My Lionheads WON'T get along?

[mariethomas]

Hello!

I have a 4 month old Lionhead named Casper.
I decided to get him another lionhead friend, and I named him Korn.

Sometimes they'll snuggle up next to each other, but before I know it Casper will be humping my younger rabbit! They are both male, and no, they are not neutered. I plan to get them neutered eventually but my vet won't perform it until they are each a year old.

Korn is a nervous bunny and likes to hide under Casper.
How can I get them to bond? I've tried the bathtub method and they basically just ignore each other or Casper will only moan next to him, and then hump him. Casper does however groom the younger rabbit, apparently in his eyes too?

They both sleep in different cages, and are only let out together under my supervision because I'm afraid they will fight.

 

[zombiesue]

There's probably nothing you can do until they're neutered.

 

[Bville]

You could check with a different vet to see if they will do it sooner than 1 year old. My male rabbits were neutered at 5 months and my female was spayed at 6 months.

 

[squidpop]

You should be able to neuter as soon as you can see testicles at around 4 or 5 months I think. Call around and see if you can find another vet. You need to neuter before his testosterone really kicks in or they could have a serious fight.

 

[Kipcha]

Do NOT allow them together until they are neutered. If there are testicles present, they might neuter each other and they you have a very big vet bill. Ripped scrotum are common in rabbits that are together before they are fixed. It's also not uncommon to have one kill the other.

Quite honestly, males are difficult to bond to other males, so I wouldn't necessarily get your hopes on having to bunnies living together. I always recommend that people wait until your rabbit is neutered and then let him go meet rabbits to see who he'll get along with. And there are plenty of bunnies who would never bond.

Why would your vet make you wait until they are a year?

 

[selbert]

Different vets have different policies, I would call around. Definitely neuter though!

 

[mariethomas]

Thanks a lot for all the replies. They do seem to be getting along better now, but I'll keep an eye on them. I'm also looking around for a good vet. They seem to enjoy each others company a lot, so I figured after neutering they would be friends.

 

[selbert]

That's great! Keep us updated with their bonding!

 

[Imbrium]

Sometimes they'll snuggle up next to each other, but before I know it Casper will be humping my younger rabbit! They are both male, and no, they are not neutered. I plan to get them neutered eventually but my vet won't perform it until they are each a year old.

Heh... sounds like it's time to find another vet. Most vets will neuter males as soon as their testicles drop and will spay females at 4-6 mos old as long as they're at least around 2 lbs (makes it easier to find those darned ovaries that float around, or so my vet says ).

There's absolutely no benefit in waiting until they're a year old, so that's a BIG red flag for me as it suggests your vet wants them FULLY grown before the surgery - that tells me the vet is most likely very inexperienced with rabbit neuters.

At the very least, I would ask a lot of questions before letting that vet neuter your boys (in particular, about how many rabbit neuters they've done and how recently, whether they've had any complications or lost any rabbits during or immediately after surgery, etc.).

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html has tips on finding a truly rabbit-savvy vet. You might also check out our vet database: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f21/ and/or this link of places where you can get cheap neuters done (by qualified vets, of course): http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f14/79-00-bun-speuters-seattle-appt-info-72039/#post947066

Same sex bonds are inherently trickier than M/F bonds and hormonal behaviors can become learned (ie they'll continue after the hormones are gone) if rabbits aren't fixed relatively soon after reaching maturity, so waiting until they're a year old could potentially make bonding them much harder or even impossible.

Your boys should be kept apart completely until after their neuters (and for a while after - it can take 4-6 weeks for males' hormones to completely dissipate); don't attempt bonding until after their hormones are gone.

 

[mariethomas]

I actually haven't checked if my rabbits testicles have dropped, but I think he has reached sexually maturity because of how he is acting with the younger rabbit. So I definitely be checking soon and I'll have to look around for even more vets. Thank you.