Super stressed about my 2 male rabbits!

[Deleted User]

I am not new to owning rabbits, but I have a weird scenario. I have always wanted a Netherland Dwarf so I ended up with a brother/sister pair. They were 7 weeks on 11-11-15 when they came home with me. The female was the runt of the litter and despite me nurturing her, she passed away late Friday night/early Saturday morning 11-13-15. Even though I was sad she had passed so young I knew her brother, Buckeye, did not take it well at all and it broke my heart to see how he was behaving. He and Snowball would normally get up in my lap and give kisses and snuggle. They always wanted attention. But now he would only drink his water excessively and he would tremble or run away when I tried to pet him. I read that you should bring a new friend in ASAP to lighten the depression. That day I went to every pet store I could find looking for a suitable mate for Buckeye since he is so much smaller than other juvenile rabbits. I saw a Holland Lop being mishandled by overzealous customers, so I took him home. Buckeye immediately took to him. I kept the cages seperate the first night and only let them play when I was home to let them free roam our house but the Lop, Einstein, insists on sleeping with Buckeye in his cage. Not wanting to put more stress on him, that is where he is sleeping tonight. I tested them under supervision and they free-roamed for 6+ hours problem free and they were in the same cage for 2 hours with no objection. Long story shorter: It is day two since Buckeye’s mate died and I still have to take his water away from him per vet’s orders so he doesn’t drink himself to death. He eats but does not touch his toys. He plays with his new brother sometimes but he is still not being his happy self 100% which is partly because it is only day 2. Despite him being able to roam the whole house, he plays for a couple minutes and runs back to his cage. Einstein is incredibly shy due to being mishandled by kids and such. I am concerned for both of them. I don’t mean to sound selfish but I am worried that neither rabbit will ever trust me. When I finally took Snowball’s body away from Buckeye he tried to stop me but I couldn’t just leave her body in there all day. I think he blames me for taking Snowball. I shower them with praise and try to be as non-invasive of their personal space as possible and let them come to me if they want to. Neither of them will have anything to do with me or my husband and will actually run away if we walk by. This is weird for Buckeye. Because they are 8 and approx. 10 weeks old this week I am concerned once they mature they will notice they are both male and they will somehow unbond. This is a lot of crazy rambling but does anybody have advice? I just want my fur babies to be happy and healthy.

-Sincerely,
A concerned rabbit mom.

[Bam]

I’m so sorry that you lost Snowball.
I think Buckeye is grieving, like you say you think yourself. I think you are doing all that can be done for him, you’ve given him a new friend, you see to it that he doesn’t harm himself by drinking too much, you’ve obtained advice from a vet. What’s most important now is that he keeps eating and pooping and moving about even if he won’t play or binky etc. I think having Einstein around will eventually help him a lot.

I think your buns will learn to trust you with time. Rabbits tend to need quite som time before they trust people. It’s probably because they are like the prey-animals of prey-animals and their instinct to run away is very strong. With my bunnies I have found that persistence and patience is key. You had to take Snowball away, of course, and from your description of their close bond it seems unlikely that you could’ve lured Buckeye away from her in order to take her when he didn’t see it. Leaving her dead body there just wasn’t an option.

When the boys become sexually mature, you should have them neutered at the earliest possible time, before they get into any serious fighting. If you do that, they are very likely to re-bond unproblematically after having healed from their neuters. Male intact rabbits fight even if they are friends – they can then “call it a truce”, be friendly and snuggly for a while, but they invariably start fighting again and they can really hurt each other, so you can’t let that happen.

I hope everything goes well for you and Buckeye and Einstein.

[Deleted User]

Thank you for your advice and encouragement. There are no vets that I have seen within an hour of here that specialize in small animals and will operate. The closest place to spay and neuter them has absolutely terrible reviews with complaints such as death and unnecessary surgeries ordered post-mortem costing over a thousand dollars. I’m just really feeling paranoid and anxious about my babies. My husband will testify that I get up several times during the night to check on them and if he is home “babysitting” I will text him constantly asking how they are. I truly do appreciate the support. I will keep trying to build a relationship with them. I was happy to see that Buckeye decided to climb over the baby fence today. That is more like him, but Einstein is consistently lying flattened under the table lately and his head sometimes will sway from side to side as he sits. I am keeping a close eye on him, but still concerned that he could be ill without my knowledge and no deep well of Healthcare nearby to pull from.

[Bam]

Sometimes when a rabbit sleeps/is falling alsleep it will move its head in like a faint, rocking motion. Check his ears in case you’re worried about a balance-issue. There should – of course – be no goo and no smell and no tenderness to the touch. Rabbits do tend to lie about most of the day. I’m glad Buckeye shows more initiative now, even if a bunny climbing over the baby-fence is not always exactly what you wish for =)

If you say what general area (no specifics!) you’re in, maybe members here know about vets within your reach. The vet you describe sounds like a huge no-no. You can perhaps get tips on vets from local rescues/shelters. A rabbit neuter should today be regarded as a very simple standard procedure.

[Deleted User]

I will keep that in mind. Thanks

I live near Clarksville, TN

[Author]

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