Possible bond-mate – rabbit with no front teeth

[ThorBunny]

Hi all!

Some of you may know I am thinking of adopting a companion for Thor. We are unsure whether she will get along with anyone, having had some issues before. However, we have decided to try! We will take her to the local rabbit shelter to do some speed dating before taking somebunny home. And the shelter is happy to send a bondmate out on a conditional adoption in case it doesn’t work out. (I would hope this didn’t happen, but I don’t really have the space for two permanent separate rabbitats). 

OK, crux of my question: I have had my eye on a particular bun for a while (been at the shelter for months), the adoption lady there also thinks he would make a good match for Thor personality wise. This bun is quite young but had to have his incisors removed due to past neglect! Obviously it will be Thor’s choice. However, I wanted to be prepared in case we do choose him:

1) Is it even fair to bond a rabbit who can’t nip back? I would hate for him not to be able to defend himself

2) Any other health or care concerns adopting a rabbit missing teeth? I know you have to cut the veggies up small. Anything else to look out for? 

It would be great to hear if anyone has experience with rabbits with incisors removed, any tips or bonding experiences? Thanks so much for reading!

[Mikey]

Thats a hard one. Nipping is how rabbits communicate that they dont like things with other rabbits. If shes nipping him and he can only lip at her, it might make their communication a bit confusing at first. Once they get along though, nipping shouldnt be too much of a concern.

Food is a big one. He might eat slower all together and might need completely different food. I have to feed my three buns separately because of food aggression and it works out fine, so I would just recommend feeding them separately.

Before you choose him and take him home, have her go on a bunny speed date with him at the shelter She will tell you then if she chooses him or not.

[tobyluv]

I volunteer at a rabbit sanctuary, where we give rabbits a home for life. We had a rabbit who recently passed away at the age of 10 or 11, who had to have his incisors removed at an early age due to severe malocclusion. He lived in our health care building after his teeth were removed. He had a few different companions over the years. For his last couple of years, he shared an x-pen with 2 female rabbits. One was older, but the other was a young rabbit. As far as I know, he was never picked on or had trouble bonding. He did have his salad greens cut into smaller pieces.

[ThorBunny]

Thanks Mikey and Tobyluv!

I will of course let Thor choose her own favorite boy bun, but it is great to know it is possible for her to bond to the bun with removed teeth If it comes to that I will of course keep a close eye on her to make sure there are no problems with nipping.

I’ll update this thread when we get a bun for bonding.

[Author]

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