Help! My Two Lionheads Are Not Getting On....

Hi, I'm new to this forum so a big HI from me! Now, I have two lionhead rabbits, both from the same litter and around 5 months old.....they have got on soooo well over the last few months, grooming each other, playing together, sleeping and snuggling, but............last night it was mental! I have been up most of the night watching them and it was way too noisy to sleep anyway! They were both sold to me as girls, I am gonna try to conifrm this after writing this post.....the one seems to be either trying to mount or just annoy the other. Running round the cage like a loon, thumping and causing a right old scene.....the other seems oblivious and wants to snuggle but as soon as she approaches the wild one, she goes mental running around cage!!! Loads of thumping going on and running round really fast around cage....any advice????
Thanks Clare x

They both need separating immediately. Neutered immediately (assuming they are not already) and then re-bonded on neutral territory!

They have got to an age where they will end up fighting and even killing each other unless you split them and get them sorted!

Good luck!

ETA: If they have been mis -sexed then you might have a boy and a girl, and no doubt a litter of babies on the way

Hi and welcome to our forum.

Hope you stay around and let us see lots of pics of your buns.

They have both reached a 'hormone' age where they will stop getting on. I would definitely get the sex checked and you will need to get them both neutered. Un-neutered buns as a rule cannot live together, even litter mates.

Hope this helps :wave:

oh god! Just looked in on them and they are now cuddling and grooming each other! Will def book them in for neutering this week, are they old enough?? Born beginning of Feb......once neutered, will they have to be kept apart, if so for how long? Can they then be put back together?? Lots of questions........but this is the first time I've had rabbits since I was a child........Thanks x

pickles68 said:

oh god! Just looked in on them and they are now cuddling and grooming each other! Will def book them in for neutering this week, are they old enough?? Born beginning of Feb......once neutered, will they have to be kept apart, if so for how long? Can they then be put back together?? Lots of questions........but this is the first time I've had rabbits since I was a child........Thanks x

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A vet trip would be a good idea.. they need to be sexed correctly, and a plan of action sorted regarding neutering. They also need myxi vaccinations twice a year and VHD vaccination so you can get this organised too.

After the neutering you should give them time to heal and if they are boy/girl then they will need to be kept separate for a longer time as the male can still impregnate a female for a fair while after the op. They can be put back together once all healed etc, and this has to be done carefully in a small neutral area. There are lots of bonding threads on here so have a search and read up of people's experiences!

Good luck!

Ahh, don't worry about all the questions, that's what the forum is for. Well done for finding us and asking the right questions. You should be able to get them "seen to" now, your vet will be able to tell you whether or not they are developed enough.

You will need to separate them before getting them neutered and then re-bond them. There are some fantastic booklets and leaflets on here about bonding which you should have a look at.

Oh dear.....need to get another cage to separate them, new ones are mega bucks and I've looked on Ebay etc.... and no joy........what can I do?

pickles68 said:

Oh dear.....need to get another cage to separate them, new ones are mega bucks and I've looked on Ebay etc.... and no joy........what can I do?

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Have a look in the paper or freeads, friday ad, gumtree etc. and see if you can get a second hand one. Doesn't need to be mint condition just big enough as you will ultimately throw it away anyway!

You may be able to get help with bonding from a local rescue, in return for a small donation.

This happened to me. Chanel began to get bullied, not only getting chased, bitten, scratched and kicked but the other rabbit wouldn't let her eat So I tried putting in a bowl at each corner and another water but she still got bullied so now they are seperated.

I had exactly the same problem when I got B and C.

IF they are both girls and you get them spayed asap eg the next couple of days you can probably get away with keeping them together without too many problems.

Just checked the bunnies bits n bobs..............treacle is a girl, but willow is now a boy with two very big balls! OMG, I have now bought another cage and plan to get them neutered this week if poss......can they be put straight back together after the op, once everything is healed?? Could she be pregnant already, what are the signs??? :shock:

pickles68 said:

Just checked the bunnies bits n bobs..............treacle is a girl, but willow is now a boy with two very big balls! OMG, I have now bought another cage and plan to get them neutered this week if poss......can they be put straight back together after the op, once everything is healed?? Could she be pregnant already, what are the signs??? :shock:

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Yes she could be pregnant already, but if she was spayed, say, Monday, that would stop her having unwanted babies if it was caught early enough. AFter the op the male is still fertile for weeks afterwards so need to be separated for a good time.

Have you now separated them?

Yes I've separated them now......can they be put together soon after neutering?

Oh dear, what a pickle. Sad as it may seem, you have done the right thing by separating them. I would ring the vets first thing Monday morning and ask for an emergency spay. At her age there is every chance that she is pregnant (possibly even before this weekend) so it really needs doing ASAP. If it's left another week or even a few days it may be too late, so I would really insist that it needs to be done urgently. Make sure you tell them when you drop her off that you think she might be pregnant, that way they can check what the situation is before they open her up.

Ideally, if they've got space to book your little boy in as well, then it's probably best to get them done at the same time, but you might find that you have to wait a bit longer to book him in as routine. If you do manage to get them done together you might be lucky enough to get away with putting them straight back together without needing to re-bond. It really depends on how they both cope with the op and whether they just settle back together nicely or whether they fight. If she has been spayed then you don't need to wait several weeks for the male to become infertile because she will have no 'bits' anyway. But sometimes they need time to settle again afterwards, it really depends on how quickly you can get them both done and how they are.

Good luck x

aahhhh thanks Santa....they look lonely in their seperate cages.....will get the neutering done asap.......hopefully they will fall for each other again and be a happy bunny couple...........what a worry, I keep checking them all the time x