Separate after surgery?

[Duke&Willow]

My dominant girl Willow had to get an abscess removed yesterday. The vet didn’t want Duke, her husbun, to go into surgery with her so I brought him for moral support before the surgery. After the surgery, the vet explained that Willow had an open hole and drain in tube to help her abscess. Because of this, he recommended keeping Willow and Duke separated for 7-10 days. Since she had an open hole on the side of her head, I decided to leave Duke at home when I picked Willow up. Once she got home, Willow seemed back to her self. I let the bunnies have a supervised playtime and watched to make sure Duke wasn’t picking at her wound. As soon as I let them play, D started chasing and nipping W ‘s back. Because of this, I decided to end the reunion and put them back in separate areas. Both bunnies did NOT enjoy this as they’re used to freely roaming an entire house, not a portion. As long as the bunnies are supervised, I let them play together. Today went better but D started to groom and nip a little at her wound so I separated them again. The problem is that if I keep them separated they fight when put back together again. Should I wait until after 7-10 days to attempt to bond them again or would little sessions together benefit their bond? When I’m not supervising them they go back into separate areas (the vet said to do this). I trust this vet but part of me feels like Duke should’ve been able to go into the office with Willow. Maybe they didn’t allow this beach use of RHDV2? W goes back in for a follow up on the 7th. Should I try bonding them before then or is it useless because W has to go in again? Also, am I making the right decision keeping them separated? For anything minor I wouldn’t but W has a tube in her ear and a hole under it and I don’t want D to pick at it. Thanks!

[DanaNM]

I’ve had to separate buns before for medical treatment, and they have usually gone back together without incident. I also know of some cases where even though all the buns went to the vet and stayed together, they still had issues after the vet. So try not to stress! Sometimes there might be some bonding sessions needed, but they will probably rebond quickly.

If they get tense and nippy when you let them be together right now, I would keep them separate until she’s healed. I think it would be better to just wait and then do it all in one go, rather than risk and injury or a setback. Plus they are interacting in non-neutral space which would make things more tense.

. . . 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.  

[Duke&Willow]

Thank you so much!!

[Author]

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