Separated buns

[Jazlyn]

My 2 bunnies have been having problems with each other and I decided it was best to separate them until they were both neutered. They’re just turning a year old so I saw this coming. Their cages are still next to each other though, as they get stressed when they cannot see each other. Anyways, I’ve been keeping the smaller one in the smaller cage and he has lots of toys and I take them out seperately for attention and play time, but he continues to chew on the cage door for hours. Nothing that I have tried has worked. I have given him fresh hay, pellets, switched his toys out with the other bunny’s, and I give him a craisin here and there but nothing is stopping this. The only time he stops is when he realizes, after what seems like forever, that no one is taking him out yet. It stops and starts back up again shortly after. Does anyone have any ideas of what I could try to stop this behaviour? The pet store around here doesnt have many toy options so if anyone could send in toy suggestions, it would be much appreciated. I really need to be able to get a good nights sleep and my other bunny is completely silent besides his chewing on food and toys!

[sarahthegemini]

Hmm how much time out of his cage is he getting? Does he play with the toys he has?

[Jazlyn]

They’ve only been separated for 2 nights now, but yesterday I brought them out individually for about 2 hours. Even though he is closed off, he is still getting lots of attention. He doesn’t have many toys because of the few options i have, but he normally loves to play with them. I feel as though he may be getting bored with them though. I’m willing to order online but i dont want to buy something unsafe for them.
I’m glad i separated when i did though, he has been lunging through the cage at the other bunny. Fortunately his snout is wider so he cant fit enough through to bite him. It’s the only place i can put them so i may put a slide of the pen inbetween there just in case. He goes to get neutered this upcoming tuesday and the other one by the end of the month, unfortunately i cannot do it at the same time due to not having enough money.

[sarahthegemini]

Yeah its good you seperated them when you did before anything bad happened If they’re split before they actually fight, bonding is usually a lot smoother.

If you think he is getting bored of his toys, you could try introducing a couple more. Take the others away for a while and rotate regularly. I find, with my two, they sometimes get bored of specific toys if they’re always around. Baby toys are usually a big hit with bunnies and can be pretty cheap (much cheaper than pet stores anyway!) Plastic stacking cups, bowling pins, giant legos are what my bunnies have. All bought from Amazon. The stacking cups are their favourites. Baby linking rings might be fun too.

It doesn’t matter if they aren’t neutered at the same time. Just means waiting a little longer for the hormones of both to drain

[Jazlyn]

Thank you so much! I don’t think they had a real fight when I first separated them, but it was certainly enough for them to get angry with each other. The aggressive one, Zel, has some fur pulled out but he’s fluffy so you can’t tell. Benji has some injuries to his genital area but I have spoken to the vet and they should he should heal up fine on his own as long as I keep him clean. He seems fine, worst case scenario is he ends up getting neutered first.
I will definitely get a few baby toys for them both while i wait. I’m hoping i can take out the little cage and just give them one large pen once they’re bonded again. Thank you for the suggestions! They always get into trouble at the worst of times.

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