Mounting.

[allenstacy74]

I have 2 rabbits, male and female, both of which are neutered.. in the time that I’ve had them they have never had this problem, but my male will NOT stop mounting my female, she really does not like it and he keeps pulling tuffs of her fur out etc and I get him off and move him away but he keeps doing it, over and over again, I’m worried that she might start biting him etc. what do I do? And why is he all of a sudden constantly mounting her??

 

[allenstacy74]

I have 2 rabbits, male and female, both of which are neutered.. in the time that I’ve had them they have never had this problem, but my male will NOT stop mounting my female, she really does not like it and he keeps pulling tuffs of her fur out etc and I get him off and move him away but he keeps doing it, over and over again, I’m worried that she might start biting him etc. what do I do? And why is he all of a sudden constantly mounting her??

I would like to add they are both bonded and have been for a long while

 

[Blue eyes]

How long ago were they neutered?

 

[JBun]

How old is he and how long have you had him? Any new pets or changes to your rabbits environment since this started? There are a few possible explanations for an unusual upsurge of hormonal type behaviors in fixed rabbits that have already been neutered for more than a couple of months.

Some rabbits, even spayed/neutered ones, can have something called 'spring fever', where they have a surge of hormonal behaviors in the spring for a few weeks.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/behaviour/hormonal-behaviour-neutered-rabbits/
New pets or changes to a rabbits environment can sometimes cause dominance behavior like humping, to surge. Thou this isn't usually a relentless thing, and is intermittent and settles down after a little time.

Then there are possible adrenal problems, particularly in older rabbits. This will usually be where the humping is really excessive and just doesn't seem to be letting up.

https://rabbit.org/sex-hormones-in-altered-rabbits/
If it is really excessive and you think it's starting to agitate your girl bun, you may need to consider separation for a while, until he calms down or you get it sorted out. You just don't want to risk a real fight breaking out, as this could affect their bond.

If it's not letting up and you think adrenal problems could be possible, I would suggest making an appointment with your vet(if an experienced rabbit vet) to get testing done on hormone levels, possibly xrays/scans as well.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

 

[allenstacy74]

How long ago were they neutered?

My male was neutered last year and the female was neutered January this year

 

[allenstacy74]

How old is he and how long have you had him? Any new pets or changes to your rabbits environment since this started? There are a few possible explanations for an unusual upsurge of hormonal type behaviors in fixed rabbits that have already been neutered for more than a couple of months.

Some rabbits, even spayed/neutered ones, can have something called 'spring fever', where they have a surge of hormonal behaviors in the spring for a few weeks.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/behaviour/hormonal-behaviour-neutered-rabbits/
New pets or changes to a rabbits environment can sometimes cause dominance behavior like humping, to surge. Thou this isn't usually a relentless thing, and is intermittent and settles down after a little time.

Then there are possible adrenal problems, particularly in older rabbits. This will usually be where the humping is really excessive and just doesn't seem to be letting up.

https://rabbit.org/sex-hormones-in-altered-rabbits/
If it is really excessive and you think it's starting to agitate your girl bun, you may need to consider separation for a while, until he calms down or you get it sorted out. You just don't want to risk a real fight breaking out, as this could affect their bond.

If it's not letting up and you think adrenal problems could be possible, I would suggest making an appointment with your vet(if an experienced rabbit vet) to get testing done on hormone levels, possibly xrays/scans as well.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

No environmental changes, and they have both been neutered for a while (male was done last year, female was done January of this year) they have both been bonded since February and this has not happened until around last week. But he is progressively doing it more and more, she is starting to “box” him and nip him and I’ve now had to separate them because I’m worried she is going to cause serious damage. I have tried many things to stop him, such as; pulling him off her, putting him in “time out” in a kennel (baring in mind they do not normally get put in here as they are freeroam, I’ve tried a spray bottle, and nothing is working, so I’m kind of at a loss on what to do about this, as I’ve said previously, this is completely out of character for him.

 

[allenstacy74]

No environmental changes, and they have both been neutered for a while (male was done last year, female was done January of this year) they have both been bonded since February and this has not happened until around last week. But he is progressively doing it more and more, she is starting to “box” him and nip him and I’ve now had to separate them because I’m worried she is going to cause serious damage. I have tried many things to stop him, such as; pulling him off her, putting him in “time out” in a kennel (baring in mind they do not normally get put in here as they are freeroam, I’ve tried a spray bottle, and nothing is working, so I’m kind of at a loss on what to do about this, as I’ve said previously, this is completely out of character for him.

- I forgot to add how old he is! He is a year and 6 months old.

 

[JBun]

Maybe give a couple weeks separation. Though if you still want to try keeping them together, give her plenty of small hidey holes(2 exits) and shelves she can run to get away from him when she needs to, but only if she isn't starting to lash out at him already.

If he's still doing this after a couple weeks break, is getting worse, or you have any concerns, I would book a vet check in case something medical is going on. This isn't normal, so if spring fever is ruled out by giving a few weeks for it to settle down and it doesn't, then a medical problem should be investigated.