so sad… don’t think i can keep harvey!!!! they dont like each other anymore!! :(

[<3 tallulah]

So just incase you haven’t read any of my previous pages ive got a small lionhead bunny called tallulah. shes 6 months now and not spayed yet (booked in 2 weeks) A wee while ago wee got harvey and the bonding was brilliant. He humped her for about 3 days and then she accepted he was boss and there was no more humping at all. Everything was brill and they shared the cage/run all the time. cery sute together, grooming, flooping together etc

 

THEN…….

 

2days ago i went out to the cage and theres LOADS of tallulah’s fur in the beding area. obv i panicked straight away but cleaned it up.. checked the bun etc and left them to it like normal. But today i went out before work to open the door and as soon as i opened the door tallulah started mounting harvey. Hes alot bigger than tallulah and he hates getting mounted so kept turning round to nip her side. She was adament she was humping tho. I know it prob wasnt the best thing to do but i seperated them in different areas and had to go to work. I came home tonight hoping it would be settled… but no! they are trying to hump each other again and circling aggressivly while nipping each other. Tallulah has lots of bald patches that you can see if you seperate her fur!

When we first addopted Harvey it was on a temp basis to see of they got on. The previous owners were out on sat and i told them everything was great (as it was!!) I just feel like both buns were happier before they were put together. well i know tallulah def was. the 2 of them sit and breath so heavily after a scuffle!! its so sad but im going to have to contact the previous owners n explain the situation!!! ive got so attached to harvey si its going to be very emotional!!

 

sorry its almosta novel ive wrote but as you can prob guess… im very stressed and upset!!

 

 

[Sarita]

Well, it’s possible when you get Tallulah spayed she will calm down. You will need to let her heal and start all over again.

It probably is best not to trying bonding rabbits who are both not altered.

Also it can take awhile for bonding to happen so you have to be patient as well and you may have to really be vigilant in your bonding. Just because they scuffle doesn’t mean they don’t like each other – you just need to step back, get Tallulah spayed and start over again.

[BinkyBunny]

Is Harvey neutered? I am assuming so as of course then putting them together would cause “more” rabbits.

I agree with Sarita that you should start over after tallulah has been spayed for a month. You need to let her hormones die down first. She is at the peak of her hormones developing and she is going to be territorial. So before giving up, just keep them separated for a couple of months and start again after the spay (again, wait at least a month to let the hormones die down)

Also, I recommend introducing them in a neutral territory. Check out our bonding page for step by step bonding advice.

Be sure to check them over thoroughly for any bites as even little bites can turn into abscess.  Also look at their genitals to make sure nothing has been bitten there.  (it’s not uncommon if one mounts the other face forward that the one being mounted will bite the privates) Ouch!

[Deleted User]

It’s kind of early to say Harvey needs to go. You had an easy bond but sometimes, they just hold off with the sorting out of hierarchies till later. Tallulah’s maturing definitely contributed to this newly displayed dominance. Have her spayed, i think you said Harvey is already neutered, so after one month of her being spayed you can start the real bonding. Take it slow since they have had a llittle falling out.

[jerseygirl]

I will urge you to give them a chance too. It’s not unusual for this to happen when one rabbit is this age and not altered. You did the right thing separating them for now – it’s safer for them both. Just having Harvey around his humping before could have possibly caused Tallulah hormones to go awry. Her spay will definately help. If you can house them separately for a few months, you may be able to rebond them and it be a lasting bond. Can you let his former family know and see if they will take him if they don’t rebond later?

You have mentioned elsewhere that Harvey is fixed.  Do you know how long ago that was?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

shes 6 months now and not spayed yet

Are you attempting to bond a bun who isn’t spayed? Big no-no!! Honestly you will just have troulbe-either from the unfixed one-or the other!

I would give Harvey another chance AFTER Tallulah is spayed

My Rupert is HORRIBLE to other rabbits-the bonding was a bit tough…and at times I regretted brining him home But he’s bonded and fine now

tallulah started mounting harvey

Time to phone your vet and get her booked for the spay Not being spayed will REALLY affect how they get along.

[Beka27]

Absolutely, you need to wait until Tallulah is spayed and healed before putting them together (or within 3 inches “biting distance” of each other). Once she is spayed and healed for about a month, that’s when the bonding sessions can officially begin.

[<3 tallulah]

ok so the situation is that i was originally going to give Harvey back to his previous owners and try them out again once tallulah has been dressed but ive managed to turn the cage into 2 seperate areas where they can still smell each other and see each other every noe and again so that i can try and bond them just after xmas.
im hoping it will be ok because they love each oother loads and love to cuddle… its just because wee tallulah is being too frisky!!! Shes getting spayed on 28th of this month so what do you reckon i should wait… i was thinking just after xmas??!

fingers crossed because they are honestly too cute together… normally

also a wee quick question… do bunnies pee if nervous?! Harvey is litter trained but when they were on my bed and tallulah started humping again a big spray of pee came out.. it was unusual from him so i assumed it was nervousnes!

thanks for the advise!!

[RabbitPam]

They can pee when they’re nervous. He also may have been marking your bed since it was new for him and they were on it together so he said “it’s mine.”

