• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Elder rabbit just died. Do I get a new one?

Hi everyone.

My ten year old rabbit died last night/this morning and has left our one year old minature lop eared rabbit alone. She is not neutered and the deceased rabbit was also a female. While they were different breeds (California Satin and mini lop eared) and didn't share a cage they spent lots of time together during the day.

Do I wait or get a new rabbit asap? I really miss Satin and I'm worried Chloe will too.

Any help?
 
I think what most people on this forum would advise is to get your rabbit spayed and then go to a rescue to get another rabbit to bond with her, so they can be together all the time. Rabbits are happiest like this and my opinion is it would make her life better. :)

Only you can decide when the right time to do this is. Some rabbits need time to grieve and others get lonely and need a friend as soon as possible. What do you think would be best for your rabbit?

And I'm sorry for the loss of your 10 year old. :(
 
I think I should get her a friend as I've not had her alone. Although they are apart to sleeo they snuggle, play together, eat together etc. it will be very odd looking after just one.

My partner thought about getting a guinea pig as Chloe is so small. He heard they get along very well but I don't know much. Can anyone shed any light?
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. Welcome also to the forum but I'm sorry it's under sad circumstances.

The best thing for the average rabbit would be to get her spayed and properly bonded with a rabbity friend (where they stay together all the time, including overnights).

Rabbits shouldn't live with guinea pigs for a variety of reasons. This might be of use to you. http://flashsplace.webs.com/rabbitsandguineapigs.htm
 
I think I should get her a friend as I've not had her alone. Although they are apart to sleeo they snuggle, play together, eat together etc. it will be very odd looking after just one.

My partner thought about getting a guinea pig as Chloe is so small. He heard they get along very well but I don't know much. Can anyone shed any light?

It's not a good idea. They eat completely different diets and have completely different body language. A rabbit can kill a pig with its feet by accident, just by jumping and a pigs carry a disease that is fatal to rabbits. Plus they can't have an intimate relationship like a rabbit can with its own kind. It's like a dog can get along with a rabbit very well, but it could also kill the rabbit. It's not advised. :wave:

Would you consider getting her spayed? It's got a lot of health benefits too. 80% of female rabbits get uterine cancer by the age of 5 and spaying stops that. It stops a lot of cage aggression and aggression in general, phantom pregnancies and spraying. Then you can get a neutered male for company, the best pairing. :thumb:
 
It is always said that bunnies are happiest when they have a friend. With your Satin gone it might be the case she gets lonely :( Even thought they might not have lived together 24/7 they spent a lot of time together from what you have said and so without another buns company she could get quite lonely :(

Everyone always thinks small rabbit and guineas are fine but they really aren't. Bunnies can kick out and severely hurt the guinea pig. Plus there is the fact that they need different diets and rabbits can carry a germ that is fatal to guineas but doesn't affect rabbits. So it would most probably be best for all involved if you got a second rabbit if you decided to get her a friend :)
 
Hiya!! Welcome to the forum, but so sorry youve lost your girl.
I recently lost my 3 year old.She was very disabled and lived with her equally disabled brother.
Within weeks,BB was pulling his fur out.Lily died 23rd Nov.By Jan 7th I had taken in a little girl and bonded them a week later.
BB was so happy to see another bun, he threw himself under her chin for a groom!!

The bond has been wonderful.A boy and girl, both neutered.

I highly recommend it.:wave::wave:
 
Another rabbit it is then. Thank you for the information.

I'll look to get a boy and have him neutered along with Chloe. Will they be ok to bond without him being neutered if I neuter her and supervise?
 
Another rabbit it is then. Thank you for the information.

I'll look to get a boy and have him neutered along with Chloe. Will they be ok to bond without him being neutered if I neuter her and supervise?

Im afraid he needs to be done too or he will hump her senseless as he will still be hormonal.
Get the pair done, wait 6 weeks for him to be sterile (I know she wont get pregnant as shes done too but he will be randy), then bond.
Wonderful!! xxxxx
 
Another rabbit it is then. Thank you for the information.

I'll look to get a boy and have him neutered along with Chloe. Will they be ok to bond without him being neutered if I neuter her and supervise?

I advise not to try that. An unneutered male will hump the female until she attacks him. Rabbits go for genitalia when they attack and there have been cases of severe shock and even death as a consequence of wounds to the genitals.
You need to neuter them both and let a month pass before you attempt to bond them, so hormones will have gone and there will be no sexual behavior anymore.
Rescues usually spay and neuter their rabbits, so you could spay Chloe now and look for a male as soon as the month is up.
 
Another rabbit it is then. Thank you for the information.

I'll look to get a boy and have him neutered along with Chloe. Will they be ok to bond without him being neutered if I neuter her and supervise?

I think the best thing to do would be look into getting her done, things like the vet's experience and costs. And also look at another bun. If you go to a rescue a lot of them will have already neutered the rabbits prior to rehoming. So then you can ask them what sort of set up they would like you to have and you can work on getting it ready. Some rescues will also bond yours rabbits for you. So you could take her in when she's recovered to pick her friend, they would bond them and you would bring them home together.

If you buy/get a rabbit that isn't neutered most people will say it's better to have them both done before bonding. But I bonded a baby unneutered male with my friend's adult spayed female for her. This worked fine. He was neutered a few months later and they are very happy. But ideally they should both be done before you bond. And also a male will stay fertile for up to six weeks after he's 'done' so just be careful or you'll end up with babies.
 
If you go to a reputable rescue and adopt from them, then he will likely already be neutered :D which would make things a lot easier :)
 
If you go to a reputable rescue and adopt from them, then he will likely already be neutered :D which would make things a lot easier :)

Definitely! If you were to get a baby boy bunny from somewhere, you'd have to wait until it was around 3-4 months old to get it neutered. That'd mean housing him separately until then and ensuring that the bunnies couldn't access each other, to prevent mating. Hormonal bunnies with another bunny in the vicinity can be VERY crafty and desperate to get to each other, so while the accommodation may have been secure a very hormonal male or female will spend hours chewing through wire to get to a mate.

Plus the expense of neutering the male, and the actual worrying few days of making sure he's okay.

Definitely get your female neutered and then search for a neutered male from a rescue, you can even take your girl along and let her 'date' whereby they put her in with a male and see how they initially get along. This way, you can gauge which bunny she seems to like best and let her have a choice in her husband :love: They're totally supervised so no danger to your bun, plus it'll be great fun searching for a perfect boy bun. I often browse the rehoming website (rabbit rehome) for gorgeous buns near me :oops:

Good luck and we're here for all your questions, and we'd love pictures ;)
 
Another rabbit it is then. Thank you for the information.

I'll look to get a boy and have him neutered along with Chloe. Will they be ok to bond without him being neutered if I neuter her and supervise?

if you are getting a male bun from a rescue he will probably already be nuetered and had his vacs good luck with your buns
 
Back
Top