Two not neutered rabbits living together

[spryte]

Hello! I need help with my situation.

I haven’t had my male rabbit neutered yet because in my country, not many people have rabbits as pets and I’m still looking for a vet that I can trust. I have recently taken in a female rabbit from a friend that couldn’t handle her. I was scared that my male rabbit might fight her so I enclosed him in a portion of my room. While I was asleep, I forgot to close the enclosure when I was feeding him and woke up to them just casually beside each other. It kinda scared me, I’m not experienced with bonding rabbits but I’m more concerned with the fact that they both haven’t been neutered.

They’re both young, and I just want to know if anyone has been in the same situation or could give me a little advice.

Thank you!

 

 

[DanaNM]

How old are they?

If the female is older than 12 weeks, it’s very likely that they mated and she is pregnant.

. . . 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.  

[spryte]

I do hope they have not. It’s only been three days since I took her in and me and my friend are unsure of her age, but I would say maybe around 2 months. My male is turning 5 months so I’m actively looking for a good vet that I could trust.

[Wick & Fable]

If you cannot spay/neuter the rabbits, they will need to be separated. As a general note, talking about intentional breeding is prohibited on these forums, so if that is something you are considering, we ask that you do not discuss that on this forum.

Do you have the means and space to house them separately? It is not unheard of for people to permanently have two (or more) rabbits that, due to various reasons, cannot be out and in contact with each other. You would want to rotate their free-roam time and also deal with potential marking and re-marking from both of them due to their hormones.

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.

[spryte]

I don’t plan on breeding them, but like you said I have been rotating their free-roam time. It’s just weird how my girl rabbit somehow got through the grills of the cage and I woke up in the middle of the night with them sleeping side by side. I immediately separated them, but I’m really surprised with how well they get along.

 

[DanaNM]

If she is only 2 months then you might be in the clear. It would be good to get her in to the vet ASAP, because if she is older the vet can do an “emergency spay” (although I know you mentioned it’s hard to find a rabbit vet in your area :/ ). They likely didn’t fight because she is a baby (and babies usually get along with adults) and/or they are both un-castrated, so likely had their motives…

They will likely try very hard to get to each other, so definitely reinforce their enclosures to make sure they can’t access each other.

I will say the fact they were peaceful bodes well for future bonding (once everyone is spayed/neutered). 🙂 And of course thank you for rescuing her!

. . . 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.  

[spryte]

That’s good to know. I’ll try my best in finding a vet soon. Thank you so much for your insights! I greatly appreciate it 🙂

[spryte]

Unfortunately, my female rabbit died this morning. I woke up and checked up on her and she was limp and not moving. It breaks my heart how I just made an appointment for their check up the night before. I couldn’t rush her to the vet since the clinic I found was a 2-hour drive.

She started having seizures a few minutes after I picked her up. I kept her warm as some people suggested on the internet and just stayed by her side. I am completely heart broken. She was my second pet and it hurts to see her leave my life so quickly.

I’m unsure of what may have been the cause, but when I got her from my friend I noticed that she didn’t look like she groomed herself that well. Any insights on what could have happened would be nice, just shocked me how quickly everything happened.

[Hazel]

They are known to mate through fences, so make sure you separate them with double barriers and a few inches in-between.

[Hazel]

Oh no, I’m so sorry. 😥

[DanaNM]

On no 🙁  I’m so sorry. 🙁

Are you in an area with RHDV?

With very young rabbits it could have been a number of things, they are very fragile, especially if taken away from mom too soon.

Very sorry for your loss. 🙁

. . . 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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