I want to find my rabbit a friend.

[BunBuns]

I am really interested in finding my rabbit BUNNI a friend to hangout with when I am not home. BUNNI has not been neutered, and I was just wondering if anyone on here has been able to bond 2 male rabbits together or a fixed female and an unfixed male rabbit as friends?

[Deleted User]

No, nobody has been able to do that. You would be setting your rabbits up for serious injuries by attempting this. They won’t make friends but instead try to mount each other incessantly and forceably resulting in fights. Such fights have led to mutilations many times over and it is simply put cruel to put two unneutered males together. Don’t do it. You will be paying more in vet bills stitching up war wounds than you would pay for a straightforward neuter surgery. Neutering your rabbit will also help with litter training, and increase the pet appeal of your rabbit.

[LoveChaCha]

Fixing helps rabbits calm down. I would advise you to wait until you have fixed your bun and can wait until you have both the time and money to get another cage and bunny.

A lot of bonding takes precious time and 2 bunnies cannot be put together immediately.

[Beka27]

Welcome here. This is a question we get a lot, but the answer is always the same: Absolutely not. Please get your rabbit neutered before getting a second rabbit. If you are not going to neuter him, he will have to stay as a single rabbit for life.

[Sarita]

Oh, definitely get him neutered before you even consider getting another rabbit.

[BunBuns]

Sorry for getting back to you guys so late. I have been doing TONS of research and I know for a fact that he needs to be neutered before the thought of getting him a friend crosses my mind. Now my dilemma is whether or not to actually have him neutered or to just keep him as a single bun. He is veryyy good with his aggressive behavior, never ever bit me or anything negative towards me, but he is chewing everything. He has a huge 3 story condo like the ones on this site, and he just seems to want to chew everything else but his chew toys. I am at school throughout the day, so I think its primarily due to boredom.

He currently sees a rabbit savy vet which takes such good care of him but it is also about a $600 procedure because it is a private vet office and they take rabbit surgerys very seriously since they know how stressed rabbits can get. My rabbit is like my child and I am just sooo worried about something going wrong in surgery that I could lose him. How did you guys handle having your rabbit go in for surgery?

I just think having him neutered so that he could have another bunny friend would be so good for him when I am out during the day because I feel terrible leaving him upstairs all day even though he has free run of my whole room. I have 3 cats and they are all surprisingly afraid of my rabbit but he just has so much interest in playing with them. he chases them and wants to play but they run away which is why i feel having another rabbit would be great for him. he loves other animals.

Anyone on here from Connecticut that knows of a great reliable vet that will neuter for less than $600? I dont want my baby going to just any vet. Any suggestions of what to do?? Thanks

[jerseygirl]

I’ll PM a couple CT members to see if they can advise you regarding the neuter cost.

If you can find a more affordable option, you reall have nothing to lose by getting Bunni fixed. Then you’ll always have the option to get another when you chose. Ideally it’s good to get rabbits done while younger as older rabbit require bloodwork before operation and this is added cost and worry for you.

Rabbits can be happy as single buns. But if you can afford a neuter and a 2nd rabbit then I say go for it!

Chewing is a normal occupation for rabbits. If he’s chewing saf materials it’s not really a problem (unless it’s noisy and disruptive!) But chewing keeps them occupied and is good for their teeth. A neuter can tone down this behavior somewhat if you feel it is excessive.

[LoveChaCha]

I try to switch out my bunny’s toys weekly with different ones taht I have for her. That way, she doesn’t get bored.

I do recommend neutering, even if he remains a single bun. His aggressive behavior will calm down.

My bunny likes to chew on my stuff also, so its pretty normal as bunnies are chewers

[Elrohwen]

Hi there, I’m also from CT! Which part of the state are you in (east, west, north, south, would be good enough)? That might help me with recommendations. I take my rabbits to South Wilton Vet Group and they’re fantastic. They’re also quite expensive, but around $400 for a neuter rather than $600 which is still cheaper than what you’re looking at. My local rescue takes all of their buns to South Wilton and both of my rabbits go there.

