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looby-loo

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Hello,

I have a 6 month old male Mini Rex (Dude), he was 'done' a couple of weeks ago and the vet said it was now ok to have a friend introduced to him. We bought a 6 week old female Netherland Dwarf (Bella).

They have seperate cages and I have been doing little meetings a few times a day. To start with they weren't interested in each other, then whenever Bella saw Dude she just lay flat on the floor and didn't move - I didn't know if this was a dominance thing or if she was scared.

On todays meeting Dude ran over to Bella and started humping her very hard, she was shaking and making a funny noise so I seperated them. Bella has been hiding in her bed and Dude is trashing his cage and trying to escape - I cant even hold him as hes being so aggressive with me.

I dont know what to do next, I'm leaving them both to calm down but I dont know what to do if this happens again, do I seperate or leave them to it?! Dude is about twice Bellas size but about 5 times her weigh so I am worried he'll crush her.

We were advised to buy a baby but the vet as Dude would see it as a baby and be kind with it!

Please help xx
 
If he has been snipped a couple of weeks ago, he still has a lot of hormones in his system still. It can take up to 5 weeks before you will notice a change his behavior. I would keep them separated until he mellows out a bit.
 
It may be a few more weeks before Dude's hormones calm down, and even fixed rabbits will hump and/or fight during the bonding process as a way to determine dominance. It may be wise to wait until a bit more time has passed since the neuter.

Make sure the daily meetings take place in a small, neutral territory, ie. a pen in a place where Dude does not normally spend time, or a bathroom. Try squishing them together side by side and petting their heads. This may encourage them to start grooming each other, which is a good step towards bonding. If things don't go smoothly you may have to wait until your baby is older and hopefully spayed, because a little baby would be more vulnerable if Dude is aggressive. You can also get a spray bottle to have on hand and squirt Dude if he bites her. Try to end each session on a good note, by again making them sit together and petting them calmly while ensuring no biting can occur.
 
By the waywelcome, Here are some good links to areas of the site you might find interesting, the Library section, full of good reference info, Bunny Blog, where you can keep everyone up to date on your bunny and your life as a bunny slave and if you bunny would like to ask questions of other buns the Bunny Chat is the spot to be. The regional forum is a good way to find a rabbit savvy vet or to post places where you get some of your supplies for your bun etc. For the lighter side and to give you a chuckle or two stop by the go to the Let Your Hare Down section for anything but bunny's.

Here is link to the rules of the site, light reading Rabbits Online Forum Rules.

If you would like to post pictures in your post this link How to put photo's in your posts will help explain that.

I hope I didn't overwhelm you with info. This is a wonderful site and I look forward to seeing pictures and reading some stories.

Dave
 
I agree with the above posters and think you need to give Dude about 5-6 weeks for his hormones to settle down before you re introduce them in neutral territory.

Google rabbit bonding, there's lots of great stuff out there.
 
Also, Bella may be hormonal. She needs to be spayed to properly bond with him. It sounds like she's reacting to his humping her like any intact doe would and that's not going to allow them to bond normally.
 
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