Dakota is being really hostile!

[DakotaBunBun]

OK I am sitting here at 6:30 awake as I wasawoken by Dakota who is trying to get through the homemade partion mydh made to try to get to Molly. I dont understand where allher aggression has come from. She is shaking the cage anddigging at the bottom and doing nothing but trying to get poor Molly..If Molly comes near her she tries to bite the crap out ofher. I am so mad at Dakota. I am ready to be afriggin single rabbit owner again. Is it possible maybeDakota just can only do a single bunny household or what do yallthink. I dont understand all this and its tearing meup. Big old Molly who weighs 4.3ounces just sits there andnever even pays her a bit of attn.... I dunno I am just madat this whole thing!!!!

 

[naturestee]

Dakota was your first rabbit, right?And she had the cage to herself? She might not be happy aboutsharing a cage. I suggest you get a separate cage forher. Oh, and am I guessing right on Dakota'sgender? If Dakota is a boy, it would be a little moreunusual. If Dakota is a girl, she will have a harder timeaccepting another girl. Also, are they both fixed?That will also make a big difference.

Did you bond them before you put them in a cage together?Have you read up on bonding? If not, I really suggest thatyou look at the sites in the Cheat Sheet For Rabbit Care, one of thestickied posts at the very top of the page. There is awebsite on bonding and the HRS website has some great infotoo. These are really, really good resources.Please read them if you haven't yet.

I think you should get Molly a separate cage and put it near, but notright up against, Dakota's. Start the bonding over fromscratch- meaning they need to have "meet and greet" sessions in a placethat neither has claimed as territory.

I hope all goes well. A few rabbits prefer to be alone, butrabbits are social for the most part. Some pairings just needmore work than others.

 

[DakotaBunBun]

Yes it was Molly's cage first. We tookDakota with us to meet Molly and they did fine they pretty much ignoredMolly. Then for 2 weeks they were in the cage and werefine. Now I think if Dakota could get to her she would hurtMolly badly. Maybe your right. I need seperatecages. Dakota is a girl and not fixed and Molly just gotfixed yesterday. We are not sure of Dakotas exactage.

 

[Bassetluv]

I'm just wondering, did the aggression beginbefore or after Molly came back from being spayed? There's apossibility (if it began yesterday) that Dakota is upset over all ofthe strange smells that Molly may have on her from going to the vet's.Animals will sometimes react violently to even a bonded mate if theyhave a different smell on them, or even an *aura* about them. I had afriend with two dogs who lived together, got along famously....but oneof the dogs had epilepsy. And if he underwent a seizure, then for thenext little while the owner had to be careful, or the other dog wouldbite him. The change his body went through because of the seizureapparently scared her, and she would lash out at him.

Sounds like you definitely need a separate cage for them (at least fornow, till you know if this behavior is temporary or permanent), to keepMolly safe.

 

** " but one of the dogs had epilepsy.And if he underwent a seizure, then for the next little while the ownerhad to be careful, or the other dog would bite him "**

I have found , thankfully , Rabbits andCats react positively to persons withEpileptic disorders , Dogs on the other handDO NOT, here is aprime example

Shannon ( Half _Pint ) has a Dog , neverbeen growly or nasty ever inhis life , Our second meeting He wasgrowling and grumbly at me ,now when I go to her houseshe has to insure the dogis put away , ( Poor Dog ) thru no fault ofhis own,

I have a Seizure Disorder ,According to Doctors and Vets alikethe reason I normally getbitten by dogs isbecause of the weird electrical fieldthat constantly surrounds my being , Itskinda like a short Circut inyour house . and it issomething that dogsfind extremely uncomfortable to be around, imagine it as being likethose collars that keep them intheir yards , zap zap on aconstant basis ,

Rabbits and Cats react differentlyto the zapping so tospeak , they will come to it rather thanaway , some cats will actuallyreact to it and go seek outhelp . rabbits canand will react the same way .

It really sounds like Dakotais reacting to something sheisnt liking , I wouldpersonally take Molly and puther in a different room for aday or so to shed off whatever is bothering Dakota , thenslowly reintroduce them . with Luckeverything will come back to a normal routiene.

 

[naturestee]

She just got fixed yesterday? That'sprobably the problem. She's acting different, Dakota cansense that she is in pain, and she smells like vet.

IMO, rabbits that aren't fixed should be kept in seperate cages becauseof the potential hostility. Some are fine, though, so it goeson a case-by-case basis.

 

[DakotaBunBun]

Well Dakota started bein evil before Molly'sspay. Dakota as far as we know is aroun 3-5months so withingthe next month or so she will also be spayed I just wish I knew why sheall the sudden turned on her and its like she was doin everything shecould this morning to get to Molly and eat her up.

 

[Jenniblu]

naturestee wrote:

She just got fixed yesterday? That's probably theproblem. She's acting different, Dakota can sense that she isin pain, and she smells like vet.

IMO, rabbits that aren't fixed should be kept in seperate cages becauseof the potential hostility. Some are fine, though, so it goeson a case-by-case basis.

She probably smells different/'funny' to the other bunny because shewent to the vets. My cats are like that - been together foryears but if one goes to the vet, I take the other because if I don'tthe cat that stayed home thinks the other is a stranger because itsmells different. Go figure. :?