If you’re in Fairfield County and willing to drive over to White Plains, NY, I’ve heard very good things about Dr. Gil Stanzione of the Dakota Veterinary Center. I’ve heard he’s cheaper than South Wilton. One of the other local resuces prefers to use him, but most of his rescue work is done for the NY HRS so he can’t give discounts to the CT chapter. So he’s in high demand among the rescues.

All of the places below have been recommended by other rabbit people and rescues. I don’t live close enough to them to know much about them other than that, so you’d have to call for pricing if you’re interested.
Kensington Bird and Animal Hospital (Kensington)
Connecticut Veterinary Center (West Hartford)
Twin City Animal Hospital (Newington)
Pieper-Olson Veterinary Hospital (Middletown and Wethersfield)
Suffield Veterinary Hospital (Suffield)
Marlborough Bird and Animal Hospital (Malborough)

Hopefully those give you enough of a range of locations to find one near you! I’m curious to know which one you already see in case I’ve already posted it. I hope this helps.

[Ham Sangwich]

Hi BunBuns,

I have two recommendations and a suggestion. I volunteer at Hop A Long Hollow (www.hopalonghollow.org), we use both South Wilton Vet (Dr. Fahey in particular) in Wilton, CT and Dr. Louis Peiper at Barnum Animal Hospital in Stratford, CT. Both Dr’s know their way around rabbits and are very good at what they do. South Wilton will be more expensive (if it is $400 for a neuter now that has gone way up, I would suspect $250) and Dr. Peiper will be more reasonable at around $150. A quote for $600 is very high and probably means the Vet is really not comfortable handling rabbits, honestly. By the way, the $ I am mentioning aren’t actual quotes so please if you get quoted higher don’t say a Hop A Long Hollow person told you it would be cheaper. Thanks.

So those are my 2 recommendations. I also have a suggestion. If you are looking for a mate for your guy private message me, if you adopt from our shelter we may be able to help you cut the cost of the neuter and do the bonding work for you. We are offering free bonding services currently (we have your bun living in neutral territory on a bunny date for a few days), but that could end sometime in September because our bonding expert is very pregnant. 🙂 Contact me via PM and we can discuss. Our shelter is in Norwalk, CT.

[KatnipCrzy]

I do not think a higher quote for surgery means the vet is not comfortable doing the surgery- they probably just REQUIRE preanesthetic bloodwork, pain meds to go home and a different gas anesthesia that is more expensive (also used for humans).

 

[Sarita]

I have to agree with Katnip about higher price not meaning that the vet is uncomfortable doing rabbit surgery. One of the best rabbit vets in my area is also very high BUT there are other options for equally good rabbit vets who’s price is less as well.

Sometimes you do need the breakdown so you can see what they are actually charging you for.

Luckily it sounds as if you do have some options with equally rabbit savvy vets.

[Elrohwen]

Ham Sangwich, so funny that you volunteer for Hop A Long! Until just a few weeks ago I was volunteering there too, but a new job prevents me from getting down there (you probably saw Linda asking for new volunteers on Wednesdays because of me).

And yes, South Wilton is $400 for a neuter now – I had Otto done there in June of 2009. The shelter rate is only $200, so that might be what you’re thinking of. Dr Martin is a great choice if Dr Fahey is not available.

I agree with the others that a higher price doesn’t mean the vet is uncomfortable with rabbits – I would actually interpret it to mean that they are using the more expensive anesthesia (which is better) and are including a lot of pre- and post-care (South Wilton will keep your rabbit until they are eating well before they send them home, for no extra fee). Location also plays a huge role, and if you’re going to live in Fairfield County you’re probably not going to find a super cheap neuter anywhere (though if you call around, you can certainly find something reasonable)

[BunBuns]

Thank you guys so much for all your information! I dont mind paying $400 to have him fixed. I just thought almost $700 was slightly expensive. I live in a town south of Hartford, CT, but honestly the driving distance doesn’t matter at all to me as long as I am seeing someone that will take great care of my buns.

Elrohwen, I really like how you said South Wilton will keep BUNNI until he is eating well and is feeling okay before I take him home. That really makes me happy. So I am almost positive that I will be taking him to the South Wilton vet or one of the other vets that you suggested, so thank you very much for your input.

