Bonding Pepper and Elliot

hey all! has been awhile since ive been able to get on here.. been busy with work, animals, and getting ready for school again.. hope everyone is doing well!

ok.. so update on the bunnies.. my friends bunny Elliot has now moved in at my house because he had nowhere else to go when we move back to school (no bunnies in the dorms :cry2) ..my parents want him outside when i leave next week.. and the only place we have outside at the moment (other than a small wire hut..yuck!) is pepper's run... so i need yall's opinion on this... im just about positive ill need to get them both neutered-- im just not sure how soon ill be able to get that done... but if you guys have any other suggestions first that would be great...Pepper and Elliot have been let out together about 3 times and each time gets the same result... they dont fight or anything-not evenin unneutral territory... but they endlessly mount each other.. i assume the only thing i can do to stop this is get them both neutered? or one neutered? cause im guessing it wont stop? opinions?

Yes, get them both neutered, that's exactly the right thing to do.

If they are not fighting then that's a REALLY good sign that there is a possible bond, although it's not one you want to rush and not one that can be done quickly. I would suggest probably keeping the bonding process going with things like swapping the cages, and swapping the contents and maybe short supervised plays util well after the hormones have died down.

Bonding two unneutered males is incredibly risky and whilst I actually had two who were together from birth and unneutered (and were fine until one died at 8) it's nothing something I would feel comfortable suggesting to you. Bunnies are most likely to fight at dawn and dusk, and males even more so.

How old are they both?

if im reading this correctly you have taken on a friend's bunny. would elliot's original owner be able to provide you with another run? after all you have given their bunny a home i think it very reasonable that the original owner contribute to the care of their bunny whilst he's under your roof

hartleybun wrote:

if im reading this correctly you have taken on a friend's bunny. would elliot's original owner be able to provide you with another run? after all you have given their bunny a home i think it very reasonable that the original owner contribute to the care of their bunny whilst he's under your roof

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Actually, that's a smart idea. Would they also finance a neuter?

i think i what i might do is divide the run in half...i still have all my nic cubes leftover from peapoo and petey... and i could add shelves for both of them so they could have more room... im going to take out some nic panels now and see how big each side would be... ill post how big afterwards.. also peppers hutch has two sides.. i could just block off the hole on the inside and they could each have half the hutch... what do you guys think?im not saying ill never get them neutered... but right now with me leaving in a week and short on money its about the only option... any problems with this that yall can see?? dont want them to get hurt...

each side of the run would be three panels wide and seven panels long... thats big enough for each bunny isnt it?? plus if i add shelves??

i think that is what im going to do.. im off to walmart to buyzipties and stuff to do shelves!

well.. it took two hours this afternoon to build a divider in the run and the hutch.. but i finally got it done! Elliot will move next to Pepper tomorrow after i get off work. Hopefully everything will work out with this arrangement! theres not really anywhere else Elliot can go

That's a fine size

You will have to watch them carefully to ensure there is no fighting between the bars because that is a real risk, but hopefully not one that will happen. You might need to make the mesh smaller so they can't get teeth or claws through.

The rest of the pla sounds fantastic though

elliot went outside for the first time yesterday.. and he lOVES it! binkies and bunny 500's everywhere. there has been no fighting between the bars.. however elliot likes to chin peppers nose through them!! lol