Marking territory or cause for concern?

[Von]

I’m a new bun owner. My babies, Boopie and Lily, have been together since birth and we adopted them around Thanksgiving (mid-October, for those of us north of the wall).

A couple of weeks ago, Lil started mounting Boopie constantly and it was upsetting him; he started growling and hissing at her, so we separated them: he’s in the playpen, and she’s in a dog crate that I borrowed from a friend until we can get another playpen; the cages are ~6 inches apart, so they can see and smell each other (since I hear that this makes it easier to bond them once they’ve been fixed).

As of now, both are unfixed. Boopie is having his operation next week, and Lil will go sometime next month, when she is old enough (vets in our area have said 3 months for boy buns and 4 for girl buns).

We let Lil out for ~1-2 hours a day (I use mobility aids and can’t move around easily, so I can only let her out when my husband is home). Boopie stays in the playpen while she’s out, so that they can interact with each other through the cage but he can’t hurt her. Yesterday, we had her out and they were good for a bit until Boopie started growling at her again; we put Lil back in the crate and, afterward, I noticed a yellowish liquid on the floor. She’s never peed outside of her litter box in the time we’ve had them, so I thought she’d gotten spooked when Boopie growled at her and it was a fear response. Cleaned it up like a boss, whatever.

Today, though, she did it again. Now I’m curious: is this some weird territory-marking behaviour, or should I be worried? Will getting her spayed fix this? Is she okay?

Sorry for all the newbie questions, but I adore my babies and want them both to be as happy and healthy as possible. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

-von

[Wick & Fable]

You were wise to separate and continue separating them until they are fixed, in addition to about a month following the operations, as a hormonal spike will occur after the procedure, which will still impede proper bonding.

Peeing outside the litter box, especially now that they are acting on their hormones, is very common. Litter-box-compliant rabbits pre-maturity can become non-compliant overnight due to sexual maturity.

There is the possibility that something is making her physically discomforted health-wise and she’s peeing because of that; however, considering the circumstances and you not noting any concerning health behaviors, it’s probably just territorial marking.

Getting her spayed will “fix this”, but be ready to enact litter box training to get the message across.

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.

[sarahthegemini]

Chances are she’s marking. Nothing to worry about, it’s just something you’ll need to put up with so to speak. It should lessen after she’s spayed, but it might continue until both are bonded.

Please if you can, let her out for more than 2 hours a day. I understand you have limitations but she needs at least 4 to 6 hours out every day. Could you bunny proof an area so that she can’t get into trouble and you don’t have to worry about not being able to get to her?

[Von]

Thank you both for your responses. Since there don’t seem to be any other behaviours that would indicate a health issue, I’ll leave it for now but will keep an eye on her and see if it continues after spaying/bonding.

Both buns are going to have the entire living room and hallway once they are litter-trained. I hate keeping Lil in the crate, but it’s the only option right now; I only have use of one leg at the moment, so moving furniture around isn’t something I can do myself. Once we are able to get a second playpen and my other half has a night off, I might get him to shuffle some things around. Or we might just give them one of the spare bedrooms and bunny-proof that instead, once I have full mobility and can organize things.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Von on 12/04/2017 5:07 PM

Thank you both for your responses. Since there don’t seem to be any other behaviours that would indicate a health issue, I’ll leave it for now but will keep an eye on her and see if it continues after spaying/bonding.

Both buns are going to have the entire living room and hallway once they are litter-trained. I hate keeping Lil in the crate, but it’s the only option right now; I only have use of one leg at the moment, so moving furniture around isn’t something I can do myself. Once we are able to get a second playpen and my other half has a night off, I might get him to shuffle some things around. Or we might just give them one of the spare bedrooms and bunny-proof that instead, once I have full mobility and can organize things.

That sounds good I understand the mobility issue, I have mobility issues too although mine is due to lung disease. At my old house, on a particularly bad day I just had to block off the stairs as I couldn’t keep going up and down them if Buttercup wanted to get into mischief. 

[Von]

Thankfully, our house is a single floor, so we don’t have to worry about stairs. They like to explore under the couch sometimes, but that’s it.

We’ve lived here for almost a year, though it was a rough start: I got pneumonia the week we moved in and had just finished the antibiotics when I fell on my way to work and shattered my left ankle in 3 places. I never even had a chance to unpack.

Part of the reason we adopted Boopie and Lil was so that I wouldn’t be alone all the time. My other half works some crazy hours, and I’ve been staring at the same 4 walls for nearly a year, so it’s nice to have some company when he’s gone.

Hubs and I are both animal lovers and always knew that we wanted a bunny (we didn’t plan on having two, but they were the last of their litter and we just couldn’t bring ourselves to split them up or choose just one). Having them around has done wonders for my mental state, and I never imagined it was possible to love somebunny (giggle) this much.

We definitely plan to litter-train them once they are fixed though. And, once I can get around a bit easier, I’ll either set up one of the spare rooms for them or have him shuffle things around so they can get more exercise even if he isn’t here.

Everyone I’ve met on these boards thus far has been super-kind and helpful. Thank you both again!

[Hazel]

Welcome to the world of bunnies! 

I agree with the others, sounds like she’s marking.

One thing I wanted to mention: 3-4 months of age is pretty young to have them fixed, in my opinion. Those hormones are very important to their skeletal development. I don’t know what breed your buns are, but even with a small breed I would wait until they’re at least 6 months old, and close to their adult size. Just my two cents.  I know when they hit their teenage phase it’s not always possible to wait that long.

[Von]

Thanks for your input, and for the welcome.

My buns are both part lionhead (Daddy is pedigreed with papers and a tattoo), though I’m not sure what breed Mama Bun was (a lop, I think).

I’m hoping that neutering will fix (pun intended) some of Boopie’s more aggressive behaviour. He was so sweet when we got him, and now he’s constantly hissing and growling at Lil, trying to attack her through the cage. It’s my understanding that rabbits fight to the death, and I’m really scared that he’ll hurt her, or worse, if we don’t get him fixed ASAP.

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