[BinkyBunny]

If he was “spraying” it can mean a number of things which include:

Territorial marking – just marking his territory and the things in it to reinforce they are HIS

Fighting: Some bunnies will also spray their opponent (two fighting males will spray each other)

Amorous: Some males will mark the females to let all other males know they are his. Jack does this to poor Vivian and he’s been neutered for 6 years!

So it depends on the situation whether it’s territorial, Aggression or Amorous.

[<3 tallulah]

UPDATE!!!!!

ok so tallulah is going to get spayed tomoro and i never expected to feel this nervous!!! ive been cuddling her all night lol!
i feel terrible because i need to work tomoro so my dad is taking her… it will be the longest shift EVER!! lol!

any advise on preparing and aftercare???

fingers crossed that her and harvey are buddies again in a few weeks they still love a cuddle… bless!

[jerseygirl]

Oh, good for you! The main thing is make sure she eats/drinks before her surgery. If she’s staying at the vets afterward, pack some of her food for her. It’s important to get them eating. Here’s the link to the House Rabbit Society tips on pre and post care. It mentions giving acidophilus however you don’t HAVE to do this. http://www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html Hope she goes well!

[Beka27]

(((Talulah!))) Keep us posted on how she does!

[Catayn]

Don’t be sad, I had the same problem.
They attacked each other for exactly 2 months. And when I said attacked, think of pitbulls. It was ugly. I kept them in different cages, but front to front and everyday I put them on the bed to see how they would react. And there was always a fight (started by the female). One day it just stopped and they hadn’t had a fight for 2 years now. They love each other so much that they will make a hall of a fight if you try to separate them.
Keep on trying!

[<3 tallulah]

ok so the vet said everything went fine with t he surgery and she been drinking loads which im happy about. shes been eating a small amount of straw but no pellets or veg. she usually loves carrots and pellets but wont touch them. thats been about 30hours since surgery and vet said as long as shes eating hay she should be ok.

what do you all think about the collar they give you to stop chewing the wound?? She hasnt bothered with it but hates the collar being on, i think i might be causing un-necessary stress! suggestions??

shes been so loving since the op and even fell asleep in my arms today! sooo cute

[BinkyBunny]

I’m glad the surgery went well. That’s great. I have never had a bunny that had to have the collar. And during the years I volunteered for SaveABunny, i rarely saw a collar on all of the bunnies that had to be spayed/neutered. . However, I have also learned from a past post via one of our leaders, Katnipcrzy, who is a vet tech, that some sutures can be more bothersome than others. (unless I am not remembering this correctly) So I’ll ask katnip to stop by this thread.

Do you know what kind of stitches they are? And I know others can pipe in with their experiences and so that also may help you decide what is best.  Did you vet say it was necessary or was it given just as a precaution. 

[KatnipCrzy]

I would talk to your vet to confirm why she was sent home with a cone- if they saw behavior at the office- excessive grooming- that would be a good indication that she might need a cone on to allow the incision to heal.  Minor grooming of the area is OK- excessive is not as saliva actually inhibits healing.

You could always have the cone off her when she is supervised- to give her a break from it.  Or you could modify a baby onsie to cover her spay incision so she cannnot lick the sink directly.

I would definitely as the vet why the sent the cone home- were they possible warning signs she might not leave the incicion alone- or is is standard practice to do so after any spay?

Some sutures can be more irritating to some bunnies- but it is impossible to tell beforehand if your bunnies body will react to the suture with and swelling or puffiness.  Sometimes Stainless steel sutures are used and left with pokey/wire ends to discourage any grooming- we had a member post here about that on her bunny.

[<3 tallulah]

right so heres whats been going on since my last post… Tallulahs surgery was on the friday and by the sunday she still hadnt really eaten or pood. i phoned my vet first thing monday morning and she said to bring her up. they gave her some sort of jag to get her bowels moving and kept her in till the wednesday!!!! Longest couple days of my life!! lol

so it saturday now and ive put the rabbits together… theyve spent the day together yesterday and today so i thought id see how they went…. they really are a perfect match! happy mum and happy buns!!

thanks for advise and support etc….. we’re grateful lol!!

[MooBunnay]

is Tallulah all healed up now? If not, you need to keep a very very close on them when they are together, because if they fight you do not want her to injure her spay incision, or end up opening it back up, because it could become infected and painful.

I’m glad to hear they are doing well together again, since Tallulah has been spayed so recently, it would not surprise me if she tried mounting Harvey again, so if that happens and they get in a fight, separate them again and give them a break for a couple more weeks until Tallulah settles down completely.

[Beka27]

I’m glad to hear she’s doing better since her little scare. Spays are sometimes hard on the girls… boys (as usual!) have it much easier…

[BinkyBunny]

I am so glad she’s doing better, but I am feeling rather “EEEK!” of the fact that the two bunnies are already together.(biting nails in worry) I would suggest she needs more time to heal first, but if you able to fully supervise, then maybe it would be okay, but I wouldn’t leave them together unsupervised at this point.

[<3 tallulah]

lol… its so cute to see everyone concerned about them… we’re just craaaazy bout our buns

just to let you all know tho there absoloutly fine together… so happy to be with each other again. binkies galore lol!!

ive lost my camera (sad time) but ill get some pics to let you ll see.

[TheBunnyGirl]

hi, im bonding my buns to.

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