Introducing two un-neutered rabbits in a car ride?

[Edward89]

Hello,

I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this question.
I live in Japan and because of my girlfriend's fears of putting our rabbit under the knife, April was never neutered. We thought he was a girl when we bought him about 4 months ago (hence the name). His testicles have since dropped and he isn't aggressive, just sprays a lot when we let him roam for too long.
He is very calm and friendly to us and he is about 8 months old now. By the way, if anyone can identify his breed, we'd be most appreciative.

Anyway,
We love him to death and have been researching everything we can to make sure he is happy, but we are moving back to Tokyo soon and I just don't want him to be alone while we are both working 40 hours a week. I want to buy him a male friend, but I understand that getting two un-neutered rabbits to bond is extremely difficult. Especially when they didn't grow up together.

Pets in Japan are expensive and it would cost around $600 or more to buy him a friend in Tokyo (compared to the $50-$200 where I am now (April was $200) and another $200 to neuter them. I read online that a car trip can sometimes cause two rabbits to bond. Is this true? I'm considering buying the other rabbit before we leave this week. I'm buying a larger enclosure for him this week too and so I would have two to slowly introduce them to each other. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? Should I just not worry about him being alone?

Edit-
Some other pictures if needed to help identify his breed:

 

[Azerane]

Most rabbits do fine on their own, as long as they have toys to play with and things to occupy their time

I highly doubt that you could get two un-neutered males to bond, they will simply fight with each other and may even kill each other! Otherwise, yes, car rides are often used to help with bonding rabbits, as the stress from the ride makes them seek each other out for comfort.

Can't help you with the breed, but he is a beautiful rabbit

 

[Edward89]

Most rabbits do fine on their own, as long as they have toys to play with and things to occupy their time

I highly doubt that you could get two un-neutered males to bond, they will simply fight with each other and may even kill each other! Otherwise, yes, car rides are often used to help with bonding rabbits, as the stress from the ride makes them seek each other out for comfort.

Can't help you with the breed, but he is a beautiful rabbit

Thank you for your quick and honest advice! I appreciate it.

 

[PaGal]

I second what Azarene had to say. Your bun is very handsome.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would not risk putting 2 intact males together. I recently had a foster who was kept with another intact male, they had a couple really bad fights and the other rabbit died from the injuries. Fights can lead to serious injury, males tend to go for the testicles as well, so that would lead to an emergency neuter (if you thin $200 is a lot for a neuter, it can easily double if it is an emergency).

Rabbits to react to other rabbit differently than they do people. Some may like one rabbit, but totally hate another. You can't really judge what a rabbit will be like until you introduce them or at least have them near each other.

Car rides and neutral territory really can depend on the rabbit. I know some rabbits that don't stress too much so being away from home doens't help too much. Even if they do seek each other out in a stressful situation, it can change once they get home and into more familiar territory.

Rabbits can be happy living alone. They tend to be most active around dawn and dusk, this is usually the time when most people are home. If you provide toys and a good space, he should be fine. You could attach a pen to the cage to give him more room to move around.

 

[akane]

2 bucks will not get along in a cage of any size. Sometimes I have trouble with siblings in 12x12' horse stalls and have to pull some out to individual cages. Strange bucks will kill each other.
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[Chrisdoc]

I have a trio of boys with two of them living in the same enclosure but they´ve been together since very small and didn´t have problems after neutering although the two that came to me together at around 4 weeks have had their disagreements and are now back together again. They all get on well but it´s taken a lot of time and patience and even then, you can get odd fights for no reason.

So, he could have a friend either male or female but you will have to be prepared to have them separately at the outset and work on bonding them over a period of time. There are lots of articles and people on here who can give you good advice on that.

He´s a lovely bun and will probably be happy on his own as long as he had toys and stuff to keep him occupied while you´re not there and time out when you´re at home.

 

[Troller]

40 hour work weeks isn't so bad. Many people here work full time and have these buns as pets. Make sure the time you are around is quality time with them out and about exercising and playing. Keep and rotate plenty of toys. A single rabbit can be quite happy as long as they're well tended to.

On getting a second rabbit, I perosonally think that decision should he made based on your desire for a second rabbit and not your rabbits. I know plenty folks say a bonded rabbit is a happier one, but I'm not so sure about that. I think it's a 50/50 thing. It's a lot involved in bonding, some experiences are short and sweet, others like mine ranged in months (5-6 to be exact with injuries along the way), and yet others took years or never happened. So it's usually a process. For your cirmcumstances it might be good getting a rabbit pal right before you leave and starting the bonding in your new location. Even better since there everything is neutral. Good luck with whatever you decide.