Waiting to bond after neutering

[Bearcloud]

I’m hoping someone has some thoughts on this…

I adopted two lops a couple of weeks ago, both males (I think) and about a year old . Definitely hormonal teens! They are getting fixed tomorrow and I’m wondering if I really have to wait a month or so before bonding. They are not housed in the same pen but they know each other’s smells and are interested. I was told they were in pens next to each other where I adopted them. I’m wondering if I can start the bonding process without waiting a month. I understand that hormones take time to die down but since they are somewhat familiar maybe it won’t be such an issue?
Of course their safety is #1 but so is their emotional well being!
Please advise!
Sarah (Bear and Claude)

[sarahthegemini]

No, you need to wait a month. It’s important that their hormones disipate or you could have two unpredictable hormonally driven rabbits which can be dangerous. You can pre bond tho during this time.

[Sirius&Luna]

It’s really not worth rushing – if they have a fight then it could set you back three months, so waiting for a month is worth while.

It also gives them time for their hormones to drain. My male was still hormonal 6 weeks after his neuter, so you might have to see how they are, and potentially even wait a little longer. I sent my two to a professional bonder 3-4 weeks after his neuter and she gave up because of how he was behaving. When I tried another month later, they were a relatively easy bond.

[Bearcloud]

Okay thank you both for your advice! That makes sense. Patience pays off

[Sirius&Luna]

It is worth starting to prebond after their neuter though, so start swapping their litter trays or cages once you’ve given them a week to recover

[Author]

Messages