The Newbie needs HELP!!

[JodiM]

Hi, just wanted to update!! I’m new here, you may have seen my post introducing myself.

I just wanted to say that i brought my new bunny home today.  He’s been neutered, but I don’t think anyone told him!! lol  He’s humping everything in sight like crazy!  I gave him a stuffed bunny to perform with!

What is everyone thought on introducing my other bunny Flopsy whose female and spayed?  I have the new bunny in a cage in the same area(my kitchen)  Flopsy doesn’t seem the least bit interested in him and Carmel the male is very interested in her. Their cages are side by side, but Flopsy has full run of my house.  Should I move them??

Also, the new bun Carmel is not litter trained and he’s pooping all over his cage area.  I’m wondering if I’ve given him to big of an area to start with?  I have a 2 x 2 wire cage and it’s attached to a run that I made out of the storage cubes.  Should I cut his space back and just him him the 2 x 2 cage for a bit until he acquires the need to use the litter box?  I read the little info drop down on litter habbits so I’ll apply some of those tips and hopefully it will work out.

Okay, I’m done for now.. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Jodi

[bunnytowne]

was he neutered recently if so he will take time for the hormones to die down. may be why he is hump crazy right now. poor things. all they focus on when not neutered when his hormones die down I would place them next to each other to get used to the new bun smells etc. yes most likely

once his hormones die down he will settle into better litterbox habits. that can be hard when they won’t cooperate

[Beka27]

hmmm. i replied to this thread and it never showed up…

oh well. the pooping is most likely due to the new territory. that should die down as he gets used to the place and the hormones settle. i would put a nice big pile of hay in his litterbox to help encourage those good habits. there will be humping when you get them together, that is necessary for determining dominance. you don’t want serious fighting tho. if you haven’t yet, try to read some bonding articles from HRS and some other websites if you can.

[BinkyBunny]

Good question BunnyTowne asked – it can take a month or longer for hormones to die down. How long ago was he neutered?. Be sure to wait about a month after surgery before bonding them, and when you do so start in neutral place. Check this website under Bunny Info, there are also great bonding links in our links section

I think 2 feet by 2 feet is too small even during training. How big is the run right now?

I wouldn’t move them unless they show aggression that doesn’t die down.  Oh, and FYI, bunnies that are ignoring or “seemingly” disinterested may actually be interested but are purposely showing non-threatening behavior.  Bunnies will actually do this to say I may be interested in being a friend, I mean no harm.   But even with that do not introduce them in together in a familiar territory or that could all go out the window.

[Gravehearted]

welcome JodiMc, it certainly can take some time for a new bunny to get settled into a new house – especially if he’s just been neutered and his hormones are still raging. I would be inclined to try and found out when he was neutered – since it can take about a month for the hormones to die down. so you’ll want to wait for that before even thinking about trying to bond them.

I wouldn’t make his space smaller – since it doesn’t sound very large at all – but can you add a second litterbox in there? you might also try some hay or a sprig of veggies to entice him to use it.

[JodiM]

Okay, so a horrible thing happened last night, or maybe not soo horrible.
But I took Carmel (the male) out of the 2×2 pen and gave him a larger area. I used the shelving squares and made it two squares high. With indoor outdoor carpeting for the bottom.
Well at some point overnight he got out! My other bunnie Flopsy (The female) doesn’t get locked into her area. So they were out together for I dont’ know how long.

To answer your questions as to when Carmel was neutered, he was neutered last Thursday, so it hasn’t even been a week. I think it was too soon for them to be together, but no one is hurt, and they are both still hoping!

How should I take it from here??
Any idea’s on how Carmel got out of the area I built him??? As for now he is back in the 2×2 cage for the day. I will allow him running room, but for now that’s all I have.  I’ll rethink my plan this evening.
Any Ideas??
Pleaaaseee!!!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Your female is spayed correct? Because males can store sperm and are fertile for up to a month after a neuter…

Two squares isn’t that high for a bunny, specially if they have traction. Make it one more high and you should be good. Though if they were getting along…I’d be tempted to keep them together supervised and see how it goes!! Long as she’s spayed though of course!

