PLEASE HELP ** Possibly rescuing a 2nd bun

[teddygraham]

Hi Guys! Please help..

I have a 3 1/2 year old male dwarf rabbit named Ted who is NOT neutered.

A friend of one of my mom’s friends has to get rid of her dwarf rabbit named Thumper who is a 10 year old male also un-neutered. Thumper’s current owner needs to get rid of him because apparently someone is allergic ? And she is saying that if she doesn’t find a home she will have to put the cage outside. I am sick over the thought of this. My family is considering taking him in, but we are not sure how to go about this with out other rabbit, Ted.

At this rabbits age of 10, is it too stressful to introduce a new environment/new rabbit into his world? And I would have to get Ted neutered, correct?… and he is already 3 1/2 years old.. will the vet still do it? Should I just keep them in separate areas of the house? I have so many questions about this but I need to figure it all out quickly so I can (hopefully) take in this bunny!

PLEASE PLEASE if anyone has any advice or experience, please let me know.

-Nicole

[Sarita]

Absolutely not too old to introduce to a new situation – in fact in your home would be a better situation than outside.

Absolutely the vet would still neuter Ted – it would be a good idea to do a blood test prior to neutering.

I don’t think it’s totally necessary to keep them in separate areas – I’ve kept rabbits in the same room before next to each other and not bonded and they seemed to enjoy each others company.

I’m glad you are considering taking this poor senior rabbit into your home. He will most likely appreciate the company of Ted.

[Hazel]

After 10 years suddenly someone is allergic? I guess it could be someone new to the family but it’s kind of odd.

Anyway, I hope your family can take him in, poor guy. One thing you might want to mention to your mom’s friend is, when someone thinks they are allergic to a bunny, most of the time it’s actually the hay they are allergic to. Switching hay might just solve the problem.

It’s fine for a 10 year old to move to a new environment, age shouldn’t really be much of a problem in that regard. It’s certainly preferable to having him get kicked out of the house.

Do you plan on trying to bond them? If so, then yes they would both have to be neutered first. If you don’t want to bond, you don’t necessarily have to get Ted neutered but it would probably be beneficial. He will know there’s a new bunny in the house and that often causes all kinds of hormonal behaviors in intact bunnies. Personally, I would recommend neutering anyway, even if there’s only one bun in the household. Makes for happier bunnies as well as humans, in most cases . At 3 1/2 years old, Ted will be totally fine, as long as you have a rabbit savvy vet.

As for where to keep them until they can be bonded (if that’s what you want to do), it depends on how they react to each other. If they don’t get extremely aggressive or hormonal (poop/pee wars), they could stay where they can see each other. If they are okay with that it could make bonding easier. If they take to this arrangement badly, I would keep them as far apart as possible until they are ready to be bonded.

Thank you so much for trying to make things work for this poor bun !

[teddygraham]

*Update –
We are going to pick him up soon. The woman said she’s going to keep him in a SHED and thats where he is now. I will be there asap to save this little guy.. here on Long Island, NY the temperatures were so high today. I can’t imagine this poor baby in a shed.

Still deciding on how to arrange this with my current rabbit, Ted. Unfortunately my house is small so we have to figure out how/if we are going to bond them but for now the new guy will be kept in my sisters room where he can run free.

Thanks everybody for the support and input! I’ll keep you updated

[Roberta]

Bless you TeddyG, Go get that little bun and make his senior years as wonderful as they should be… I have two boys living in separate enclosures in close proximity and they are fine… Both young fixed rambo’s though…

[teddygraham]

We just picked him up! His name is Thumper, he is a 10 year old UN-neutered male. His previous owner said he’s never been to the vet either. He is very mellow as he is quite old He’s been at my house for about an hour and as barely moved.. I don’t know if this is because of his age or if he’s scared. 

I am a little nervous about under his eye area is a little wet? I don’t know what it is. You can see it a bit in the second photo. Has anyone had any experience with this? I am a little worried (if its something bad) about the possibility of my other rabbit, Ted, getting it too? It could be nothing but I’m just really nervous!!

Any input would be appreciated.

I feel so bad for this little guy he’s sooo cute but he’s very old. I am glad I rescued him because if I didn’t he would’ve spent the night in a dark shed all alone. And who knows if he would’ve been in there tomorrow too

[JackRabbit]

I dont have any advice but wanted to say how wonderful you are for rescuing this poor bunny. It breaks my heart when someone basically turns their back on a old animal. A shed! I cant even imagine having such a cold heart.

[Sarita]

I don’t think you need to worry it’s anything contagious. Best to have the vet check it out though to see if it’s dental or perhaps something irritating his eye since he was outside in the shed.

[teddygraham]

Thanks guys for the input. I know how could somebody just pretty much get rid of a pet they’ve had for 10 years? I don’t understand. But my family and I just want to make his last years happy, comfortable and filled with love. I already know we are taking WAY better care of him then he ever got at his original house.

[Author]

Messages