I woke up to a stinky house, help!

[ElysiaMarie]

Hello all, I'm hoping someone has some ideas for me.

For months, I have had a lone boar Guinea Pig. I have been looking for a companion for him for a while as Guinea Pigs should never be alone, but it is a hard job finding a young enough male to introduce to an older boar.

While at a pet shop, my fiancee found a bunny. She loved the bunny. She bought the bunny "for her daughter". Also, so the bunny could keep Charlie my Guinea Pig company.

Well that was all fine and dandy. They got along great. The bunny is very friendly and not timid in the least. However, he is spraying EVERYTHING. He sprays charlies, he sprays our baby puppy, and I think he is spraying while having "free roaming" time.

We just got him yesterday, and my house stinks. I'm looking into neutering, although in my most honest opinion, paying $200 to get this rabbit neutered may not be whats best for us. We just had a Maltese puppy that had a rare form of anemia who required blood transfusions and the like and then ended up having to be euthanized last week which broke our savings account. I don't think I can put up with this smell for two weeks until my fiancee gets paid. Being winter, I cannot simply open windows either. I find it is making it very hard for me to breathe.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm fairly desperate. I know about Guinea Pigs, and not about rabbits in the least. Would he spray less being alone in a cage away from Charlie until we can get him neutered?
Thanks

 

[Nela]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is common misconception that guinea pigs and rabbits can be housed together. I know, I did the same in the past. The problem is it is actually not very safe at all. Pasteurella can be a serious issue as well as the guinea pig potentially suffering a life-threatening injury by the rabbit. Also, they are different enough that some requirements kind of clash. It's just not a very good idea really. I'm sure many others can elaborate but I did want to mention it so you can be aware of it if you didn't already know.

As for the rabbit, neutering almost always stops that kind of behaviour so it is definitely worth it. For now though, it may indeed help to keep him further away for now as he may react to the scent and presence of the guinea pig. However, that doesn't mean that he will not spray anymore so I would suggest keeping an eye out so that you don't get urine on anything of importance.

I do think neutering will really be the best solution, especially in the long-run. However for now, there are a few extra things to consider...

What kind of litter are you using? Compact newspaper or wood pellet is usually best as it really absorbs a lot of urine. I have heard of people putting a drop of vanilla in the drinking water to help with the scent as well so you might want to look into more info about that. When he is out, is his litterbox closeby so he can go back in on his own to use it? Also, I know this might sound silly but if you don't wash off the areas he's sprayed with any strong smelling products, he may still smell his scent and not tend to spray it again as much. I have found, especially when bringing in a new bunny, that they like to mark their territory. The less you mess with it, the less they will feel the need to remark everything. So, if it's possible to just clean it off with some warm water for the first few days, without it looking messy or smelling badly for you, maybe it's worth a shot.

I'm sure many others will chime in but I just thought I'd give you a heads up. I hope everything works out for you and I hope you feel comfortable asking any questions you may have.

 

[ElysiaMarie]

Thank you for the reply!

See, I'm at fault here because I knew ideally, rabbits and guinea pigs should not be housed together long term. That being said, I was DESPERATE for some sort of companion for Charlie, and my fiancee was getting the rabbit anyways. I know enough about cavies, but I've never had rabbits, not for long term anyways. I rescued one from an "animal auction" with the sole purpose of re-homing her. So I didn't have her all that long. It was just horrible seeing all the rabbits, and some going as meat. I felt it my duty to try and save at least one.

Luckily, my fiancee is a nurse, so we will be able to get him fixed, eventually. Like I said, we are recovering from a huge veterinarian bill at the moment.

On a more positive note, one of my friends was giving away her guinea pig, and he gets along great with Charlie so far. They are both males (guinea pigs are so much easier to tell the sex of! I'm still not so sure about the bunny, but his personality and running and peeing is kind of giving it away) The bunny is so sweet and cute. However, are bunnies as social as guinea pigs? Is it just as cruel to house them alone? As cute and sweet as the bunny is, I'm already regretting my fiancee bringing it home for her daughter. I have a headache from this smell. I suppose I should get out the spare cage and move him upstairs soon. Poor guy.

 

[ElysiaMarie]

Oh P.S

Charlie has always been litter box trained in his cage. I used towels and fleece for his bedding. However, right now I am using BOXO for bedding since my small animal population has suddenly grown from 1 to 3....

I do have Yesterdays News pellets as well that I can try for the bunny.

