When will recently neutered rabbit calm down?

[BettyandBubz]

I got my male rabbit, Mr Bubz, neutered on Monday, it’s now Friday, and honestly I haven’t seen a single change in him. I was really struggling to deal with him before he was neutered, I’d adopted him about four weeks ago, he’s 18 months, and he’d pee and poo everywhere, was only interested in rubbing his chin on everything I own, and it was so difficult to bond with him because every time I’d sit on the floor next to him he’d keep spraying on me. I thought that neutering would help all this, but it’s been a few days and no changes. He’s got a small room to himself, as I plan to free roam him soon, but I can’t until his litter habits are under control, and his hormones have died down as I know he’d hump the heavens out of my free roam girl bun Betty, if given the chance. He has several litter boxes in his room, he seems to be quite good at peeing in them, but it’s the poop that’s the problem. He still poops everywhere, I’ll let him run around the hall for a while, and by the end it’s like a barn, there’s poo everywhere, and he still sprays on me from time to time. He’s very energetic, and I’ll try and pet him but he’s not interested in attention of any sort, so along with all these things, we haven’t really bonded to each other.

I know it’s still early days, but I can’t keep him in that room for months to come as it’s really not big enough in my opinion, it’s a temporary fix, and I struggle to give him free roaming time as it’s such a mess. I’m hoping that given time he’ll start to lose his hormones, that I’ll eventually be able to potty train him, and bond him to my other rabbit, but right now it feels he’s going to be like this forever. My other rabbit litter trained herself two days after her spay, so I don’t really know how to do it with a rabbit that refuses to do so. I don’t want to sound whiny, it’s just stressful because I want to introduce him to a better life straight away, but his crazy hormones are getting in the way of that big time. When do you think he’ll start to calm down, and finally stop obsessively marking his territory with poops and sprays? Is there a chance he’ll be like this permanently, or will it start to dissipate soon?

[DanaNM]

Usually it takes a couple of weeks. They can even have a burst of even crazier hormonal behavior a few weeks after neutering, so don’t despair! His box habits also are likely worse because there is another rabbit in the house.

So I would say wait a few weeks and see how it goes. Restricting the space may also help, but it seems like it’s def still hormonal for now!

 

. . . 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.  

[Hazel]

The “post neuter craze” can last 4-6 weeks. Keep your chin up, it will get better. 🙂

[BettyandBubz]

Thank you! Would you say that I should wait a few weeks before letting him explore the rest of the house, and meet my other rabbit then? I’d like to give him more room but, SO much poop! I really hope the hormones die down sooner rather than later, as it’s really trying.

[BettyandBubz]

I sure hope so. I kinda dread the thought of having to deal with this for a month or more, as it really is so difficult to give him the life I want to give him, without turning my home into a barn in the process.

[Hazel]

You should definitely wait until his hormones are leveled out before you start bonding sessions. Trying to bond hormonal rabbits will only lead to fighting. You should do a couple of weeks of prebonding (swapping things like litterboxes around between their pens) anyway before their first face to face meeting. 🙂

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