Any other suggestions would be great

[Beka27]

Welcome back to Binkybunny! I’m glad you’ve been given some other options for his neuter. Keep us posted on what you decide and how everything goes!

[Elrohwen]

I dropped Otto off on Friday and they kept him well into Saturday afternoon to make sure he was eating and pooping well. I really appreciated it! Especially as a new rabbit owner without experience in force feeding.

[Ham Sangwich]

Hi Bunbuns,

If you would like I am sure Linda from the Hop A Long Hollow would help you out with boarding the rabbit and monitoring it to make sure he eats and stuff for a night and I’m pretty sure she charges quite a bit less (plus you can see all the rabbits at the Hollow!). If you are interested I would advise you call South Wilton first and get a quote for total surgery and after-care (and what the cost is just for surgery and same day pick-up) and let me know if you’re interested in having Linda care for the bun and I can put you in contact.

One of the ways we raise funds is through rabbit babysitting, etc. and Linda has literally seen every disease a rabbit can throw at you (well, maybe there are a few super rare ones we haven’t seen). Neutering is pretty easy, much less invasive than a spay and the boys are usually eating and stuff pretty quickly, especially if they have their favorite greens in front of them.

[Deleted User]

oh, Elrohwen is back! How is Otto doing?

I think $700 is absurd for a neuter. I have never heard of such a price for a male’s neuter.

[Elrohwen]

Hi Petzy! I’m trying to drop in when I can (like right now, because the guy training me hasn’t come back from his meeting). Otto is fantastic! He’s earning to jump up on the couch (Hannah just throws herself onto my lap with absolutely no manners lol).

I agree that $700 for a neuter is ridiculous, even in CT, land of the ridiculously over-priced.

[foxtailskies]

$600 ($700?!) is MAD expensive for a rabbit neuter, even in private practice in CT. Even with “the works” on pre-anesthetic bloodwork I’d hesitate if anything topped around $300 in the Northeast. If you can’t find another local vet who will do it, try contacting local shelters and rescue groups who take in rabbits- there are many private practice vets who volunteer their services at shelters and help out with their spay/neuter work, including rabbits, so they may be able to give you the name of a vet they use.

Side benefit to neutering… they STINK less!!!! I adopted my boy one day post-neuter and holy COW did he reek for a week… could not wait for that testosterone to wear off!!!!

[Kyoshi]

I think that $600 is absolutely over-priced. I have ALL the possible perks for a new bun, and that is almost TRIPLED the price of my neautered bun, plus all the supplies, treats, and toys. I am on the fence about the whole Price/Quality ratio. While it could mean more experience, anesthetics, and care, it could ALSO mean that an inexperienced vet wouldnt have to have too many customers( again, $600?!?!?!?!) and I would personally want to charge for the worry. So, if you can get reviews and reccomedations, that would be great. And Lots of people are worried about Speaturing, but Ive only ever seen at most 3 speatur-related deaths, out of the 1000’s of people on here with speatured buns.

[BunBuns]

Thanks for all of your input guys, it has really helped alot. I was SHOCKED to hear that it would cost about $650 to have my rabbit neutered at the vet hospital that he goes to regularly. I honestly thought that was normal until hearing all of you guys who are experienced rabbit owners say its obsurd lol. I am going to call tomorrow afternoon to get an estimate for the South Wilton Vet and the Kensington Animal Hospital.

Ham Sangwich- I am soo interested in the rabbit babysitting. Even if my dad won’t let me adopt another rabbit, does your friend at hop along hollow offer bunny daycare that he could go play with the other rabbits to get some interaction once he is neutered? If that is possible, I would love to sign him up because he LOVES other animals and is dying for some interaction with them, he can’t wait until my cats come visit him in my room everyday. he gets so excited. If he ends up getting along really well with one of the buns there, it may be easier for me to convince my dad to come with me to see BUNNI interact with another rabbit because I know once he sees that he will melt.

I plan on calling to get estimates tomorrow, so I will have more information tomorrow

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