing weight, you will need to syringe feed her to prevent full on stasis.

I will just add that same sex pairings are possible, but female – female on average tend to be the most difficult. It does come down to personality, but since they are too young to know their true personality, I would opt for getting a male over another female, already neutered if possible, or one that you can neuter right away so you don’t risk an unintended pregnancy (I’ve heard stories of males spraying sperm and impregnating females in nearby cages).

. . . 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