Any Rabbit advice ?

lowis

gabyjane

rabbits are notoriously horny little things, and yes, two males is not a great mix. so if you had two males that had no outlet for their frustration then odds-on at least one of them is going to become aggressive. i had a male rabbit and before we got him neutered he would mount bricks, my feet, even a garden gnome, anything in fact to relieve his frustrations. he also started to get a bit nippy. soon after we had him done he was a nice, calm, gentle little thing.

i think in the case of rabbits it might almost be cruel not to get them done due to their need to procreate all the time, it kind of makes them a bit mental...i may be wrong on this, but i am sure i was once told this on the rabbit forum.

ClareEmily

Hi Gabyjane

Go to the http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/ rabbits united forum, there are loads of experienced bunny owners and people from rescue centres on there who can give you loads of advice.

Clare

gabyjane

Hi Lowis see we bought them seperatly but asked the pet shop when buying r.e 2 males and no concerns at all, thye got on fine for a few weeks then one ripped pieces off the other (the one we have back!)..he has been fine with the female (other than getting her in trouble!)..they had lots of room to run, free to raom a lot fo the time but it wasnt safe keeping them together. Our rabbit now is adorable and is like a mini dog! do we still ahve to have him neutered as he is on his own?
Thanks for the link very useful.

clutterydrawer

It would still be best to have him neutered, he will be frustrated due to being full of hormones with no way to vent them. If it isn't too graphic, imagine a human male who was never allowed to....you know...for his entire life, and how annoyed he would be about it!

Although I am a little confused as to how neither you nor your friend realised he wasn't neutered. For future use - it's clearly visible to the eye, if a boy rabbit still has testicles, he hasn't been neutered. If he doesn't, he has.

Best of luck sorting things out anyway and I hope his abcess treatment goes well.

lowis

hi gaby jane, personally i would have him neutered, but i would suggest heading over to the rabbit forum for some advice - they are excellent over there. been a while since i visited (my rabbit died 5 years ago) but i guarantee you will find some really helpful people there.

skye

this makes me so mad, firstly with the pet shops who are more interested in making money than the welfare of their animals. Secondly with people who are so irresponsible they buy a pet without reading up on them - the internet is free, its not even like you have to buy a book anymore!! and there is always the library. If you can't even be bothered to put time into learn about them how can you be bothered to care for them properly?! Rabbits are the most neglected pet in the UK. My view is a pet is for life.

Rant over!! OP get yourself on the rabbit rehome / united forum as previously suggested - there is so much useful advice and information there you'll learn a lot. They will also helpfully answer any questions you have.

Have you considered having the rabbit as a house rabbit or is there any chance that anyone else (responsible) you know who wants a rabbit or willing to take him?

If you decide to have him neutered (which will hopefully calm some of his behaviour) you could try pairing them again, but it is thought that a neutered female and neutered male are the best pairing - can't understand the sense in a pet shop telling you otherwise!!

clutterydrawer

skye wrote: »

If you decide to have him neutered (which will hopefully calm some of his behaviour) you could try pairing them again, but it is thought that a neutered female and neutered male are the best pairing - can't understand the sense in a pet shop telling you otherwise!!

sadly a lot of petshops are not at all well informed on the animals they exploit...my local pet shop owner claims that bunnies should never be fed fresh food. :rolleyes: which is why he never gets any of my money.

gabyjane

skye wrote: »

this makes me so mad, firstly with the pet shops who are more interested in making money than the welfare of their animals. Secondly with people who are so irresponsible they buy a pet without reading up on them - the internet is free, its not even like you have to buy a book anymore!! and there is always the library. If you can't even be bothered to put time into learn about them how can you be bothered to care for them properly?! Rabbits are the most neglected pet in the UK. My view is a pet is for life.

Rant over!! OP get yourself on the rabbit rehome / united forum as previously suggested - there is so much useful advice and information there you'll learn a lot. They will also helpfully answer any questions you have.

Have you considered having the rabbit as a house rabbit or is there any chance that anyone else (responsible) you know who wants a rabbit or willing to take him?

If you decide to have him neutered (which will hopefully calm some of his behaviour) you could try pairing them again, but it is thought that a neutered female and neutered male are the best pairing - can't understand the sense in a pet shop telling you otherwise!!

OK firstly we bought 2 male rabbits (seperatly) and asked all these questions when we got them, the neutering was never asked or mentioned and as they are males we didnt think/worry about it tbh..they lived happily for a few months before the fighting started..it was 1 rabbit always after the other so therefore we were advised to seperate or remove, our friend wanted one so we donated him to her. We thought he was for life and i can assure you lots of tears were shed as it was the last thing we wanted.

The part where you say can he become a house rabbit or go to a friend im confused on..he was donated to a friend and is back due to the pron in my op, there is no way he can be a house rabbit as we have a cat who is scared stiff of him, a new kitten and being a childminder not very practical..he is also not a very sociable friendly rabbit either.

Getting him neutered is fine BUT seeing as my friend has now taken him as such i am happy to pay half towards it, not all as i am sure i never said a deff yes in the first place, we were never told i assumed and again as we had 2 males it didnt matter. She has a female so they would be better suited apparantly anyway..but i am pretty sure she hasnt been spayed either so?..we will have to see if she wants him back?

gabyjane

clutterydraw lol sounds like a fab shop..eeek! as for him being neutered we had a male to begin with so never asked, when we got the other one again a male we never asked just assumed males were ok together as the pet shop said they would be and there would be no probs as they are ...male!! Thanks r.e absess we hope he is ok too!

Lowis thanks for your help ill take a look

clutterydrawer

It is such a shame that pet shops are often unreliable I always research online and in books now but only cos I've heard so many sad experiences of pet shops giving out inaccurate information. I too can recommend the rabbit forum previously mentioned, I have been a member there for ages and it has helped me give my bunnies a much better quality of life. I made so many mistakes at the beginning by relying on outdated books

I hope your friend can get her girlie spayed sometime too or she too will be frustrated and uncomfortable and at a higher risk of cancer. Clearly the girlie bun isn't your responsibility but a few hints wouldn't go amiss