Living with other's Bunnies

[MLS]

Hi Everybody! This is my first real question to all of you rabbit veterans. A bit of background if you haven't seen my intro, I'm planning on getting a baby belgian hare in the fall so I'm just doing pre-emptive research to keep any major issues from coming up. I've checked rabbit.org but nothing really answers this question.

My living situation has recently changed and I will most likely be moving in with a roommate. She has a bun of her own who has free roaming space of her bedroom and sometimes of the shared living room when she is home. His name is Walter and he is a pretty cute little man. He's house-trained and very well behaved for the most part. However, Walter is not neutered.

I know that unaltered rabbits should not be bonded, to altered rabbits, and likely won't from the HRS. But, I dont really want to bond my future bun to Walter because roomate situations are bound to change after a few years. My bun is going to have a visit with the snipper once he/she's old enough and I plan on giving him/her free reign of my bedroom once they're trustworthy and the occasional foray into the living room. Would this setup work? Can you keep separate a neutered and unaltered rabbit and they will be fine? Or will the mere presence of another rabbit throw Walter into a rage? They won't be sharing living quarters or going for "playdates" or anything like that unless Walter gets the snip as well but I just wanted y'alls advice. Obviously people keep multiple rabbits that are not bonded in the same household but I just wanted to hear on how you manage that. Sorry if this is a silly question!

 

[Nelsons_Mom]

The only thing that I would do is make sure he gets neutered so he's not tempted to spray of he and Walter take turns in the living room.

Other than that, I do not forsee it to be an issue. Many people keep rabbits who are not bonded in the same room in separate enclosures just fine.

And, when you get him pictures are a must around here

 

[fantaysah]

My situation is similar yet different but i have a large dog that was traumatized by being attacked by a little dog. Now she hates small animals. She doesn't mind them being in the room caged so i just take turns we have a 1 yr old and already have gates al we just put the dog in the foyer on the other side of the gate when the buns come out has worked fine for us. They know they have another animal around but no actual contact.

 

[ZRabbits]

All my rabbits live together but separately. They are all aware of each other, can see each other but aren't allowed to touch. I had a bad incident with bonding and don't want anything to happen.

You can have two bunnies in the same household, just make sure they don't really come in contact. I have x-pens I put up to block crates when one is out and about. Also allow your room to be your bunny's true domaine. Don't allow Walter in so that your bunny knows that room is his. When in the living room, I would get an x-pen and allow your bunny to have access in that.

Understand about not wanting to bond the two because roommate situations do change. Just be diligent. Walter and your new bunny can live together, separately with no problems.

K

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Rabbits can do fine with having other rabbits around, even if they are not bonded. It is a good idea to have a good barrier between them and they can't bite or nip through cage bars. If there is shared space, they might not use the litter box in that area as they can want to claim the territory.
Not trying to bond them is a good idea. Since Walter in intact, that can be an issue on it's own. Since roommates can come and go, you want to be able to take your rabbit with you or them take their rabbit without having to worry about breaking up a bonded pair. You should also get the sex you want rather than have to worry about what woudl be more comparable with her rabbit.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Spraying! Watch out for the spraying! I have 2 buns both unaltered, not exactly bonded either. If I let Oreo out to play and Bugsy comes out later and ends up in the same area Oreo was in, SPRAYING WAR! It is disgusting, i cant even emphasize that enough. gross, nasty, and smelly! I dont worry about fighting and bonding, i worry about spraying...

 

[MLS]

Thanks for all of your quick responses! It sounds like the situation I was hoping for will work out. The plan is that Walter will continue to have his domaine of my roommate's bedroom and my bun will have free-roam of my bedroom where Walter is not allowed, would cleaning the area with Nature's Miracle suffice to remove any old Walter smells from if he had bumbled in before I move in? My own bun's housing in the bedroom is going to be a large x-pen and he/she is going to get spay/neutered ( I'm not quite a 100% what gender I'm going to get, I'm leaning towards male though) when old enough. We definitely will not try to bond them, because as its been stated, breaking up a bonded pair just because the humans move is quite unfair.

Good to hear about the spraying though. I hadn't even thought of that! Sounds pretty nasty. I think a good compromise, for free-roaming outside of bedrooms, might be that Walter gets to keep the living room as his outside of bedroom space and my bun could get the kitchen to avoid any scent wars. We could put up a baby gate or some other barrier.

 

[Paddy Ohara]

I cannot wait to see photos. I am quite the admirer of this breed.

 

[MLS]

When we get closer to bunny arrival I will definitely be making a thread in the photo area to document maximum cuteness

 

[LakeCondo]

I'm not entirely sure a barrier would be enough to keep them from being upset that they can see & smell the other, but this should subside, both with time & with yours getting neutered. And the barrier would have to be wide enough or have very small holes so their paws can't go through & scratch the other. So maybe, even with 2 different rooms, they both shouldn't be out at the same time. You;ll just have to see what works & what doesn't.

 

[MLS]

Good point on the barrier. Obviously we'll have to play it by ear when new bun comes home. Heck, there's even a chance that Walter will not react at all to a new bunny in the house but I'd rather be safe than sorry. At least now I know what the options are.

Luckily, I have access to some fairly large and thick acrylic sheets so I'm thinking if a baby gate isn't enough to separate them, I could fashion together a frosted acrylic "wall" to put into the door between kitchen and living room so that they couldn't see each other or reach paws/noses through it. Thanks again everyone for your advise! :hugsquish:

 

[LakeCondo]

Let us know how it works out next fall. It's good you're planning for the future & not having your 1st post being a frantic one due to a problem. Of course there will be problems, but they'll be fewer &/or less serious because you've planned ahead.