Would this be the right thing to Do?

[Hazelbunny]

3 years ago I got a mini Rex that I named olaf, then I was told that rabbits where great first time pets.

I didn’t know that rabbits needed to have hay every day and that they needed large cages to play in, I barely knew anything about them, all in knew was they eat pellets and vegetables and could snuggle with you. About 5 months ago I started learning that rabbits are not an easy pet, they need all sorts of care. I’m getting better at taking care of him and without thinking to much I wanted to get him a friend, so I got him a friend and he went to the vet to be neutered I wait a little over a month to introduce the new bunny (niko) I didn’t let them out too long as niko is not spayed, just enough time to say hello was all. Now I was thinking having two rabbits will be harder to take care of than just having olaf, I will need to by more hay, I will have to make sure both are eating, both are getting exercise, and other things that you would need to do would be two times as difficult, is it a good idea to have a second Rabbit? 

My whole life I have been home schooled and the main reason for keeping niko was I’m going to high school soon and I won’t be able to play with him as much as I do now. I’m now realizing that I will need to spend more money on spaying her and other things that the rabbits may need, and intil I litter train her the cage will be a challenge to clean. A second Rabbit take a lot of responsibility and care do you think I should rehome her or should I try to keep her, I do love her I’m just not sure if it’s a good idea. I am somewhat considering rehoming but not entirely sure, what would your opinion be?

[sarahthegemini]

I’m not being rude but shouldn’t you have thought all this through before you got a second rabbit? That’s one of the reasons thatvso many rabbits are passed from home to home – because people don’t do their research.

Of course you’re going to need to pay to spay, pay more for hay which of course they need access to AT ALL TIMES, pay more for pellets and veggies, for toys and vet care etc.

I don’t really know what to suggest tbh because your original rabbit needs a friend but you don’t seem prepared at all to deal with the 2nd bunny you already got…

[Hazelbunny]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 1/01/2018 12:32 PM

I’m not being rude but shouldn’t you have thought all this through before you got a second rabbit? That’s one of the reasons thatvso many rabbits are passed from home to home – because people don’t do their research.

Of course you’re going to need to pay to spay, pay more for hay which of course they need access to AT ALL TIMES, pay more for pellets and veggies, for toys and vet care etc.

I don’t really know what to suggest tbh because your original rabbit needs a friend but you don’t seem prepared at all to deal with the 2nd bunny you already got…

Well I didn’t buy the other rabbit. On December 2016 I got a young rabbit that was supposed to be a boy and I was going to neuter them both but that male was female and I made a bad decision on still getting her, long story short we ended up with a litter and one of the baby’s is niko

[Boymom4]

This is a hard question to answer. You are young still (hey, I was homeschooled and had house bunnies too but you need to look at the long term. Do you plan on college? If so, are you going to still be living at home or will you plan to take the rabbits with you, or leave them at home? I assume the new bunny is young and with any luck, they will be around four or five years from now. Are your parents on board with all of your plans for them long term?
If the Rex has been neutered for more than 4-6 weeks he should be alright to be introduced and bonded with the female. If the expense of spaying her is something you need to save for you can possibly put it off for a little while, depending on her personality. Spaying will be important for her future though, to help her reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.
Decide now if you are keeping her or not though. It would be sad to bond them and then have them be separated.
In my experience, two bunnies are not too much more hassle than one if they share the same space and get along well. They do deserve a commitment of time though, so if you do keep them, you need to prioritize them properly along with all the other demands of school and life. Letting them have a schedule of free roam time and a big enough cage for comfort and healthy activity is very important.
Good luck with your decision.

[Mikey]

Im sorry but if you cant afford to care for them properly, do not have the time to care for them properly, and cannot give them each the minimum space, then you should not have either of them. Its great youre learning about rabbits; late is better than never. But, now that you know what to do, its your responsibility to provide everything they need, that theyve been missing out on. You also clearly need to do more research given youve had a litter, still arnt fully vetting (spaying and neutering), and are trying to introduce a hormonal rabbit to another rabbit (hormonal rabbits have two needs: fight and breed). If you cannot give them the care they need right now, you should not have either of them. Maybe in the future you can return to bunnies after more research and understanding.

