New Bunny *Maybe (Bunny Knowledge players must unite!)

DiamondPuppy0809 · January 2009

Well, since my first bunny, RÃ©mi, has gotten quite big, we've decided to maximize his current cage into a condo. And with his terribly lonesome home, I think he could use a friend. When I take him out to play and give him attention, he tends to sleep or run upstairs. Boy, was it ever a bad idea to teach him how to get away from the cats by going upstairs xD. I've set up a little bridge for him to get into his cage (the opening is at the top, not the side), and he seems to have taken to climbing it whenever he's out. So, since I've realized he's bored of me, and I still want him to get plenty of attention and exercise, I've decided to perhaps get another bunny since the cage will be bigger. I've read many articles and pamphlets. They are still confusing and leave questions I need answered. I am going to raise up $50-$75+ for RÃ©mi's altering, since I've read that bunnies do much better with new friends in their home when they don't have crazy hormones, lol. Plus, then if I get a female or he likes a female he meets, we won't have babies x.x I'm hoping another bunny will give him company. And although I know the small consequence of him taking to the bunny more than me, I am happy to accept that as long as he is happy with a roommate. My sister is only pushing to get another bunny because she is 9 and loves RÃ©mi already. But the rabbits would be my responsibility, just like RÃ©mi is already. RÃ©mi is healthy and lives quite a spoiled, well-balanced life, so I hope getting another bunny wouldn't tip the balance over to extremely unhappy. Help? I know Boz will answer questions because she is a rabbit fanatic. Lol. My main questions: 1. Will altering a bunny change their behavior or happiness in any way? 2. I hear that to be able to adopt another bunny, your original bunny has to pick the one he likes. Is this true/neccessary? 3. If I am not going to introduce the bunnies to meet, will they both have to be altered before put in the same cage? 4. I read that bunnies have to be in the same house/room for over a month so they exchange each other's smell and get used to it. Is this neccessary/true? Thanks, guys. I'll post a photo of his current cage.

It'll be twice its size in height after renovations, though, lol.

Boz · January 2009

Garfieldz Gal wrote:

Help? I know Boz will answer questions because she is a rabbit fanatic. Lol.

I feel so loved. xD 1. Will altering a bunny change their behavior or happiness in any way? Yes it will. Male rabbits that are not neutered are more likely to spray urine (sooooo nasty) and be over hormonal. Girls can be really aggressive and cranky (aka Marley xD). It can turn out though that none of that happens. If you adopt from a shelter some shelters will spay/neuter them before they go home which is awesome because that is over $100 where I am for a bunny. 2. I hear that to be able to adopt another bunny, your original bunny has to pick the one he likes. Is this true/neccessary? This is a good idea. I didn't do this with Dolla and Domino but Domino is very submissive and will groom just about any rabbit. And Dolla is spayed and happy-go-lucky so just after a few weeks of a split cage and supervised visiting I slowly had them living together fully time. On the other hand Marley (my unspayed female) and Domino who is also is not spayed never bonded and still haven't. Marley is over hormonal so bonding just hasn't worked. It can be hard to find the right match sometimes but it's good to study Remi's personality. Meeting a bunny in a neutral place is a great idea! I'd definitely try to find a bunny at a shelter. 3. If I am not going to introduce the bunnies to meet, will they both have to be altered before put in the same cage? You have to do a split cage before just plopping them in the same cage. It doesn't matter if they are fixed or not. Dolla is spayed and Domino is not and they live happily together. :] 4. I read that bunnies have to be in the same house/room for over a month so they exchange each other's smell and get used to it. Is this neccessary/true? Hmm... I really don't know. I guess in a sense it is. When I brought Dolla home she was in a separate cage away from my other two for about 3 weeks till her vet check up. Once she got the okay I let them sniff and meet eachother in a neutral environment (a room that neither bunny had been in ever or for a long time) they didn't go and attack eachother and Domino did groom Dolla (which grooming eachother is good!). So started a split cage which they were in for a few more weeks (can't remember for sure how long). So they did have time to smell eachother and stuff. Did I miss anything? If you have more questions just ask. xD Oh what are you planning to build the cage out of?

DiamondPuppy0809 · January 2009

Thanks, Boz! Lots of work >.> Lol. Silly rabbits. RÃ©mi's cage is Plywood... so, a whole bunch of wood. xD He likes it. I think we'll be using more plywood? We're just adding to his current cage that my daddy built. For the split cage thing, I could do that. Since we're adding to his cage, we'll have two floors. One on top and one on bottom (a condo cage). Since RÃ©mi's used to one floor, he'll be on the bottom if we do that. Anything I should ask about or change?

Boz · January 2009

I don't think spliting them by having one on top of the other is going to work. They need to be side by side. xD I have a link for you that I'll PM you with a ton of info on bonding. Of course you can still ask me questions. xD I just don't think I should post it here. x3

Dispirited · January 2009

Some of Boz's answers are correct and others are a bit iffy. You can PM me. I can help you out with a lot of things.

Boz · January 2009

Which answers are a bit iffy? I would like to know so I understand better. =]

DiamondPuppy0809 · January 2009

All of Boz's answers seem quite logical to me. And safe for the rabbits. She's seemed to answer quite well, I see nothing iffy about them, really. But, if you could please explain WHICH are iffy and WHY, that'd be great.

DiamondPuppy0809 · January 2009

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New Bunny *Maybe (Bunny Knowledge players must unite!)

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