Possibly new bunny

[Ivythelionhead]

Hi I'm most likey getting a new bunny as a buddy for my Ivy but I am wondering what I should expect.
I've heard people say that it can be a challenge bonding two bunnies that are not related, but can it be done, my Ivy has seemed kinda lonely lately and with my new job I won't be able to be around as much, I will still hold her and give her floor time but I'm hoping a buddy will make her less lonely when I can't be around.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :hug2:

 

[Watermelons]

There are definitely ways to do it, but there is never any guarantee they will get along.
Your best bet is to phone up some local rabbit rescues that have bunnys that are all ready spayed/neutered and take her on bunny dates. She will likely get along better with a neutered male. Bunny dating is probably your best bet if you have a rescue that does that.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

I have this guy coming and we are gonna bunny date, and if they don't get along then he's gonna take her home but like how will I know, he's coming for like a couple hours and it will take longer then a few hours but like if I decide to keep her, how will I know.

 

[stevesmum]

Ignoring is good. Mounting is good but not the face and don't let it go on very long. Mutually exclusive grooming is very good and grooming each other is lovely but rare. Things that are less promising are circling growling biting nipping lunging and other aggressive behaviours. Remember neutral territory is vital and always try to end the date on a positive note (ie everyone gets a treat). And both should be fixed of course with no leftover hormones. Good luck!

 

[Ivythelionhead]

Okey, what if neither are fixed? Can it still be done.
I am used to bonding Guinea pigs not rabbits and with gps you can bond them sometimes with in minutes and they don't have to be fixed.
Rabbits are different right but can it be done, I've always had excellent luck bonding pigs so I'm just wondering?

 

[stevesmum]

I think bonding two unspayed females is possible but might be a challenge. Of course any time you take the road less travelled you can encounter more obstacles. I don't think you can compare it to Guinea pigs and although your optimism is great you should temper it with some more realistic expectations. Thebunnychick.com is recommended reading for bonding rabbits.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

I'm not saying I'm comparing it to guinea pigs that was my point in my last post its nothing like rabbits but I'm saying I've also had a lot of luck where people have said there was none, I'm not saying I won't fail but I'm also not saying that I can't do it. I get that it won't be easy but I'm here for the long haul and I think I can do it and I know that if she and other girl bunny were spayed it would be easier but I'm not spaying her cause I've heard there was risk to spaying or neutering rabbits like problems can occur and there's no proof that she will be the same after the spay cause I had a friend who had a sweet rabbit and she got her spayed and she turned into the devil afterward, believe I don't take this lightly I'm a huge believer in spaying and neutering your pets cause it's the right thing to do, I just love my Ivy and if the bond works then yay but if not then maybe Ivy isn't meant to have a buddy and I'll still love her always. I'm sorry if people don't agree with me but I didn't mean to offend anyone and that's just my opinion on the subject.

 

[Blue eyes]

Intact females can be very difficult to bond because they can be quite territorial. Bringing a male to a female's territory is always more difficult than the other way around.

*Some* intact females will bond as adults, but intact bonds tend to have a higher possibility of breaking later on for no apparent reason.

As a side note, there is actually more health risk to NOT spaying your female than to spaying her. The cancer risks are quite high in intact females, the surgery risks are very, very low.

The argument that a formerly sweet bunny turned mean after spaying is often mis-blamed. Spays are often performed right about the time when a rabbit is changing from a baby to an adult (read "changing from a docile baby to her actual, innate, adult personality). It isn't the actual spay that causes the change, but simply the change from babyhood to adulthood.

Be sure to read all you can on bonding and body posture of rabbits so you can anticipate problems before they arise when introducing rabbits.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

I'm not taking this lightly and I'm not some idiot who just decided to get another bunny, I've had rabbits for 12 years and I'm not saying I'm an expert or anything but I'm saying that my bunny is wonderful just the way she is, she's not overly sweet but she's not vivacious or bites either and I'm just not getting her spayed it costs more here to get a rabbit spayed then it did to get my cat done but it's not just about the money it's just I know there are risks either way not spaying or spaying but anyway I'll see how it goes andnket you guys know.

 

[Aki]

No one talked to you like you were an idiot. You asked a question, you got an answer : it is a lot more difficult and dangerous to bond unaltered rabbits, it is also a lot easier to bond safely rabbits of the opposite sex which is obviously not possible when the rabbits aren't spayed/neutered (as you've had rabbits for 12 years, you also probably already know that you have to make sure very carefully that your new bunny really is female, as it is not always easy to tell and you might find yourself with a big problem later on if the rabbit wasn't sexed correctly). Your rabbit is certainly perfect as she is (even if introducing a new rabbit might wake up dormant hormones and the joys of urine spraying, biting and phantom pregnancies might be in your future) but, as you certainly know, she probably won't live past 4-5 year old due to cancer. The risk of spaying, which is inherent to surgery, is linked to the anesthesia and is around 0.2 to 0.5 % for a rabbit in good health. The risk of uterine cancer is around 60 %, going over 80% for a rabbit over 5 years. Also, the rabbit is spayed, not lobotomized, so her caracter will more likely stayed the same (as pointed out by someone else, the rabbit of your friend probably just became an adult and, as it turned out, had a nasty personnality - happens with humans too...). So, it's your rabbit, your choice, but you can't fault people in a rabbit forum for warning you.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

I know but I also know that my rabbit could live 5+ years without getting cancer or any other type of sickness I'm not saying that she won't and yes okey shed most likely stay the same after being spayed but I also know that money is tight and as all of you guys know spaying is not cheap and I'm trying to keep my money for vet visits that are needed and your right having two rabbits that are spayed are definitely easier and your right I'm sorry I was kinda rude I asked a question you guys answered me and I got mad because it wasn't what I wanted to hear and that's not fair especially when you guys just wanted to help, so again sorry and thank you all of you guys gave excellent advice which I've taking to heart and maybe I'll end up spaying Ivy after all, with this new job I'm getting a bit more, anyway thanks again and I'll let you know what happens.

