I have a pair of neutered male bunnies named Bear and Jean-Luc. Bear is 3 years, 3 months old while Jean-Luc is around 2-2.5 years old but I don't know for sure. I had Bear neutered over a year ago, and Jean-Luc had been neutered before I got him.
These guys have been bonded very successfully for about 8 months with no issues whatsoever. The bonding process was pretty smooth and simple, and they were living together after about a month. They've always been inseparable and had no issues with each other.
During the bonding process, there was no mounting or circling. They basically just went straight from hating each other (staying on opposite sides of the bonding area, growling and biting when the other came near) to "hanging out" together to eventually snuggling and grooming and following each other around (in a friendly way). However, it's been 8 months of them being bunny boyfriends and some odd behavior has started.
A couple of nights ago I heard some ruckus in the bunny cage, so I turned on the light and saw that Bear was circling Jean-Luc ("Luke") around the cage. Luke would hop to one side, and Bear would follow, then Luke would hop to the other side, etc. The behavior stopped after a minute or two and they snuggled up and Bear started grooming Luke. Neither of them seemed annoyed or aggressive, except for Luke obviously trying to get away from Bear when he was circling.
This has happened a few times over the past couple of days. It lasts for a couple of minutes each time, then Bear grooms Luke for a minute or so, and they go about their normal business.
Today, this behavior happened again, but this time Bear was mounting Luke. Luke would hop away and Bear would follow him, mounting him again. They finally stopped after a couple of minutes and, like usual, Bear groomed Luke, and they went on with their bunny business.
I'm just a bit concerned because this is new and unlike them. Nothing has changed in the environment that would cause them to become territorial. It doesn't seem like aggressive behavior, either. Both of them have been neutered for at least a year. What could be causing this behavior, and should I be concerned?
These guys have been bonded very successfully for about 8 months with no issues whatsoever. The bonding process was pretty smooth and simple, and they were living together after about a month. They've always been inseparable and had no issues with each other.
During the bonding process, there was no mounting or circling. They basically just went straight from hating each other (staying on opposite sides of the bonding area, growling and biting when the other came near) to "hanging out" together to eventually snuggling and grooming and following each other around (in a friendly way). However, it's been 8 months of them being bunny boyfriends and some odd behavior has started.
A couple of nights ago I heard some ruckus in the bunny cage, so I turned on the light and saw that Bear was circling Jean-Luc ("Luke") around the cage. Luke would hop to one side, and Bear would follow, then Luke would hop to the other side, etc. The behavior stopped after a minute or two and they snuggled up and Bear started grooming Luke. Neither of them seemed annoyed or aggressive, except for Luke obviously trying to get away from Bear when he was circling.
This has happened a few times over the past couple of days. It lasts for a couple of minutes each time, then Bear grooms Luke for a minute or so, and they go about their normal business.
Today, this behavior happened again, but this time Bear was mounting Luke. Luke would hop away and Bear would follow him, mounting him again. They finally stopped after a couple of minutes and, like usual, Bear groomed Luke, and they went on with their bunny business.
I'm just a bit concerned because this is new and unlike them. Nothing has changed in the environment that would cause them to become territorial. It doesn't seem like aggressive behavior, either. Both of them have been neutered for at least a year. What could be causing this behavior, and should I be concerned?