I made many posts here, thanks everyone for helping even if I get a little annoying about needing so much help! Sorry if this post is long, I’m trying to explain their relationship.
At the end of April my boyfriend rescued two bunnies at a subway station from an illegal seller. They were babies then, very small.
One has beige shading (Softie) and one had black markings (Shadow). Softie was more reserved and scared and Shadow was more brave and outgoing. From what I saw, Shadow was more dominant as I only saw Softie grooming Shadow and rarely the other way around. They were already bonded very well.
Soon, Softie started growing bigger than Shadow and now is definitely bigger and stronger.
They moved in to my apartment in the middle of May and I see them requesting grooming from each other but they never comply. I’ve never seen them groom each other. But they were still very close. They always lay next to each other or on top of each other.
I started noticing that Softie seemed very interested in Shadow’s butt. Softie regularly sniffed it and Shadow would usually scoot away.
By the end of May we estimated them to be almost 3 month old and tried to check if they were male or female. We guessed that Shadow was male and Softie was female and we were worried about that. I bought a pet carrier for them the next day, hoping to train them to get used to it before going to the vet. Then the day after that I found Softie mounting Shadow! Shadow scooted away but Softie definitely got some humps in. After a slow-motion NNNNNNNnnnnOOOOooooooOOooo from me I scrambled to split them up. I herded Softie into their cage and got Shadow into the pet carrier. Softie just laid down and didn’t seem to care while Shadow wanted to be with Softie again. I had work so I left them like that for the day and took them to the vet after work.
The vet determined that Shadow was 100% male but he was only 80% sure that Softie was male. I guess that’s why I thought Softie was female? But Softie is bigger and started humping already so shouldn’t that mean his testicles are dropping, so shouldn’t it be more obvious that he’s male? I just don’t get the 80% part. Softie also drops more territorial poops whereas Shadow is very good at using the litter box. Also Sofie has had more peeing accidents but he could be marking his territory.
The vet estimated them to be 3 months old (same as our estimation) and said we’ll have to wait 2~3 months for them to be neutered. He was very cool about everything and brushed off my concerns about them fighting in the future. He says as long as they aren’t stressed by a small living space or being too hot, they should be fine and the humping is not a huge deal.
So I decided to expand their play area and give them access to the play area at all times. I was planning on slowly expanding the play area because I wasn’t confident with Softie’s peeing but since it may be a territorial thing I thought just dealing with the pee and cleaning it up a lot would be better than them feeling stressed about space and fighting.
After the humping incident I noticed Shadow grooming Softie more. Not full sessions just around the ears for a minute or two and then the neck area for a minute or two and then scooting off or taking care of his own grooming. I didn’t see Softie grooming Shadow back.
Today is the first day I caught them humping again. Softie and Shadow were running around in circles. Softie was trying to mount him and Shadow wasn’t into it. Softie started humping Shadow so Shadow nudged Softie’s rib area (not aggressively, no fur was pulled and Softie didn’t seem to notice. I don’t think it was a nip, just a nudge). So I got worried and turned the vacuum on (Softie is scared of it, Shadow isn’t). But when it turned off, Softie went at it again. So I softly pushed Softie off. But Softie kept trying. Shadow found a chance to leap into the cage so I closed the door and Softie tried to get in and Shadow seemed to want to be with Softie too and tried to go out. But I left them like that for 5 minutes before opening the door and giving them both some hay.
After eating, Softie went to the play area to lie down and Shadow stayed in the cage to lie down. After giving them a bigger space, they don’t lie down with each other as much anymore.
Since they were rescues we didn’t expect to get pets and I didn’t set aside a budget for them. I’m not sure I can afford to get them both neutered at the same time. Also, I’m fostering them and we’ve been trying to find them a forever home but it’s been difficult. We think getting them neutered may help them find a home because new owners may not want intact rabbits.
Now I’m very paranoid about them fighting and losing their bond. I searched this forum but most of the male-male pairs seem to be not-yet-bonded bunnies. Mine are already bonded. I really don’t want to separate them. I have another appointment with the vet at the end of the month and I’m hoping to ask again when they can get neutered. As Softie is bigger and reached sexual maturity sooner I think maybe only Softie can get neutered earlier. Would it be okay if only Softie got neutered first and then later Shadow when he shows signs of sexual maturity?
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