Good idea or Bad idea?????

[ldoerr]

Today I let the 2 rabbits run around in my kitchen/laundry room together for them to bond. Shiny Things took control of the laundry room and would not let Beauty in there. (She was being territorial). That got me to thinking about maybe switching their cages. I would put them in each other's cage for a while (I was thinking that they would spend the same amount of time in each cage each day). This I was hopping would prevent them from having territories, and would make it better for when I take down the devidor. What do you think?

 

[JjGoesBounce]

Start off with switching every week.
If they are being territorial I'm betting they aren't spayed? Definitely consider spaying, they'll live longer, be happier and possibly even bond!

Jj

 

[ldoerr]

Trust me I want to get Shiny Things spayed. My parents do not want me to get her spayed though.

 

[Imbrium]

why on earth not? they live like twice as long if you get them spayed... plus it tends to be impossible to bond sexually mature unfixed bunnies.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Stop trying to bond unspayed females, everyone keeps telling you this in multiple threads. One of your rabbits will end up dead if you insist on pushing them together. ssd:

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

I agree with Brandy. You should just keep them seperated, but with a divider so they can see eachother or something.

I unintentionally bonded Bugsy and Oreo. They have been housed so close together for so long it just happened on its own. I cant put them together because they'll make more babies! Bugsy gets neutered on the 22nd, I'm still not going to house them together. Once Oreo gets spayed then I will keep them side by side just like they are now for a few months.. so they can build their relationship without hormones... THEN if all goes well.. little by little i'll get them together.

Bonding is a very slow process.. if done correctly and with patience, very rewarding also.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I just saw in another thread that Shiney Things may be having babies today? You are very lucky she didn't kill Beauty. Rabbits can evicerate (guts everywhere) each other with a couple good kicks. Why would you even risk it with a pregnant doe?

 

[ldoerr]

Shiny Things it turns out is NOT pregnant. There was the smallest posibility that she MIGHT have been. The people who had her about a month ago's rabbit barn was under 8 feet of water. They had to put all of the rabbits in carriers inside. They ran out of carriers so some of the rabbits had to be put 2 per carrier. They are not sure if Shiny Things was put in with another bunny or not. If she was they are not sure if it was a buck or a doe that she was put in with. I have been monitoring her closely. She has not gained any weight. My friend palpated her on Friday and did not feel anything. She has been eating like a pig which is normal for her. She has no milk comming in. She has not built or even attempted to build a nest. She is past her due date if she would have been pregnant.

She and beauty are getting along much better each time I let them run around together. Today what I am trying to do is find a vet that will spay a rabbit and get a quote on the cost. I called one vet already and they wanted over $400 to do it. I am going to do my best to convince my parents to let me get her spayed and soon.

 

[littl3red]

$400 is too much for a rabbit spay, they'd be robbing you. My vet charged the same amount for a rabbit spay as she did for a cat spay.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Are you sure they weren't saying $400 for both of them? That would be about right.

I'm glad you won't have to deal with babies. Just please be careful putting them together still as they are hormonal which can lead to moodyness.

 

[ldoerr]

I am sure. I found a discount spay place that charges $140 for a spay and $15 for pain killers. I talked to my mom about it today and she said that I could not do it. She said that we do not have the $ right now. She said that it took 1/2 of our savings to pay the bills this month. Add that to the fact that both me and my brother are in college and it gets really expensive. She is still not willing to take an animal besides a dog or a cat to the vet. She said that if we had a horse that it would go to the vet but not a rabbit. She does not thing that rabbits need to go to the vet ever. I told her about the cancer and she said that we are not even sure if I can keep the rabbits when I move in 9 months. I keep telling her that we will find a place that accepts rabbits. She does not believe me. She thinks that there will not be a place in Huntsville that will accept rabbits so I will have to get rid of them. I tried everything to get her to allow me to get even one of them spayed. I said that it would count as a Birthday or Christmas present but she is still not going for it. She said that we will talk about it when school lets out for the summer in 9 months. I told her that that would be even more risky. She does not want to put the rabbit through the surgery because it is risky. She thinks that I am the one who is being stuborn about wanting to get the rabbit spayed. I think that she is being stuborn because she has never been willing to take a small animal to the vet.

On a much more positive note. Shiny Things and Beauty are getting along MUCH better each day. They are learning eachothers quirks. Today I put Shiny Things in the kitchen to run around first and then 10 minutes latter added Beauty. Beauty imedeately went over to Shiny Things and groomed her for at least a minute. Shiny Things barely grunted at all for the 1.5hrs that they were running around. I think that if they continue to improove at this rate that they will be able to live together in a week or 2. I will not be rushing things. I am taking everything by ear.

 

[Elliot]

If you are in college, perhaps you should be able to make money yourself, not ask mom. I wouldn't swap their cages back and forth, I think that is mean...
Regular vet costs to spay here are 3-400. also. We found a clinic that did a great job with Elliot, and it was $85. plus meds to neuter. A spay was just a little more.
Good luck

 

[Nelsons_Mom]

You will probably think I'm the meanest person in the world if I sat this, but if you don't have a job for something as small as a 150 dollar spay, what will you do if an emergency happens? Someone falls off something and breaks their leg, or gets an RI or any other of the 10,000 things that could go wrong? They're just going to have to suffer?

I would look into rehoming both rabbits to a home that can provide proper medical care.

Or, if you don't want to do that, be an adult and get a job and pay for the spats yourself.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

Jordan speaks the truth and the truth can be harsh at times.

I know college takes a lot of your time, but a part time job will secure your bunnies future.

So you're going to move in 9months and dont even know if you can take the rabbits with you, although you ASSUME you can? Why didnt you just wait until after the move to get them?

Can I ask how old you are?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: If you can't take care of your charges properly, something is not right with this picture.

 

[MiniLopHop]

:yeahthat::banghead

 

[ldoerr]

I am actually in the process of applying for jobs. I know for a fact that I will be able to keep them. If nothing else my parents will let me lease a house with some other people OR we will keep them at my parents house. I know that if something serious happened my parents would find the $ and pay for a vet.

 

[Hyatt101]

I hope all goes well with your bunnies! I do think you should keep them separate till they're spayed... But good luck!