I am using the "Giant bunny cage" also used for ferrets. Which is still too small for all three. Would have been O.K for the two guinea pigs though, as long as they are getting enough floor time.

I leave the cage door open. Bunny was coming out all the time of course and just loving it... until I noticed the spraying. Now the door is closed. Luckily, I have laminate flooring.

 

[Nela]

Hehehe rabbits are a tad more care than most people assume. I knew just as little when I got my first. It is good that you have a friend for Charlie. I, too, have two boys. :biggrin:

It's probably best that you cannot have him neutered exactly right now anyway because it would be good for him to learn to trust you guys and settle in before stressing with the neuter. Meanwhile, it gives you some time to find a proper vet if you do not have one already since not all vets know rabbits very well.

Yesterdays News will work nicely with Reese. Are you putting bedding throughout the cage or only in his litterbox? It works best if it's only in the box. Hehehe I have laminate as well and it sure comes in handy. My rabbits are housed outdoors though due to my allergies but the piggies still like to have 'accidents' on our floor when I let them out.

It sounds like you are doing well. I am sure you will find a ton of invaluable information on this forum so you are in the right place. Like I said, I expect many others will give you some really useful tips as well so hopefully you will be enjoying Reese a whole lot more soon.

 

[foreverblue127]

I just wanted to mention that sometimes your local humane society can offer a low cost spay/neuter. I am taking mine in and it will cost $50.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You really need to good litter and to clean often to keep the smell down. Personally, I do not like Yesterday's News. I much prefer wood pellets both for the price and how effective they are. A 40 pound bag costs about $5-6 and will last me about 2 months with 4 rabbits. I don't notice a smell unless the boxes really need to be cleaned. It does smell a bit woody when first used, but that goes away after a little bit. I only use enough litter to just cover the bottom of the litter box and that lasts about 1 week. In the rest of the cage I use fleece blankets.

It would be best to cage the rabbit separately from the guinea pigs. They don't have to be in different rooms, but should not have direct contact.
Rabbits are social, but usually don't get along when intact. It is best to have both neutered and male/female pairs tend to work best. You also need to spend time to bond them so they get used to each other. Just putting them together can lead to fights which can mean serious injury or even death of one of the rabbits. It would be best to do research before getting another rabbit so you know about bonding and what to look for in the 2nd rabbit.

It would be a good idea to put some plastic down around the cage to help contain any spraying. Put some newspaper or blankets on top so the rabbit can chew the plastic. For run time, have an area that is easy to clean like a kitchen or bathroom. You can also get foam puzzle mats that you can lay down, they are easy to clean but could be chewed by some rabbits. A set of 4 mats where each mat is 2X2ft costs about $10-15. You can also put some cardboard around the cage (tape it to the bars) so that any spray doesn't make it out of the cage onto the walls and floor.

For getting him neutered, you do need to wait until the testicles descend. While it can be done before then, it is more invasive and can be more expensive. It might be hard to find a vet that will do a neuter that way unless the rabbit is older and there are other risks due to a retained testicle.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[ElysiaMarie]

Unfortunately, the humane society in North Bay, Ontario is sub par. They do not offer any sort of spay/neuter program for dogs and cats (unless they are adopted from the shelter) so I would highly doubt they have one for rabbits.

Besides, we can afford it, just not for a couple of weeks. From what we were told, the bunny is only 3-4 months old. I'm not sure if he is even old enough to have the procedure done.

Thanks for the idea though!

 

[foreverblue127]

that's too bad about the humane society. I adopted a bunny from there and for $35 it includes his neuter.Now they are going to give me a voucher for my other bun so he will only cost $20-25 to neuter. They have it done through a regular vet that deals with rabbits. The clinic they have is for dogs and cats only. We have an amazing humane society with 350 volunteers and a 99% adoption rate. My hometown humane society is sub par in comparison. Just something to think about for people who need there buns fixed.

 

[ElysiaMarie]

I wish we had something like that around here...

 

[Happi Bun]

Reese is most likely a male. He is at that age of sexual maturity and the spraying is usually a boy thing.

He can be neutered as soon as his testicles drop.

 

[jcottonl02]

Also another point quickly is that guinea pigs cannot make vitamin C in their bodies, so their food has suppliments in it. If a rabbit were to eat this as its staple food, I'm not sure all the extra vitamin C would be a good idea? Or contrastingly, if the food didn't have vitamin C suppliments then your guinea pig will become deficient.

So maybe try and feed them separately if you really have to keep them together.

Jen