What am I getting myself into?

[freiheit]

 So, we’ve had our rabbit for 3 years now. He’s not neutered but we’ve never had any problems with him. He’s clean, he isn’t agressive, he never humped anything or tryed to, he’s very friendly.  

Recently, our local SPCA received a 1 and a half year old male bunny that’s already neutered!  At 16$, I thought it might be our chance to finaly get a friend for our rabbit. Here’s what I’m wondering;

-Will it awaken our rabbits territoriality/humping/habbits he doesn’t have right now?

-The bunny in question (jacob) wasn’t let out of his cage, how difficult will liter training be at his age and will he be to stressed out living in the land of the free?

 

-Anything else I’m not thinking about I should be?

 

I really want to give our rabbit a friend, but I don’t want to bite more then I can chew. (and sorry if this isn’t the right forum, it felt like if could belong in 2 or even 3 different places lol)

[Stickerbunny]

Unfortunately in most cases an unaltered male will not get along with another rabbit. Your best bet would be to arrange a meeting at the shelter between your bun and the other rabbit, bring thick gloves in case you need to break up a fight. If you want to bond him though, you probably will need to have him altered.

Litter training is usually not difficult, as long as you follow the steps (no bedding in the cage, litter box in his chosen corner, etc). Both my rabbits picked it up within a week or two. Both are rescues.

If they get along at the shelter, maybe ask if you could foster Jacob to see how it works out before adopting?

[freiheit]

I was told by the shelter I probably shouldn’t bring my rabbit because some of the animals could have diseases/tics/etc. Jacob was in a house, but some animals are from the streets.

[Monkeybun]

If they aren’t treating their animals, and keeping them quarantined away from healthy ones, doesn’t sound like a good place to me, to be honest.

[Stickerbunny]

They don’t have a meeting room? Hrm. :s

I would ask about possibly fostering Jacob then. Odds are high that an unaltered male will fight with another male though.

[Sarita]

It would probably be risky to bring in another male rabbit when your rabbit is not neutered. He can definitely be aggressive towards the other rabbit and he can even lose his litter box habits. I say why chance a good thing with the single rabbit you currently have especially with those risks.

[freiheit]

@Monkeybun: I’m sure it’s not that bad, but even with precossions taken, shelters are always prone to bugs. A visitor not washing his hands between pets can be enough to pass something on.

all: I guess I though that my bun’s good temper + the other bun being neutered could have been enough. I wouldn’t want to change my bun’s good temper, but at the same time, I feel bad that he’s all alone.

[Tate]

Can you just get him neutered?

[Beka27]

Posted By Tate on 07/27/2011 03:35 PM
Can you just get him neutered?

This is my thought.  

Your current bun will hopefully be around for another 7-10 years.  It’s not too late to neuter him and give him a friend!  

[LoveChaCha]

I have a single gal, if that helps. She has been a single girl since she was 7 weeks old (and is now a year and a half) and if you work or go to school during the day, it is fine – rabbits sleep during the day.

If you are considering a friend, I agree with the others that your current rabbits needs to be neutered. It will make things a lot easier for both rabbits, and for yourself.

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