Possible Friend for Captain :D

[Rinibugg]

 So, after tons of pleading and quite a bit of guilt tripping, Nik finally agreed to let me get Captain Hammer [most often called Bunnyface] a friend. We both work 8+hours a day, and I feel like the few hours she gets of us at night isn’t enough.

I’ve been scouring the HRA sites for adoptables, when I found someone wanting to get rid of their mini-lop.

 

She said that he had just recently been neutered, but since being neutered he had become exceedingly aggressive with his companion. Nik said that he’s worried Captain will get territorial [we don’t know if she’s a boy or girl…but she’s started this weird circling our feet thing lately] or the other bunny will just naturally be aggressive towards her since he has been to his companion.

Any thoughts? 

 

I want my bun to have a friend…but her safety and well-being obviously comes first. :]

[Otti]

Well, I’ve heard numerous times that rabbits sometimes have to be re-bonded after being neutered or spayed, so the rabbit you saw on craigslist might just need to be re-bonded to his female companion. The lady who is getting rid of him just probably isn’t aware of that.

Honestly, if i were looking for a second rabbit, I would go through a well-organized rabbit shelter, because the bonding process can be quite lengthy and difficult (as I’m sure you’ve seen in the bonding section). If you go through a rescue, they would let you test your bunny out with different ones that they have on ‘dates’ and then determine who she is most comfortable with, but you’d still have to bond her further to them at home. For that reason, you’d most likely have to keep them initially separate for some time, till it’s safe enough to keep them together.

[Rinibugg]

I just feel like this bun might not go to a good home, because people on craigslist and such can be total meanies :[

She said that he ripped one of his stitches, and she thinks the bun might think his companion did it and that’s why he’s gotten aggressive…I’m supposed to go visit the bun friday, but Captain HATES travelling in the car and it’s like she has a sixth sense that can tell when I’m about to make her do so. :[

[Otti]

She doesn’t sound like she’s that informed. You should let her know that rabbits sometimes need to be re-bonded after they are altered, and direct her to some resources here or elsewhere online. She could try rebonding them and it could work out fine.

I know you feel you need to help this rabbit out, but just one visit won’t tell you if your rabbit is suited to be with him. It’s more of a process, that’s why finding a rabbit on craigslist is probably not a good idea if it’s your second rabbit.

Someone else might have better advice than me though. I’ve never bonded rabbits so I only have limited knowledge.

[Monkeybun]

Is your current bun spayed or neutered? If not, I would suggest not even thinking of getting another until that is done. The circling of your feet tells me he/she is ready to mate, and is hormonal. Which also tells me, if another bun is brought in, he/she will get territorial.

Also… I would suggest getting rid of that wire floor cage. Wire floors are not good for little bun feet.

[Rinibugg]

 oh! I did get rid of that cage. That picture was also when i was trying to clean it out, so her blanket was pushed into the other corner.

 

I actually found this other cage that is almost 3ft long and has a ramp and everything at petsmart for 90 dollars…I bought it immediately and now she won’t come out of it play :] She just sits in there while I sit in front of the cage reading, occasionally tossing hay out at me.

 

And when I rescued her from the carnival, the guy said she was spayed…but I don’t know how much I’d rely on his word [especially since i dont think you can ‘fix’ a bunny at 8 weeks]  :/ She also does this thing after she’s done circling where she flops over on her side. Nearly gave me a heart attack…

.

The new cage is a plastic floor.

[Monkeybun]

At 8 week sis very unlikely she was spayed. I’d take her in and get a vet to check her.

[Beka27]

I’m not thinking a carnival would spay a rabbit. If you were looking to purchase the rabbit, the guy probably just told you that to help “seal the deal”. It’s important that your rabbit is altered prior to even thinking about another bunny. Try and contact this woman again, let her know that she should continue to try re-bonding her two bunnies. In the meantime, get your rabbit altered, wait a month, and then contact this woman and see what the status is of her wanting to keep him or not. If one of the bunnies is unaltered, introductions won’t go well and no one is going to be very happy.

[Sarita]

She’s not spayed, I can guarantee this. First, get your rabbit to a vet to do a well check and scheduled the spay or neuter.

I agree with Beka and with Otti – give the woman information from the internet on bonding rabbits. I think that most people who post on Craiglist are uninformed and sometimes do give you sob stories to find their animals homes.

Never let someone guilt you into getting an animal…put your current animal and yourself first.

[Beka27]

Posted By Sarita on 11/17/2010 06:02 AM

Never let someone guilt you into getting an animal…put your current animal and yourself first.

 

Wonderful advice.  Quite literally… the single best thing I’ve heard all day.  I think we should all get t-shirts with this statement on it. 

[Otti]

You definitely want to get a vet check for your bunny so they can give you confirmation of your bunny’s sex, its approximate age, and check its health. Then, at the same time, you can talk to the vet about getting him/her spayed/neutered.

Since your bunny is very young, and very unlikely to have been already altered, it’s really too early to think about getting it a pal. I would wait till you know the sex for sure, and like Beka said, till it’s altered and definitely has had it’s hormones die down (one month after the surgery).

[Rinibugg]

I didn’t set out to buy a bunny when I found captain…it’s just she was so adorable and being treated so HORRIBLY at the carnival…i wanted to save ALL the baby bunnies, but she seemed the worst off out of all of them. she had patches of fur ripped out and such when I got her. I would rather adopt, than by a bunny…but it was like a momma instinct set in when i saw her lol.

I’m going to call the lady tonight about her mini lop to tell her about rebonding…she also said that she ran a daycare and that her kids were allergic…so I feel like she’s just going to get rid of it anyway.

But You all are right about spaying/neutering captain before I get her a friend.

[Beka27]

Yes, this woman sounds like she’s just making up excuses. It is not your responsibility to “save her” from her animals. And if the kids are allergic, why on earth is she only getting rid of one bunny?!

It sounds like Captain really, really needed you, and I’m so thankful you took her and now she’s safe. Definitely see to her first, get her vetted and altered and THEN you can decide if you still want a second.

[Rinibugg]

>< So I know y'all aren't gonne be too pleased, but my signifigant other got the mini lop anyway

So far he’s eating and minding his own business….we have him and Captain separated in different rooms of the house, and we’re starting a cage switching regime tonight. I called Captain’s doctor and she’s on vacation until after Christmas…but I had a friend of mine sex her since she takes care of rabbits, and she says captain is a girl. So I’m hoping to Spay her after New Year’s.

I’ve been paying the same amount of attention to Captain as usual…and she seems fine with the change, but Gwydion seems really cautious of her.

Can anyone offer any advice on this? I was going to wait get a second rabbit until Captain was a little older…looks like things got rushed a little. O___O So far both rabbits are healthy…and I have an appointment for both Captain [aka Loki] and Gwydion once their vet gets back.

[Rinibugg]

 Oh! here’s a pic of Gwydion :3

[jerseygirl]

Oh, I like that name and the spelling of it!

Wow, your S.O. kinda threw you in the deep end huh. Glad you said you’re keeping them well separated. Even though Gwydion is supposed to have been neutered according to this lady – play it safe. Even newly neutered the sperm is still viable. It’s a good idea to have a sort of quarantine period and vet check up before introductions.

Do you know the sex of the other rabbit this lady had and if it was fixed? It sounds like she had them back in together straight after his op.

[Beka27]

I wouldn’t start switching cages until after she is spayed and after he has had a thorough check-up, including fecal test for parasites. Just keep them separate for now.

[Sarita]

I agree with Beka – do not start anything until Captain is spayed and wait at least a month after that for healing and for the hormones to calm down.

[Author]

Messages