 

[flemishwhite]

Bonding (1) and uterine cancer (2) comments.

(1) Bonding with my two sister flemmish rabbits should be easy, since they appeared to very bonded at age 3 months when we bought them. Now at 4 months of age they are apparently approaching sexual maturity. One of the babies has already tried to build a birthing nest. The slightly larger female rabbit has tried to mount her sister and has pulled out neck hair while she tried to hold her while humping. Just two days ago, my wife said the otherwise passive sister tried to hump the otherwise dominant sister!! I've moved up plans to have them neutered. I'd like to wait until they are 5 months old to have them neutered. Except for these humping attacks and hair biting they are 99% OK. They do like to sleep side by side and groom each other most of the time. However, we do not any longer keep them penned together at night in out living room. We saw evidence of a fight between them one night. Now we just let them run loose in the living room/dining room/kitchen/hall way at night or when we are away.
(2) I've read that it's 90%+ probability that girl bunnies will get uterine cancer at the age of 5 years. Getting my first bunny, Bunny, neutered was a problem...she was fat. My then vet would not operate and Bunny was at 5 years of age, so I found a bunny vet that would neuter fat girls. Dr. Robert Kaufman of Harbor Animal Hospital (Torrance, California). He liposectioned off 1 pound of fat...1 pound of fat from a 9 pound bunny! He charged $400 ...I was tempted to ask if I could get some fat liposectioned off of me also! Getting back to being serious, he said that when he saw Bunny's uteris, he thought she was pregnant because of the lumps...the lumps were not baby bunnies..they were tumors. So I got Bunny neutered in the nick of time!!

About tumors...Bunny had a breast tumor at the age of 11 years. $200. My joking comment was..hey she's got 7 more titties left...$1400! Actually, I would be so happy to have paid more medical bills for her. She unexpectedly
died. After her death, we bought our now two girl Flemmish babies.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

Okey thanx that helps, your ppb right cheaper to get her spayed now and not have to pay for expensive cancer surgery later, but are saying that she will for sure not get along with the other bun.

 

[Azerane]

There is never any guarantee when it comes to bonding rabbits. In most cases it is possible to bond, some happen very quickly, others take months and months of work. However just like people, not all rabbits are going to like each other and it can never be said 100% that yes your two rabbits will bond. If you are getting the new rabbit from a rescue, they will do bunny dates with your rabbit, where you bring your rabbit to the rescue and your rabbit will meet some of the other rabbits on neutral ground. These dates can really help choosing a compatible bunny. And usually a positive date results in bunnies that can be bonded.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

Okey well id do the rescue thing but around where I live there are no bunny rescues so I can't but I've decided to get Ivy spayed I made an appointment with my vet and I'm going next week.

 

[flemishwhite]

Okey well id do the rescue thing but around where I live there are no bunny rescues so I can't but I've decided to get Ivy spayed I made an appointment with my vet and I'm going next week.

My limited experience with one previous female rabbit tells me you've got to have them neutered. One thing it stopped was marking. Our current Flemish babbies (big babbies!) definitely put copious amounts of pee in their 3 or 4 litter boxes. But they are still marking with tablespoons of pee here and there. Our previous bunny did the same until neutered.

Plans are to have them neutered at 5 months of age. Since they already try to hump each other (they are both girls!!) I assume this is not too early. At 5 months of age, being Flemmish they will be pretty physically large for bunnies.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

Well my bunny is a lionhead and she's 2 so I'm gonna get her spayed. I was told there's no age limit to getting a rabbit spayed is this true.

 

[Blue eyes]

I have heard of vets being hesitant to spay, say an 8 year old female. But 2 years is still plenty young. I know rescues will spay 5 year old gals without hesitation.

 

[Aki]

2 years old is still young, I've seen rabbits much older than that getting spayed with no problem. It's true that spaying is not cheap (but, the truth is, when you go to your vet about any kind of problem the bill is around 130 $ every time and it's about the cost of a spay) and I was still a student when I got my rabbits done so I completely understand that it's kind of a big deal when money is tight. Many vets accept payment in installments - try asking yours if he would accept you paying in 2 times. If you're in the US, you can try to look through the website of your local House Rabbit society and contact them about your potential 2nd bunny. Even if there is no rescue around your area, there might be rabbits in foster families near you - that way you can have a neutered rabbit and a lot of info about his character.
http://rabbit.org/

 

[Azerane]

If you post your general location (say the North-east of a particular state or something) then people may be able to offer up suggestions of rescues. Not saying there is any by you, but you never know.