Bonded sisters fighting suddenly

[SKL]

Hi all
This is my first post on this site although I have found reading previous posts very helpful with certain questions I have had so thanks for that! I feel the need to seek some support after today’s issues – apologies if I have posted incorrectly.
I have two gorgeous girls sasha and snowy. They are approx 9 months and are litter sisters. Breed is lion lop and they are house rabbits. They were spayed at 6 months so 3 months ago and recovery was fine. Snowy would mount sasha a lot prior to spay but that stopped afterwards ( I have seen snowy mount twice since spay) sasha always submitted and it didn’t seem to bother her so it never escalated to anything.
There was a couple of occasions when sasha would be binkying and would accidentally bump into snowy and I saw snowy lunge at her but sasha would just run away. Tonight both girls were in my bedroom with me and all of a sudden I heard a commotion, when I looked they were fighting and there was fur everywhere (no injuries)
Separated them for a 10 mins then allowed them together, they began grooming then all of a sudden they started again. Put them in the bathtub (neutral ground) seemed to go well for about 15 minutes, they investigated then sat side by side grooming. Sasha then done bunny flop next to snowy and snowy went crazy again. Snowy seems to be the instigater and sasha is just defending herself. So tonight I have them separated and I am going out of my mind with worry about what to do?
These girls adore each other and are devoted to one another and it breaks my heart to think of them being separated!
Can anyone understand what could have happened and offer some advice on what I should do next?
Thanks in advance x

[Azerane]

This is a tough one to figure out. Sometimes one bun might be feeling a little unwell which can cause an attack as they don’t act as they normally would. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, sometimes spring weather and longer days can bring with it hormonal swings which can lead to changed behaviours such as this.

My other thought is because they are both still relatively young, that even though they have been desexed and bonded, that they still hadn’t quite reached adulthood and perhaps their adult personalities are only just cementing now and so Sasha may have stood up for herself instead of giving in to Snowy like she previously would have done.

I would keep them separated for about a week or more before trying to bond again in a neutral area (if you have one).

[SKL]

Thanks for that
I’m going to call vets tomorrow morning for an appointment and get them checked over. Both are eating, drinking and pooping fine so I never considered that but I’ll make sure all okay health wise. When they are separated would it help to keep them side by side so they can still see and smell each other?
Snowy seems very on edge and destroyed her house throughout the night, I think she’s upset being on her own.

[tobyluv]

You can keep their cages or pens very close to each other but don’t let them touch. Rabbits can bite noses or other body parts through cage wires.

[Author]

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