Did I do the right thing? Advice needed!

[f_j]

I apologize that this is kind of long...

My girls, Lola and Penelope, have been together since I got them atabout 7 weeks old. They are now 4.5 months old and have neveractually fought. There has been some mounting/chasing, but itwas never really aggressive. They always ended up cuddlingand sleeping together and grooming each other, so I never worried toomuch about them. Tonight, after their daily couple of hoursof exercise, they were back in their cage and I noticed Penelope keptgrooming this one spot on Lola's back quite persistantly. Itook a closer look when I pushed back Lola's fur I noticed a bald patchwith a couple of small scabs. Needless to say, I got veryupset. I immediately set up our extra cage and put Penelopein it. I felt so guilty for not noticing thissooner. My boyfriend has just gone out to get some Neosporinto put on the cuts. What I'd like to know is, did I do theright thing by separating them? They seem to be searching foreach other and I feel guilty separating them because they have beentogether so long, but I don't want Penelope hurting Lola. Thething is, Lola doesn't appear scared of Penelope and they were actingnormal....I am so confused! I don't want to break the bond,but I also don't want to risk it....what do I do?? Any advicewould be very much appreciated!

 

[Haley]

It might be a simple case of over-grooming. Likeshes not biting her or trying to hurt her, just grooming too much inone area. Ive heard of mom bunnies doing this to their young.

I cant remember, are they spayed? That might be a good thing to think about now if theyre not.

Im not really sure what to tell you re: separating them. Is there anyway to have the cages so that they are close to one another but not inthe same cage? Maybe keep them apart until Lola heals? Im not reallysure.

Heres hoping things work out. Neosporin is a goos start. You can alsoput that liquid bandaid on there if you want it to heal quicker.

 

[f_j]

Haley, thanks for your response. Ithink you're right about the over-grooming. No, they're notspayed. I was planning to have them both spayed in March whenthey are 6 months old. They are such tiny bunnies, I thoughtit would be safer to wait until then. My boyfriend just gotback from the pharmacy and it turns out you can't get Neosporin herewithout a prescription. So he got Polysporin, is that safe touse? He also got vitamin E ointment in case it wasn't....Oh,and they're cages are close, so they can see each other. Ijust hope it isn't teasing Penelope, being able to see her old cage...

 

[aurora369]

Polysporin is basically the same thing as neosporin. I've used it on my buns with no problems.

You could try calling a couple vets offices and seeing when they willdo spays. Some will do them a bit earlier at 4-5months. If they are smaller rabbits, the will be close tofully grown now.

--Dawn

 

[f_j]

Dawn - thank you for responding. Weactually have a great rabbit-savvy vet who does spays at around 4-5months, I just didn't feel the need to rush and get it done.I guess I should reconsider that now! We put the Polysporinon Lola and she seems fine. She doesn't seem to be in pain atall. I have their cages sitting side by side, so hopefullythey will be okay like that for tonight. I need to get to bed!

 

[aurora369]

They should be fine over night.

If you are able to get them spayed now (ie have the funds), then Ithink now would be a good time. It looks like their hormonesare starting to kick in. As long as the vet feelscomfortable, then there is no real reason to hold you back.

The sooner they are spayed and put back together, the easier the re-bonding should be.

I try to get my foster girls in around 4-5 months, as I have no otheroption but to house them together, so I really try to avoid the wholefighting issue. I haven't had any problems with it.

--Dawn

 

[f_j]

Just an update - it turns out that it is a goodthing I separated them when I did. I tried letting them havetheir play time together tonight, but Penelope chased Lola moreaggressively than I've ever seen her. So I will be keepingthem separate, with separate play times, until after they arespayed. I will call our vet on Monday to arrange to get themspayed as soon as possible.

 

[Haley]

Good idea! Sounds like hormones are reallystarting to kick in. You probably caught it and separated them just intime to avoid any really bad fights.

Good luck and keep us posted!