Excessive Mounting

[Alex98]

Pumpkin is a softie, has been neutered for a while, no problems on his part.

Casper is not. He’s been neutered for more than 5 weeks but still is constantly trying to mount Pumpkin. They’ll get along, and mostly Pumpkin will groom Casper for upwards of 5 minutes, but then Casper will get upset that he’s not getting groomed anymore and thump, or just start mounting Pumpkin again.

It feels like Casper’s hormones haven’t died down at all and refuses to stop mounting even after getting along, and grooming everyday. They’ll be fine and snuggle but Casper is INSANELY aggressive. Pumpkin will get annoyed and nip at Casper to stop, he’s even taken some of Caspers hair out on two occasions.

I have absolutely no clue how to calm this psycho of a bunny down. They’re even buzzing as they’re mounting which makes me feel as though they’re still unneutered and the vet scammed us lol.

They’ve been next to each other’s cages for 2 months and have had bonding sessions for 4 weeks in which they get along outside of Caspers need to mount and establish dominance or something. Plus Casper is a Northerland dwarf so he’s half the size of Pumpkin.

[DanaNM]

Hmmmm, this is tricky! Can you fill out the “Bonding Template” and paste in your reply so we can get a bit more info about the bonding process so far?

Lots of mounting in bonding situations is not unexpected, even when both bunnies are neutered. It is one way to express dominance, and can take a while to calm down. Does it tend to lead to a fight with your two?

. . . 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.  

[Alex98]

Spay/Neuter
Both neutered.
Pumpkin for 3 months, Casper for 6 weeks.

Housing
Bunnies are neighbors and have their cages set up next to each other for 3 months. They’ve swapped cages and are familiar with each other’s scents.

Bonding background
Bunnies are settled into their housing by now.
Pumpkin is scared of Casper and hasn’t moved much, with some teeth chattering. Recently has been more mobile and curious of surroundings, but also more willing to nip Casper and tell him “no” to mounting.
We’ve had sessions for 4 weeks (2 weeks after Casper’s neutering) at first we’d only have them on the weekends in short sessions. They’d get along until Casper would start mounting and have to end. We’ve recently started doing them every day.

We’ve been trying to bond for 4 weeks with this last week being everyday bonding sessions for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
We use stressing techniques like car rides and the bunnies are calm and friendly.

 

The mounting is now starting to lead to fights. At first Pumpkin didn’t mind, but now it’s just so constant when Casper gets in the mood Pumpkin is starting to fight back. I break up fights before they’re bad and have them put next to each other and pet for a couple minutes before ending the bonding session. Pumpkin will let Casper mount, but after a couple minutes Pumpkin gets annoyed.

[DanaNM]

Ok thank you, that’s helpful!

What type of space are you using for the bonding sessions? I ask because sometimes in cases like this sometimes having a very large space can help. That way the bun being mounted can run away and things are less likely to escalate.

The other thing that jumps out to me is that you’ve only been doing daily sessions for a week, so not too long. Do you notice that the mounting tends to get worse the longer you let the session go? I’m wondering if you might try a longer session to see if they eventually calm down (you might need to intervene a lot though).

. . . 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.  

[Alex98]

With the bigger space, Pumpkin immediately attacked Casper and we separated them after petting them together for a moment. There was growling right out the gate as well. Hair was pulled. Of the three times hair has been pulled it’s always been Pumpkin attacking Casper, even though Casper is the excessive mounter and Pumpkin is more submissive and scared in smaller enclosers.

[DanaNM]

Ok gotcha! So I see you mentioned that you did do some car rides and that seemed to help? Have you tried doing a car ride first, then putting them in the main bonding area for a few minutes?

. . . 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.  

[Alex98]

Every time they’re put together Casper starts mounting and buzzing and pumpkin gets upset nipping and biting at Casper. But they both eventually calm down and start mutually grooming each other. Are they becoming bonded and then when I put them back they become unbonded? Should I just do the 48 hour watch over in their final cage and call it done? Their cage is bigger so id slowly open up more and more space and add toys food and litter box as well. Pumpkin also now started mounting Casper a little bit. I have no idea what’s going on.

[DanaNM]

If you notice that things are worse at the beginning of the session and then calm down, then I think that longer sessions are the way to go, but you would want to do long sessions in the neutral space before moving them into their final home. It sounds like they are still just working things out, it’s normal to see both bunnies mount etc.

What’s the longest session you’ve done so far? You might try some longer sessions to see how that goes.

I usually like to block out at least 4 days for 24/7 marathon bonding, or more if I think the bond might still need some work. I like to spend at least 48 hours in neutral with NO scuffling or aggression at all, so if there is any sort of problem the clock resets. Then move to semi-neutral or their final home (but cleaned, deodorized, rearranged, so it’s less familiar), and repeat. If I’m going straight to their final home I usually leave them in neutral territory longer. Sometimes there are hiccups a long the way so things take longer.

. . . 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.  

[Alex98]

Did a session for a couple hours but Casper after a couple hours started buzzing, circling and mounting Pumpkin like a mating dance. What’s going on? They both mostly groomed each other though with Casper requiring an insane amount of affection and attention.

[DanaNM]

If the mounting isn’t leading to fighting, then I would just let it happen. It can be hard to know what they are thinking, but they are communicating in their own way. Bunnies vary in how much they mount each other, and even bonded pairs will do some mounting.

. . . 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.  

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