ceremonie
New Kit
Hi everyone. I still haven't posted a proper intro/update on my new bunnies because I wanted to wait until we'd picked names... but they're still undecided "^-^
However I'm having some difficulty and hope someone might have some advice, so here we are
Sorry for the long post.
For anyone who hasn't seen my first post: I adopted my two bunnies just under two weeks ago. They are brothers, now just under five months old, and were both neutered at the start of January. Before and since then, they have had a super close and very peaceful relationship, doing everything together, playing, following each other around, grooming and snuggling, etc. and according to their foster carer were two of the easiest to care for rabbits and easiest neutering process she'd dealt with.
Yesterday while out of the room I heard noise and came in to find them fighting, leaping about and tornadoing around each other with tufts of fur all over. I checked them over and separated them for a couple of hours, during which time they calmed down quickly and were munching hay together on either side of the fence, napping etc. Since they seemed good I put them back together in a smaller area than their full pen (i.e. leaving the fence down the middle) and observed them all through the afternoon and night. Once in the first half an hour or so, they began sniffing at each other's tails and then started picking up speed again, so I moved them apart (just momentarily), and after that they did not show aggression at all that I could notice. Throughout the next few hours I could see both of them but one in particular lowering their heads to ask for grooming, and often the other one did groom them.
I slept in the living room by their pen and as I say, they were completely fine through the rest of the day and all night. In the morning they still seemed good so I left them together, but as soon as I was out the door I thought maybe I should have separated them again... and then a couple of hours later watching the bunny cam while at work I saw them fight again TT-TT
They ended it after I would say thirty seconds or so, but from other clips after that there was further occasional aggression or at least tension, like facing off against each other with ears pointed forward, etc.
When I got home around 1pm there was fluff Everywhere but thankfully no blood; however one of them's eye had been watering and they both had tiny minor scratches to their ears, so I took them to the vet this afternoon and have been given Loxicom, and antibiotic eye drops (Isathal). She did not specifically recommend totally separating while he healed or anything, as there is only some inflammation/resulting conjunctivitis and no wound etc.
My problem is that I am uncertain how to proceed to make sure that they can live together as a bonded pair. I will obviously be separating them while I am out for the foreseeable future, but I'm so hesitant to separate more than necessary because they are otherwise still interacting well. I don't want to risk removing their bond completely and having to start all over again if that is not necessary. I know that hormones can still be an issue for a while after neutering, but it's strange to me because like I said they have been in complete harmony for about four weeks post neuter until this point.
Out-of-routine things that occurred on Saturday are that I was out the entire day and had a friend give them their food in the morning; and that I relented and set up another litterbox where they had been stubbornly peeing (in addition to their other boxes which they did also use). For some reason I feel like it's possible one of them (the one who seems to ask for grooming more, and not the one with the eye injury) got territorial over this litterbox??? Possibly that started it?
tl;dr: My previously inseparable 4-weeks-post-neuter brothers have fought; what steps should I take to give their bond the best chance of quick and complete repair? :'(
- editing to add photos of them yesterday evening (i.e. post initial fight) ; - ;
However I'm having some difficulty and hope someone might have some advice, so here we are
Sorry for the long post.For anyone who hasn't seen my first post: I adopted my two bunnies just under two weeks ago. They are brothers, now just under five months old, and were both neutered at the start of January. Before and since then, they have had a super close and very peaceful relationship, doing everything together, playing, following each other around, grooming and snuggling, etc. and according to their foster carer were two of the easiest to care for rabbits and easiest neutering process she'd dealt with.
Yesterday while out of the room I heard noise and came in to find them fighting, leaping about and tornadoing around each other with tufts of fur all over. I checked them over and separated them for a couple of hours, during which time they calmed down quickly and were munching hay together on either side of the fence, napping etc. Since they seemed good I put them back together in a smaller area than their full pen (i.e. leaving the fence down the middle) and observed them all through the afternoon and night. Once in the first half an hour or so, they began sniffing at each other's tails and then started picking up speed again, so I moved them apart (just momentarily), and after that they did not show aggression at all that I could notice. Throughout the next few hours I could see both of them but one in particular lowering their heads to ask for grooming, and often the other one did groom them.
I slept in the living room by their pen and as I say, they were completely fine through the rest of the day and all night. In the morning they still seemed good so I left them together, but as soon as I was out the door I thought maybe I should have separated them again... and then a couple of hours later watching the bunny cam while at work I saw them fight again TT-TT
They ended it after I would say thirty seconds or so, but from other clips after that there was further occasional aggression or at least tension, like facing off against each other with ears pointed forward, etc.
When I got home around 1pm there was fluff Everywhere but thankfully no blood; however one of them's eye had been watering and they both had tiny minor scratches to their ears, so I took them to the vet this afternoon and have been given Loxicom, and antibiotic eye drops (Isathal). She did not specifically recommend totally separating while he healed or anything, as there is only some inflammation/resulting conjunctivitis and no wound etc.
My problem is that I am uncertain how to proceed to make sure that they can live together as a bonded pair. I will obviously be separating them while I am out for the foreseeable future, but I'm so hesitant to separate more than necessary because they are otherwise still interacting well. I don't want to risk removing their bond completely and having to start all over again if that is not necessary. I know that hormones can still be an issue for a while after neutering, but it's strange to me because like I said they have been in complete harmony for about four weeks post neuter until this point.
Out-of-routine things that occurred on Saturday are that I was out the entire day and had a friend give them their food in the morning; and that I relented and set up another litterbox where they had been stubbornly peeing (in addition to their other boxes which they did also use). For some reason I feel like it's possible one of them (the one who seems to ask for grooming more, and not the one with the eye injury) got territorial over this litterbox??? Possibly that started it?
tl;dr: My previously inseparable 4-weeks-post-neuter brothers have fought; what steps should I take to give their bond the best chance of quick and complete repair? :'(
- editing to add photos of them yesterday evening (i.e. post initial fight) ; - ;
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