Pee Issue (another one but different)

[Oscar]

Hey guys gals and buns.

i know there is a million posts about rabbits peeing and the various reasons, however this is a curious one.

So, little Oscar about 18months old, we got him at around 4-5months old.

had lots of issues with him spraying and scenting but this was expected. Got him very well litter trained and had the rare and random spray if we over excited him.
Now Oscar loves nothing more than trying to hump the loving daylights out of me or snugging 24/7 and being next to me as much as possible.

He had his vaccinations about a month ago and a few days after this he decided to poop right infront of his litter trays like a strange line of ‘do not cross this line’ but also get overly excited real easy and sprays again and again day after day.
He is crazy heathy and crazy loved and looked after but wondered if the vaccinations have any side effects or time of year or anything else for him to all of a sudden spray everything and me.
The only advice i find online is chop his balls off but nature made him this way and i cant bring myself to do it to him. Looking for behavioural teachings or advise to stop my house stinking of stale spray.

my last little man i had was neutered and he did have some health issues later in his life due to this. (Rest his soul) 😢

 

Oscar lives as a lone bunny with a magical bond and lots of love and attention. He will  not take to a mate well at all as he is so protective and jealous of me.

any advice would be great and again sorry for raising another pee thread.

[GlennTheLionhead]

Hey!

The short answer is that you cannot train hormones out of a bun. The urges are simply too strong. He will have seasons of being calmer though. The reason the advice your seeing is castration is because it is the only way you can actually prevent this behaviour happening regularly unfortunately 🙁 . The spike in hormonal behaviour could be down to the vet visit causing smells from other animals, seasonal changes, environmental changes, smells of other pets/animals.

One solution could be habitat changes to help ie., bunny proofing areas he goes in, making sure floors are easy clean and walls are protected from spaying, for walls you could use pyrex, washable lining etc. Easy washable materials will likely be your friend. Soft materials will likely retain smell :(. If you want to provide him soft flooring you can stock up on fleecey blankets and wash and swap them out every 2 day or as needed to keep things smelling fresh.

I fully respect your decision to not want to neuter him, but just to play devil’s advocate, neutering may not be natural however keeping an animal in our homes isn’t really natural either, this is often a reason people choose to neuter so they can help align domestic life with more domestic behaviours otherwise you have a male bunny essentially looking/waiting for mates that are never going to arrive – however people do have sucess with stuffy toys to help with frustration 🙂 just food for thought!

[Wick & Fable]

Similar to what Glenn mentions, you cannot train out hormonally-mediated behaviors. While I understand the reasoning behind “nature” made him that way, you want to to keep in mind that humans domesticated rabbits to create the breeds currently present, and compared to the thousands/millions of years we’ve done it for dogs and cats, domesticated rabbits do not have the foundation to be so moldable and overcome their hormones/nature by human training…. they are also dumber than dogs and cats.

Considering he is very healthy as you state, neutering would be a very safe procedure. Leaving him intact makes him vulnerable to stress from “natural” territorial and mating urges that you will not necessarily be able to resolve.

Re: whether he’d bond with another rabbit, I would not make any conclusions that he would not “take” to a mate. He is an intact male at the peak of his hormonal development so it is nearly impossible to try and find a rabbit he’d be compatible with. Rabbits in consideration for bonding need to both be spayed/neutered because their “natural” hormones literally impede the ability for them to establish a lifelong, stable bond.

 

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.

[Oscar]

Thanks for the great replies guys, i have digested the contents of both and i think i will go down the route of attempting a flooring that can be swapped out every few days, at the moment there are 3 loft boards covered in a waterproof rug approx 3m x 2m in his enclosure which is my lounge. When he is free he tries to pull the long twist pile carpet then pees when told ‘no’. I have got 2 dessert spoons which i click back to back when he is doing something he shouldnt and this seems to be curbing his mischief.
as for toys, he has a cuddly monkey, a flopped out soft bunny approx the same size as him and a tiny cuddly bunny, however, he cleans them but never humps them. His sole focus is on humping me, i have even put the large cuddly bunny on my arm and tried to get him to hump it while biting down on me just so i can get his scent on the toy and try to ween him off of me, but….. he kicks it aside and just wants me.
His spray is aimed towards me too, if i have had a long day at work, i come home and can pretty much guarantee he will spray at me then want to snuggle up and lean against me or cuddle in my arm while having his nose rubbed.

you have all taken time to write quite in-depth and helpful replies… this is why i love this forum. Very much appreciated and i will think about neutering very carefully, as i dont want him upset or stressed. Its a none reversible process so i really need to be 100% on it.

happy new year

[Author]

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