Would neutering solve these problems…?

[BunbunLeo]

Hi guys, I’m new to the binkybunny website. I hope I’m not breaking any rules right now.

I have two rabbits, Bunbun and Leo. They’re both male and unneutered. They sleep together, eat together, groom each other, and seem to tolerate each other, so I assume they are “bonded”… Also Bunbun is twice Leo’s size so he’s always the one humping Leo (on rare occasions it’s the opposite). It’s been two months since I got Leo and it’s been 7ish months since I got Bunbun.

I’ll be going to the local exotics vet tomorrow, and plan on asking him about neutering my bunnies.

The problem is, Bunbun has been spraying and humping and not using his litter box ever since we got Leo. He also started giving off the onion-y smell that I read somewhere as common with unneutered rabbits. Will these stop when we neuter him? Or will he keep doing some/all of the above listed actions? 

Also, I’m scared my vet is going to be unfamiliar with rabbits. I live in a very small town out in the country, southern Virginia, so I don’t know if he’s a rabbit-savvy vet. I checked rabbit.org and he’s not on the list. Is there anything I should look out for?

[BanditCamp]

From what ive read is that neutering is a counter to SOME not ALL of the territorial rabbit behaviors, if the habit is learned than most likely it will stay that way from what I understand. If you have both rabbits and their male assuming frm your avatar I assume the black one is younger than the adult and the adult might feel threatened and start claiming territory more for behavioral reasons. Toleration doesn’t necessarily mean compatible but it seems like the older rabbit is trying to claim his space.

I only have one rabbit and hes a boy so anyone who has more than one can possibly give more information, I might suggest looking up Bonding videos on you tube or other sites or guides / posts here.

[Bam]

Some of the behaviors might stop. Perhaps not all, not right away at least. Neutered rabbits can be territorial as well. But you absolutely must get your boys neutered if they’re going to live together. Intact bucks fight, and they can hurt each other really, really bad. I’m glad they haven’t been fighting yet, because a bad fight can make it impossible to rebond them.

If you have both boys neutered, chances are good you can rebond them after a period of recovery (6 weeks or so), and if they bond well, the territorial marking can go away because there’s no longer any need to claim territory. You’ll always have some humping to establish/reestablish dominance though. The oniony smell can be present in the poop of a neutered male sometimes, it’s on the territorial poop (bigger poop with a sheen to them if you look closely, the smell is in that oily residue) but not at all as frequently and ample as in an intact male. Pee will smell much less in a neutered buck.

[tobyluv]

If your rabbits are humping and spraying, you need to go ahead and separate them, before fighting and injuries occur, and as bam said, to make sure that they don’t hold a grudge if fighting occurs, which might destroy future bonding attempts.. Rabbits cannot be truly bonded unless both are spayed or neutered, once they reach a certain age.

I don’t know if you’ve seen this article on finding a good rabbit vet: http://rabbit.org/faq-how-to-find-a-good-rabbit-vet/

Sometimes you have to travel out of your community to find a rabbit savvy vet. The vet lists are usually not kept up to date and not always complete, so it would be a good idea for you to contact other vets in or near your area and find out if there are some who are more knowledgeable about rabbits.

[Limit]

Agree with Bam and Toby… fights between un-neutered rabbits can be brutal with serious consequences. I’d hate to see a post about yours having a fight xx

Nothing else to add to the great advice already given but hope all goes well with your buns

[Author]

Messages