Spay and Unneutered (for now)

[ViviYaan]

I recently got Shaggy about a month ago so Binkie would have partner in crime all day long as she is very social and was struggling when I left even for a few hours. (She is much happier now).
Anyway, Binkie had been spay 3 months before I acquired Shaggy. He was kept in awful conditions in a pet supplier and they didn’t really know his age. I think he’s about 3 or 4 months old. Reason I haven’t taken him to the vet yet is the area I’m in doesn’t have a lot of vets comfortable working with rabbits and my usual vet is on a one month holiday. Shaggy is already humping Binkie (which she normally isn’t phased by and if she is she just darts away and Shaggy doesn’t really persue the issue). I see from posts and other sources that the general advice is to keep them separate until neutering but they are just so in love, it was so easy to the bond them and they do everything together. They are free roaming in the day and at night Shaggy goes to the bathroom as he is still weeing on the bed, Binkie stays in the bedroom with me at night but last night she didn’t sleep next to me which was unusual. Should I be keeping them together at night too maybe? I will be seeing my vet ASAP to sort out Shaggys neutering but in the mean time I would like some tips and opinions on how I should keep them at night? I don’t want to upset Binkie by putting her in a small space at night because she hasn’t lived in an enclosed space since last year and Shaggy is too pee happy right now to keep him out at night when I’m sleeping. I really want to emphasize that they do absolutely everything together and have never even come close to aggressive behaviour.

[Sirius&Luna]

I don’t think it’s safe to keep an unneutered male with a spayed female, however happy they seem.

Unneutered males can be extremely annoying. They may seem happy now, but he could easily annoy her one too many times, and they could get into a nasty fight. If he humps her face he could end up with bitten genitals.

I would really advise separating them until a month after his neuter.

[tobyluv]

I agree that your rabbits should be separated now. Otherwise you are risking fighting and severe injuries, plus rabbits can hold a grudge if they fight and are injured, and then they may never want to be together again. If Shaggy is only 3 or 4 months old, he may just be starting to enter puberty and dealing with hormones, which is why he and Binkie have been okay up to  now. But that can change in an instant. Shaggy may become overtaken with hormones at any time, and there will be trouble. The consequences can be severe. They should be totally separated now, not even let out to play for a few minutes together. They are not bonded now. Very young/baby bunnies do not develop a bond with other rabbits. A permanent bond only comes later. After both have been spayed and neutered and have gone through the bonding process.

Even if your vet is on holiday, you may be able to schedule Shaggy’s neuter now, so that it can be done as soon as possible. A month or so after his surgery, you can start the bonding process.

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