Post neutering behavior

[Missy B]

Hi I am new here, but I decided since I am often looking to this site for advice it’s time I join.First of all let me start by saying until we adopted/rescued our first bunny Bean, she’s a girl who we were at first told was a boy hence the male sound to her name, I had no idea the joy loving a bunny would bring!!! I also didn’t realize how different their care is from other companion animals and I have been devoted to reading up on everything I can to ensure I am doing everything I can to keep my buns happy and healthy. Bean however is “my daughter’s bun bun” meaning she lives in her room and my daughter only lets her free roam in her room. I adopted my own bunny Trixie, who is a male but I was told was a female, but is actually a male. Though since he was named after a famous drag queen his name is perfect lol! Ok after all that back story, while Bean only needed to be provided with a litter box and bam she was perfectly litter trained Trixie has proved much more difficult. I kept reading once your male/buck is neutered litter training will be much easier. That doesn’t seem to be the case and he only goes, and even then sparingly if I put him in his litter box. He was only neutered a week ago today, but I, from everything I’ve read, thought basically when I picked Trixie up from the vet after neutering he would be a completely different bunny. He has seemed to stop his circling behavior for everyone but my daughter which I assume is because he smells her female on her. How long should I expect for his testosterone’s to completely disappear and hopefully use his litter box on his own? Also he is a free roam bunny hence why I really need him to exclusively use his litter box. I have tried putting him in his cage when I catch him doing his business on the floor but it makes me feel like an absolute monster ? when I do.

[Bam]

Hi and welcome to BB!

Just after a neuter a rabbit can actually get extra hormonal. This is normal and has to do with the way the body tries to adjust to the sudden disruption of male sex hormones. For most male buns this phase lasts about 2 weeks post neuter, but everything up to 8 weeks is considered normal.

If you could have litterboxes in the room(s) where he is roaming you could put him in that immediately when you see him pee on the floor. It needs to be very quick so he connects peeing with the box. (Bringing him back to the cage could take too long time for him to make the connection. It should also not be a punishment, he hasn’t technically done anything to be punished for. Punishment is not an effective way to train rabbits because it primarily teaches them to avoid the human).

It’s very reasonable he circles your daughter because she smells like Bean. Having another rabbit in a household complicates litter training, becaue the presence of another bun calls for pee- and poop marking (instinctive, not by choice). Rabbits have a very, very keen sense of smell so hiding the presence of another bun is pretty much impossible.

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