Very bad bunny… Very frustrated Mummy!

[QueenTwitch]

So we’ve recently bought Twitch a playpen to stop her chewing on the furniture when she’s bored and to give her more space as shes getting big and I feel guilty her being in her cage all night! She learnt to escape it, so we’ve had to extend the walls. Unfortunately, she’s also been peeing on our sofa, so we’ve tried to stop her getting on it by putting her in the playpen and re-litter training her. Slowly… The problem isn’t the peeing – though that is bad… It’s that she keeps biting and scratching me. She draws blood and everything – I don’t think it’s always deliberate, but sometimes it definitely is. She only does it to me, and not my other half.

She’s been spayed already, though they couldn’t find her second ovary… So there’s a tiny chance that’s still there. So it’s a behavioural thing, but she never used to do it. She’s an only bunny, I’m wondering if she needs company, and if so, what would be the best gender/age/etc bun to find? 

Help!!  I’m getting quite upset about it, to be honest! And I know she’ll pick up on that too. I’m really worried that she’s becoming a bad bunny.

[Stickerbunny]

Sounds hormonal and if they didn’t remove both ovaries and uterus it likely is. I would also worry about cancer risk if she still has an ovary.

[Hazel]

I agree with Stickerbunny. Best thing to do would probably be to get her back to the vet and have any remaining reproductive organs removed. It might also be a good idea to find a new vet, they don’t sound to be very experienced with rabbits.

[jerseygirl]

Ditto. You absolutely have to verify that the Spey procedure they do for rabbits remove both uterus and ovaries.

You would need to cover all that before getting her a companion also.

Another reason for her behaviour could be if you’re wearing a new scent or lotion. She might not recognise you as readily. But, being the age she is….I strongly suspect hormones are the culprit here.

[QueenTwitch]

I wondered whether her hormones were still active, if that ovary was still there. Before we had her spayed, I made sure the vet knew what she was doing with rabbits, I did feel confident in her. She explained all about the procedure, how many times she had performed it etc. When we went to get T, the vet was really apologetic about not being able to find it.

Twitch had a bigger scar than normal because the vet had looked everywhere for the missing ovary. I really don’t want to put her under another operation unless we really have to – is it that likely that the ovary is still there somewhere? I’m a bit worried that we will have to send her back for another op, but if that’s what it takes then I had better just suck it up!!

Poor bunny!

[Hazel]

Well, her behavior is textbook for out of control hormones, how long ago was she spayed? If it’s been well over 1 month since her spay then her behavior seems to suggest that the ovary is still there. If it’s there and the vet couldn’t find it, I would look for a new vet. Did they remove the uterus?

[QueenTwitch]

Yes, they definitely removed her uterus. She was spayed 4 weeks ago yesterday. She’s been really calm and good today, which is mildly unnerving at the moment!

I think from your advice, I’ll keep an eye on her for another couple of weeks, see how she gets on, and take her back to the vet. If their advice isn’t satisfactory, get a new vet!

Thank you all 🙂

[Stickerbunny]

Oh. She’s a recent spay. For the first 4 weeks after a spay, their hormones often surge to higher levels than before the spay – which causes bad hormonal behavior and made me want to pull my hair out. She _should_ level out in another week or so and allow you to train her out of any habits she’s started due to the hormones, if not then I would call and ask if they could maybe x-ray or ultrasound or something to find her ovary without having to cut her open again and go looking to see if it’s there. Having only one is unusual, but not impossible, but the risk of cancer if one is still in there is still high so that is a concern beyond the behavior.

[QueenTwitch]

I had heard that but to be honest couldn’t work out whether it would be true or not. Will keep my eyes on her, she’s apparently calming down a bit today so fingers crossed it continues!

We did discuss ultrasound with the vet – if she doesn’t calm down majorly in the next couple of weeks, I’ll get my demanding hat on… Definitely aware of the cancer risk too, so will be very cautious.

Thanks Stickerbunny!

[Stickerbunny]

Posted By QueenTwitch on 04/09/2013 03:05 PM

I had heard that but to be honest couldn’t work out whether it would be true or not. Will keep my eyes on her, she’s apparently calming down a bit today so fingers crossed it continues!

 

Oh it’s true. My male when he was neutered surged so bad, he went from perfect bunny (no chewing wires, no chewing furniture, well behaved, listened when I said no, etc) to insane destructo bun. First week, he chewed through my box springs and jumped up inside of it. Second week, he had chewed every wire he could find that wasn’t covered well enough to stop him. Third week, he BIT me. I was in a rush to get my angel bun back, which he did return to his previous state after about a month. 

[QueenTwitch]

Posted By Stickerbunny on 04/09/2013 03:41 PM

Oh it’s true. My male when he was neutered surged so bad, he went from perfect bunny (no chewing wires, no chewing furniture, well behaved, listened when I said no, etc) to insane destructo bun. First week, he chewed through my box springs and jumped up inside of it. Second week, he had chewed every wire he could find that wasn’t covered well enough to stop him. Third week, he BIT me. I was in a rush to get my angel bun back, which he did return to his previous state after about a month. 

I’m so glad to hear he’s back to his normal angelic self – I was so worried that T’s behaviour would stick this way. She’s been angelic today, so I’m really hoping she’s back to normal too. She would never chew the sofa and bite me before her spay – and she’s managed to get through even some of the bunny proofing we have. Little beastie! But she’s happily had cuddles with me today and is having herself some veg now.

[jerseygirl]

Do be prepared for it being just her age and energy though. Despite being desexed, some under a year old can still have challenging behaviours. And some will always have them.
If she is part or full English breed like you were told, she may need lots of stimulation. I hear they are pretty active.

Suggestion: Keep her occupied with toys or set up an obstacle course with tunnels and boxes.
Some clicker training could be useful and engaging for her also.

[QueenTwitch]

She was so nice and chilled yesterday. But apparently she was just plotting an unwelcome 5.30am wake up call, when she appeared by the bed and started thumping! She had managed to escape her playpen, and make her way through to our room…

She’s certainly very energetic – she’s got a tunnel and cardboard castle but she’s decided those are boring again now. She’s stopped biting (at least for now) – I’m beginning to think the only solution is to get her a friend, because it does seem to be pent up energy that she’s releasing.

[jerseygirl]

You might end up with double trouble though.

I’ve now learnt young rabbits seem to be able to make it over higher barriers more easily. And some of them climb!!
When they grow and put on a bit of weight they are less able to make it over.
In the meantime, sounds like you will have to extend the height of the pen or attach a top.

Sounds like you have a smarty-pants on your hands. Was she coming to tell you she wanted breakfast? Lol

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