I've only had my boys a week. I was told they are three to four months old and they are litter mates. I thought they would get along because they were together in the pet shop, but today they were fighting and Smokey seems to have claimed the entire lower half of the cage as his own, preventing Fred from eating, using the litter box, or going into their sleeping space. Fred is stuck up on the shelf with only the water bowl and whenever he tries to come down, Smokey reacts and Fred backs down. I see that Smokey has established himself as the dominant rabbit. I have a vet appointment scheduled for next week and will ask if they are ready to be neutered, but in the meantime should I separate them?
Fighting
- Thread starter Bville
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NDrAbBiTs58041
Well-Known Member
Being here not neautered I would think this
Is common. I would have another litter box and
A tray of food for the other bun. It probably
Wouldn't be a bad idea to seperate till you can
Get them in to he vet.
whitelop
Morgan
You should probably separate them. If you get them neutered, it takes a month or so for the hormones to die down. If you want to bond them later, after they're neutered, you don't want them to build a grudge towards each other. So I would separate them, but keep their cages close together. Like put them like a foot apart, so they can see each other but not get to each other through the bars.
That way, if you try to bond them later, they'll be used to seeing each other and that could help. But its no guarantee that they'll bond with each other.
That way, if you try to bond them later, they'll be used to seeing each other and that could help. But its no guarantee that they'll bond with each other.
Don't beat yourself up over it. This is actually quite common. Being litter mates or not doesn't make much difference. Their hormones have kicked in and this is a common result.
Rabbits have a much better chance of bonding if neutered, but as Whitelop said, there are no guarantees. For now, you just want to be sure they don't fight or build up resentment.
Once they are neutered, you'll still want to keep them separated for at least a month before re-introducing them. In the meantime, you can read up on bonding.
Male/male bonds are not considered the easiest, but they can be done. I'm sure there is plenty here on RO about bonding that will keep you busy reading for awhile.
BTW, seeing them in your avatar.... they're adorable!
Rabbits have a much better chance of bonding if neutered, but as Whitelop said, there are no guarantees. For now, you just want to be sure they don't fight or build up resentment.
Once they are neutered, you'll still want to keep them separated for at least a month before re-introducing them. In the meantime, you can read up on bonding.
Male/male bonds are not considered the easiest, but they can be done. I'm sure there is plenty here on RO about bonding that will keep you busy reading for awhile.
BTW, seeing them in your avatar.... they're adorable!
The neutering should help. It seems like they turn from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde when the hormones kick in. I would separate them but put the cages next to each other so they can stay close to each other. If Smokey attacks Fred through the cage wall, I would move it just a little so they cannot physically touch. Once they are neutered and hormones have calmed down (they say about 4-6 weeks, but my male took about 2 weeks) there is no reason why they shouldn't become best friends. Just make sure they also have plenty of time outside the cage. You might want to consider rabbit proving your home and litterbox training them.
Good luck!!
Good luck!!
Day two of the separation and they both seem much happier. I gave Fred the bigger space since he was the one being abused and he is doing hippty-hops this morning. They both seem more playful and happy. They aren't eating as much food, but if they are anything like me, they were stress eating before. I know the hormones are the biggest cause of this fighting, but I also think their cage was just too small. My husband has been building them something bigger. If the eventual bonding doesn't work, he may have to build a second one.
You said your husband was building a bigger cage -- yay. I just wanted to suggest (in case you hadn't already thought of it) that you leave the new, bigger cage empty until both boys are bonded. Then, once they are bonded, they can go in to the new cage together. It's ideal to have a new cage for a newly bonded pair so that neither can consider it "theirs alone." No need to worry then about potential territory issues.
-just thought I'd throw that thought out
-just thought I'd throw that thought out
You said your husband was building a bigger cage -- yay. I just wanted to suggest (in case you hadn't already thought of it) that you leave the new, bigger cage empty until both boys are bonded. Then, once they are bonded, they can go in to the new cage together. It's ideal to have a new cage for a newly bonded pair so that neither can consider it "theirs alone." No need to worry then about potential territory issues.
-just thought I'd throw that thought out
That sounds like a great idea, but I'm not sure we can do it based on the timeline of getting them neutered, re-bonding them, and a trip we have coming up where we may need pet sitters for them. I think I'll try though and hope it all works out.
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