Rabbit trouble

[dutchessMommy124]

hi im a first time poster here and am very concerned about the well being of my two rabbits. first off i adopted my first rabbit leo (hes a lionhead about 1 year of age) and the previous owners told me he was so nice and litter trained and ect.. as soon as we bring him home he explores and pees all over my bed. then he proceeds to bite anyone who dare go near anything he has claimed his. so this goes on for a little over 2 weeks and we decide to buy a baby rabbit and see if it will help calm him down. now since we have been switching their cages every other night to aclimate one another to the scent of each other. leo refuses to use his litter pan but has somewhat calmed down so im not sure weither or not things are going better or im just creating more problems for myself. *side note they will sniff each other through the cages but leo still acts aggressively towards the baby, and us if we get too close while hes roaming around. (hes said to have been neutered but we have no proof so we dont if thats the source of his agression)

 

[ZRabbits]

Welcome to RO!

Sorry to hear you are having rabbit trouble. I think the previous owners were kind of "gilding the lily" on their pet lion head. But also, he's in a new place, rabbits will start to mark their territory. He's got to claim a lot of new area. The nipping, could be nervousness, being in a new place, but I'm kind of wondering how "nice" he really was with the previous owners. Regarding no proof of neutering, does he have his boy bits? If you flip your bunny, you will see two sacs just above the anus (like an upside down V). If your boy bunny is neutered, those sacs should be completely flat. Nothing in it. I do have 2 neutered males. To get true verification, I would definitely take your boy bunny to a Rabbit Savvy Vet. Because if you want those two to bond, he's (1 year old) needs to be neutered. Plus it will definitely help with litter box training because he'll continue to mark his territory more because of the new bunny.

I have no experience in bonding, but I know that you really need to gain the trust of both of them separately, and then slowly introduce them. Your dominant boy needs to learn respect for you. Your youngest is just in the baby stages. When she hits those teenage months, she will go through that dominant stage. Females also mark and spray.

Wishing you all the best. Hoping the ones that are good at bonding will come on and give their stories of success.

K

 

[LakeCondo]

They really can't be bonded yet, until both have settled in, & then maybe not until after she is spayed.

It sounds like Leo would be better off if he wasn't in a cage part of the time & free-range the rest of the time. Honey has an xpen, an exercise pen like for dogs. Other people make an enclosure with 24" square panels, called nic cages. You can see some in other topics. In the xpen, Honey has a large cat litter box, big enough that she can stretch out in it. She also has a cardboard hide box, set into a plastic dig box. I bought some indoor-outdoor carpeting [with the lowest nap you can find] that extends further than the pen does. Or you can use a sheet of linoleum, but you might have to scuff it up a bit so it's not too slippery. I visit Honey in her pen, not vice versa.

 

[dutchessMommy]

well i actually just realized i don't think my male is fixed he still has balls and they don't seem to be flattened which the previous owners were the ones who had told me he was so idk

 

[ZRabbits]

If he's still intacted, you really need to keep him away from your female. Now you know why he is so aggressive, is marking because he's still intact.

He needs to be neutered. I'd start to look for a Rabbit Savvy Vet in your area or even a shelter that does neutering.

You can't bond successfully with hormones surging through your bunnies.

Shame the previous owners weren't honest with you. Seems they just wanted to get rid of him. Poor boy.

K