[Beka27]

thank god she’s spayed! that always worries me, having two unaltered buns even caged separately, b/c some of them are darn good at escaping. you checked his incision? i wouldn’t worry about it. nothing you can do now, excpept make the cage more secure. while you’re making it more secure… can you make it larger… 2 x 4 feet is the absolute smallest he should be in.

[JodiM]

Hey!

Thanks for the fast responses.  I just came home on my lunch hour from work.  So I’ll have to deal with the cage issue tonight when I’m off work.  But for now the 2×2 cage was all I had that could be locked and I knew he could not get out of.

Yes, the sides of the area were 4 feet high?? How the devil he got out I don’t know.   Oh wait, you said ” not that high” Should I put a top on it then? Wow cause otherwise it would be like 6 feet high! I’ll never be able to step over that!! Gonna have to rethink his setup I guess.

My female is spayed. No babies thank the lord!! lol That would be scary!!

[Beka27]

some buns can jump very high.

[osprey]

When my guys were living in an X-Pen enclosure, I used to clip a sheet over the top of it with clothes pins to keep DJ from jumping out.  I also do this when I have overnight guests and I do not feel like wrestling the dog pen from the garage into the house.

[Gravehearted]

I’ve discovered that with bunnies where there’s a will there’s a way – it amazes me how clever they can be when needed!

[kimberleyanddarren]

i have a pen about 3ft high and my bun can get over it, easily.
if you put an old towel or bed sheet over the top it should stop him, thats what i did till i got a roof made for it

[Jyka]

When Freddy was little we tried to block him into one room with an old baby gate with a sheet over it. It worked fine until my husband stepped over the gate in front of Fred. Freddy went “So that’s how you do it!” and from then on just scrambled his way over the top.
Proves that our buns can be very observant and clever escape artists.

[BinkyBunny]

I actually witnessed a bunny “climb” up an xpen. His name should have been monkey. Anyway, you have gotten great suggestion on how to prevent him from getting out. In regards to being with your other bunny, if they seemed non-aggressive with each other, then I would think it would be okay to start supervised bonding.  HOWEVER, just be sure there is no aggression, he need his strength and a strong immune system to heal properly and stress can break down the immune system.  You, of course, also don’t want him to get hurt while he’s still tender.

Out of curiosity, how did they react to each other the first time they met?

Keep us updated.

[JodiM]

Great Ideas!! I’ve got a large piece of carboard lying around and I’ve been using that for the top.
My hope is that I will be able to just have the one cage, so I don’t want to go and build another cage.
But the carboard is working great, it doesn’t cover the whole top of the cage but it’s detering him from climbing! Little monkey!! LOL

Answer to binky bunny’s question on how there first meeting went;

I’ve since had a bonding session with the two of them and Flopsy(Female) is interested but doesnt’ act like she cares about his presence.
Carmel(male) chases her and tries to hump her. Flopsy lets him and then runs off.
I’ve only had one real bonding session. I think I’ll have a session every other day, I’m hoping Carmel’s hormones will soon die down.

[skunklionshow]

Actually that sounds like their bonding sessions went quite well.  As long as there was no blood, nipping, fur flying, it sounds like it went great!  Jessica will climb NIC grids if she thinks she’ll get a crasin.  Leo has been known to go up over the top of his condo.  So bunnies can be really slick escape artists.  I think you should definately increase his living space/quarters.  I love cardboard….I use it to block doorways, cover wire areas, block escape ways, etc.  Can you eventually keep them uncaged in the same room…just a thought for future planning.

[RabbitPam]

Just one other thought on the escape – have you felt around the sides/bottom of the enclosure for any little gaps? If just one edge isn’t quite as secured as you thought, a bunny can squeeze through an opening. My bunny used to manage to move the baby gate in the doorway with his nose, just enough to make a break for it. If it’s pushable, then springs back into place, you might not see the escape hole.

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