I want to add, rehoming is done out of love for the animal, despite what some people might say to you. 

[Hazelbunny]

Posted By Boymom4 on 1/01/2018 12:49 PM

This is a hard question to answer. You are young still (hey, I was homeschooled and had house bunnies too but you need to look at the long term. Do you plan on college? If so, are you going to still be living at home or will you plan to take the rabbits with you, or leave them at home? I assume the new bunny is young and with any luck, they will be around four or five years from now. Are your parents on board with all of your plans for them long term?
If the Rex has been neutered for more than 4-6 weeks he should be alright to be introduced and bonded with the female. If the expense of spaying her is something you need to save for you can possibly put it off for a little while, depending on her personality. Spaying will be important for her future though, to help her reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.
Decide now if you are keeping her or not though. It would be sad to bond them and then have them be separated.
In my experience, two bunnies are not too much more hassle than one if they share the same space and get along well. They do deserve a commitment of time though, so if you do keep them, you need to prioritize them properly along with all the other demands of school and life. Letting them have a schedule of free roam time and a big enough cage for comfort and healthy activity is very important.
Good luck with your decision.

I was thinking maybe I should rehome her and wait intil I am ready to have a second Rabbit, maybe even buy one that is already neutered or spayed But wait intil I get some kind of job or something and wait intil I am prepared. Do you think that would be a good Plan? 

[Dee]

I think so- it’s much better than to keep them, knowing you don’t really have the time now. Are you planning on keeping your original rabbit? If you don’t have time for a second rabbit, you probably don’t have much time and resources for the first. You said you have had Olaf for 3 years but realized 5 months ago that taking care of him wasn’t easy- who was taking care of him before? Or have you just started learning how to properly care for him? I’m just a bit confused on that. The thing is, rabbits are wonderful, but NOT LOW maintenance pets. They can’t just sit in cages all the time- in fact, plenty of rabbits are litter trained and have the freedom of a bunny proofed house to run around. Also, if your rabbit gets sick, it can cost several hundred dollars for vet care. If those are not things you are comfortable with, I think it would be better for you to rehome both your rabbits. That way you can be free to enjoy school and friends and all the great things that teenage life has to offer, and your bunnies can have a home with people who are ready for the commitment.

Other people here will know more about rehoming a rabbit- you could actually start a new post on it. I don’t know much, but I would say to find a rabbit rescue near you if you have one, and contact them. I have read that many dog and cat shelters will just euthanize a rabbit right away, simply because they have enough to deal with and aren’t used to rabbits. You do NOT want to put an ad online and give your bunny to just anyone. Your rabbits could become a quickly forgotten toy for a child or, worse, snake food or “bait” for training a dog. So be sure to get info on the right way to rehome your rabbit. And remember, there is nothing wrong with realizing that this is not a good time in your life to have a rabbit. You are doing the right thing, for both of you.

[Scarlet]

If no one can tend to them and devote the time to both of them you’re better off with one, if you can’t give him space, room, and enough time, you might not even be cut out to tend to him. I’ve had arguments with people who do college or high school and leave their pets in cages or unattended to. Dogs and cats are better off, but rabbits need a companion, whether that is you or your friend who swings by(if you have such a friend for example), a sibling, another rabbit, etc. They need consistent love and care and this sounds like they might well get pushed to the back of your priorities which rabbits can’t handle that. I highly suggest do not buy a second rabbit just to replace your company as both rabbits will still like your company and introducing rabbits then leaving them alone can result in fights, injuries, or even death until you’ve made absolutely sure they are okay with each other which can take upwards of a year with some rabbits.

[SlinkyKat]

If you need to rehome her because you cannot care for her, please make sure she gets a good home. I think you should wait a good amount of time before you commit to another pet. You need to be in a stable place in life where a second bunny shouldn’t be anything close to an issue.  When you are prepared for another rabbit adoption centers almost always spay/neuter their animals before adopting them out. So its free of charge for you in that respect. However, if you cant do the spay/neuter because of money issues, even one rabbit isn’t a good idea. Because come an emergency you won’t be able to afford to help them.

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