Shy rabbit

[Sam]

After adopting a rabbit last Saturday (Spartan) from a terrible pet store at the least. He/she is acting weird. She was brought as a girl for my other rabbit as a partner they have been out together slowly twice and seemed to love each other. Kissing, grooming. Cuddling even sleeping together on my bed after sniffing each other through cages for days. Benji my female She seemed to bring out a slight personality in Spartan but Spartan seems too laid back, is eating overly amount very skinny, after taking him/her to the vets today we discovered she might actually be a he, (testicles can be hidden in stomach when scared) vet said it is hard to tell this early and to keep checking myself and we will review in a month when back for next round of injections. The pet shop said he is around 6 months. I have googled some male rabbits can drop their balls later than others? Could this be true or should I get a others vets opinion. Spartan has also been acting blind very cautious eating not seeing my hand slowly coming towards him/her, sniffing for things in his cage rather than noticing them like other rabbits. The vet checked and said all looks okay but could be somehing to do with nerves in rabbits and to see how things go. Does anyone have any experience with an extremely shy rabbit? He seems to like being picked up and let’s you easily kiss, stroke cuddle and hold but when left to explore is uneasy and ends up lying or sitting down. I am also worried my female could be pregnant as she was due a to be neutered in two weeks(due to needles) but was told by the pet store as both females it wouldn’t matter putting them together for short periods of times to slowly introduce them. They have not been humping but jumping ontop of each other to rub scent and sort of roll off in a cuddle. I also have a male rabbit who is neutered and saw male parts before quite obvious so am unsure what to do.

[Wick & Fable]

Welcome to the BB community Sam! That’s a lot of information, so definitely good to come to the forums and get some recommendations. I am not personally experienced with bonding, but I’ll share what I know based on research and what I’ve read through other’s experiences. Other members will probably chime in as well.

Yes, male parts can drop later than 6mo. Unusual, but possible. Wick’s dropped at 8mo.

You should separate them now, knowing the uncertainty is there. Also, they should stay separated at the least until after your other rabbit’s spay, plus 1-2 months in order to let her hormones fully regulate//dissipate. Following a spay, hormones go through a spike that amplify “bad” behaviors, that make interactions with a potential bonding partner very unfriendly potentially. Any bad air could lead to difficulties down the road when you want to properly bond them. The ideal, though it is not time and space-wise, is to have both your new rabbit and your female fixed, wait 2 months after your new rabbit is fixed, then begin doing dates, short interactions, etc.. Until then, they should be separated to prevent potential hardships. While they seem to get along now, it could be Spartan’s hormones have not kicked in yet, so inevitably a young rabbit will have kind interactions with any other rabbit. If/Once the hormones do kick on, the cuddles may turn into fights, aggressive humping, etc., so separation now is best.

It’s concerning that Spartan is very skinny but this may explain why he/she eats so much, as he/she has low food security (i.e. unsure when next meal will be, so stuff in as much as possible). Hopefully as Spartan realizes you’ll be giving he/she appropriate quantities of food regularly, he/she will be less of a glutton. Gaining weight is a priority though, especially because you want he/she at a healthy weight before any fixing procedures.

Since your vet ruled out blindness, I’d attribute the “blindness” you’re seeing as rabbit tunnel vision. This happens to Wick frequently that I too have had talks with my vet about potential neurological or vision problems. In the end, Wick simply snaps into a “daydream” mode very fast, and has very selective attention. If he’s fixated on something, he won’t notice a frying pan slamming on the ground, a foot about to walk into him, etc.. Being in a new environment, there are a lot of new cues and items of stimulation Spartan is trying to take in, so fixating on one and tuning out others is natural and more healthy than getting overwhelmed by turning his/her head at every new stimuli. Give some more time, take it slow, and as Spartan settles in, you may see a diminishing of the selective attention. Wick still has it though, but Wick is also quite dumb, haha.

In terms of your rabbit ownership and set-up (I noticed you mentioned a neutered male; current ownership? Is the male housed with the unspayed female?), can you give more details?

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.

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