I could do with some advice please

Hi,

I hope this is in the right section (admin please move if its not).

Ok I currently have a rabbit and guinea pig living together and I've decided its time to sort the pig out.
My rabbit is very independent and the bond between them has kind of broken down since I lost my other rabbit last year (who looked after the pig, cleaned her, kept her company etc). So do I introduce another pig into the outdoor hutch with the rabbit or do I bring the pigs in and keep them in an indoor house.

Then there is the matter of the rabbit, as already said she is very independent. Since I have moved out of my parents house (4 weeks ago) she is becoming more agressive. I have to wear long sleeves always so that she can't sink her teeth into my arm. Now, (bad owner time) she isn't neutered (bad experience with my other rabbit so haven't had the faith to get her done). So another question is do I get her neutered, is it safe with her being 6? or is she just missing the contact of all the people around and so should I get her a friend.... I dunno, she's always been a beast just never this bad!

Thanks in advance for any advice given

Sam

I believe it is not a good idea to keep pigs and rabbits together so you would probably be best to get her another bunny friend if you were going to get her a friend at all.

Neutering...... I had the unfortunate experience of watching my rabbit die (who was about 6) of cancer because we never had her spayed. We found her and never knew if she had been done and as she was a nervous bunny we decided not to risk it just to see if she had been done (if that makes sense).

She had the op when she was 6 to try to remove the cancer/spay and recovered well from the op, unfortunately the cancer must have spread and we lost her 4 weeks later.

You could ask on here if there are any rabbit savvy vets near to you. It is a difficult decision when you have had a bad experience before. There is always a risk with any type of op (even for humans!)

Personally I think if it was me,I would find a recommended vet from someone on here and have her spayed and then see how she is.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

bunny babe said:

I believe it is not a good idea to keep pigs and rabbits together so you would probably be best to get her another bunny friend if you were going to get her a friend at all.

Neutering...... I had the unfortunate experience of watching my rabbit die (who was about 6) of cancer because we never had her spayed. We found her and never knew if she had been done and as she was a nervous bunny we decided not to risk it just to see if she had been done (if that makes sense).

She had the op when she was 6 to try to remove the cancer/spay and recovered well from the op, unfortunately the cancer must have spread and we lost her 4 weeks later.

You could ask on here if there are any rabbit savvy vets near to you. It is a difficult decision when you have had a bad experience before. There is always a risk with any type of op (even for humans!)

Personally I think if it was me,I would find a recommended vet from someone on here and have her spayed and then see how she is.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

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Hi there.

Have to agree with the above post.

I would get your bunny a bunny friend.

You do, however need to look into getting her neutered first as females can be very hormonal if not spayed. They can be very territorial anyway, an unspayed female would be very difficult to bond successfully in my opinion.

Then of course there is the risk of cancer for unspayed lady bunnies over the age of 3-4. The percentage that will get uterine cancer is in the order of 80%. I can totally understand your concern over getting an older bunny operated on at a later age, but given a really good bunny vet, who is performing this procedure regularly, you should have absolutely no worries at all.

You would of course want a health check first to rule out any issues that might prevent a spay, like chest problems etc.

Sadly one of my bunnies was not spayed when she came into the rescue where I adopted her from. She was about 3. When the spay was performed, the vet removed a tumor which was about golf ball sized. Had she not be spayed she probably wouldn't be with us now. Sadly, we don't know if it had already spread and her breathing isn't great.

I know people do keep piggies with bunnies, but there has been quite a bit written about it and it really is not recommended. They have totally different behavior, they can't communicate, they eat different pellets (or at least should) and piggies can carry infections that they do not suffer from directly, but that rabbits can be made very ill from. I took a bun from Freecycle who had been kept with piggies. He died under anaesthetic and the PM revealed that the infection/disease (name I forget) was in his lungs.

If you decide to keep your bunny solo, then I'd certainly recommend bringing her in to live with humans as a house rabbit.

Helen

Thanks for your help, unfortunately she'll never cut it as a house rabbit, after numerous attempts at potty training she has failed miserably everytime with the potty being attacked and upside down regularly... she is an absolute beast but I wouldn't really have her any other way! She does have a soft side, but she rarely lets me see it but seems to love my other half! I just keep thinking "whos the one that feeds you, cleans you etc..."

I've decided that I will get her checked at a vet and see if she is ok to be neutured - we've recently come across a superb vet by me that seems to really competent (Twycross Zoos vet I believe) so I will give them a call today. Does neuturing have a big effect on their personalities, could it be that she'll become a little nicer?

On th pig front - I'm going to sneak out as my boyf has just gone to bed again (he's dead against me getting another animal) and get her an indoor cage and a buddy me thinks. I'd love to get a rescue but not having much luck with finding any near me - Tamworth nr Birmingham. B/ham centres seem to be cat and dog orintated. All the small pet shops have gone out of business cus of P@H so it looks like its a P@H jobby.

What size cage should I be looking to get for 2 guinea pigs, don't want them to be cramped!

I am sure she will be alot nicer when she is spayed
Two piggies will need a 4ft cage

Cool, thanks everyone

I would almost certainly guarantee that your bun will be a much nicer lady when she's been snipped.

Good luck