Possibly pregnant????

[kATy]

We just adopted what we were told was a 3 yr old male mini rex that was neutered. But the more I read online about how to care for him properly I am starting to believe that he is actually an unspayed female that may have be pregnant. He is still trying to get used to his new environment and to us we have had him about a week. At first he would roam pretty freely around my 10yr son’s bunny proofed room but now he won’t come out of his cage and has started pulling out his fur and smells oddly like onions???… I googled these things and it seems as if maybe he is pregnant? I made an appointment with the vet but we can’t be seen till next week. Does anyone have any advise? Also he is eating drinking and pooping regular hard droppings so I don’t believe it is the gi stasis that I’ve read about.

[Mikey]

Pulling fur in a male usually means stress. Smelling like onions sounds like territory pee or territory poop, both normal for a male or female, spayed/neutered or unspayed/unneutered rabbit in a new area.

What is his diet? His poops shouldnt be too hard.

[Bam]

If it’s a pregnant doe, the babies will come within a couple of days. Pregnant does pull fur and make a nest very late in the pregnancy, often the day before the kits are due.

Unspayed does are rather prone to false pregnancies. That means their body “believe” it’s pregnant. The doe makes a nest, pulls her own fur (it loosens from the skin due to hormones) and then there are no kits and it all resolves.

In a male, fur pulling could be due to the stress of being in a new home. It doesn’t have to be “bad” stress, just the stress of an unfamiliar environment.

Territorial poop from both bucks and does, neutered or intact, smell like onions. A bunny in a new environment needs to mark the territory and will thus produce onion-smelling poop. Territorial poops are slightly bigger than regular poop and often shiny. The shininess is from the oil that holds the oniony smell.

If he’s eating and drinking, pooping and peeing it’s not an emergency.

You will know very soon if she’s pregnant. Keep an eye on her, give her a nest box (can be a very simple cardboard thing, if there really are kits you can exchange it for sth better later). Don’t place the box so that the kits can fall out of it, they need to stay wrapped in mama’s fur so they don’t get cold, because a mama bun doesn’t lie with her kits like a cat or dog mama does. She just feeds them twice a day and hops off again.

[kATy]

We have been feeding him only Timothy hay. He will not eat the pellets that the shelter gave us. He just dumps them out. He has refused all vegetables including romaine, baby carrots, and celery. But he does eat his hay and drinks nearly a full bottle of water. I feel really bad if his hair pulling is stress.? We have done our best to not freak him out. I really hope the vet can help us. I also read something about his anal glands??? Super gross. I read that those might be causing the oniony smell. Does anyone know can those get infected?

[kATy]

Thank you so much Bam. That was actually REALLY helpful. So far no babies. So you guys are probably right that it is just stress and territory issues. Hopefully he will start to like us a little better soon.

[Bam]

It’s great that he’s eating hay. It’s the best food for a bunny. I think a pregnant doe would eat pellets, because they have an instinct to fill up on highly nutritious food when they are expecting.

I’m certain he will settle in, it’s not at all out of the ordinary for a bun to go through an adjustment period in a new home. Getting a new home is a big deal for an adult bun. Thank you for taking him in!

Here’s a nice instruction-video on how to clean a bun’s scent glands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x9dbSUdomg

[LittlePuffyTail]

If he’s stressed out, make sure he has a place of his own where he can feel secure. An upside down cardboard box with a door and window cut in it works great. It’s very important for a bunny to have their own space and a place where they can retreat when they are scared or want to be alone.

[Author]

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