What are they doing? Please help!

I was woken up this morning by my two girls chasing each other's tails and eating the fur!

We separated them for an hour then put them back together and they immediately did it again.

What are they doing and what should I do with them?! It looks like WWII in their cage!

How old are they and are they spayed?

Sam and Truffs said:

How old are they and are they spayed?

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They're approx.4 months and no they're not yet (vet told me on Sat that they shouldn't be done till they're at least 5/6?).

It's come out of nowhere (which I understand it can) but it's odd - they're usually snuggled up together. Any ideas?

They may need spaying if not done already. Left and this could turn nasty.

I guess it depends how approximate the 4 months is. If they're practically 5 months my rabbit-savvy vet would spay them if they were fighting, so that needs to be your first enquiry if you have a rabbit-savvy vet. (And if not, find one!) Otherwise you will need to separate them and re-bond after their spays.

Sam and Truffs said:

I guess it depends how approximate the 4 months is. If they're practically 5 months my rabbit-savvy vet would spay them if they were fighting, so that needs to be your first enquiry if you have a rabbit-savvy vet. (And if not, find one!) Otherwise you will need to separate them and re-bond after their spays.

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Yes she's rabbit savvy - we luckily have two who are at our practice.

Currently they re in different rooms. What are the chances of them getting on well after they're spayed?

FrenchBunny said:

Yes she's rabbit savvy - we luckily have two who are at our practice.

Currently they re in different rooms. What are the chances of them getting on well after they're spayed?

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Well, nobody here can answer that question really, but if they can be spayed quickly the chances are better. My Contis who are sister were fighting a bit when I got them (rescues), but after they were spayed the fighting all stopped and they got on fine. They weren't separated though.

Are you sure they are females? As boys start to fight at around 14 weeks.

tonibun said:

Are you sure they are females? As boys start to fight at around 14 weeks.

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I'm 99% sure. Our rabbit-savvy vet said she was pretty sure they were and then got a second opinion, who also said they were.

Nothing in their routine has changed; I just don't understand or know why one of them is eating the others' fur.

Toots is the one who starts it off by chasing Chopper. Once she's 'caught' Chopper, she'll take a bite of fur and then just sit there eating it, and once it's gone she'll start again. Interestingly she only goes for her tail too, so it's not like they're full-on fighting. I thought maybe she was just desperate for something to nibble on but they have ad-lib hay so it can't be that.

The only thing that's changed is that they have both started eating our wicker furniture. Trying to combat this and making sure they always have something crunchy to nibble on I've started giving them much less pellets but more frequently throughout the day.

I'm just worried about Toot's digestive system!

What's changed is their hormone levels. That's what's driving this behaviour.

Sam and Truffs said:

What's changed is their hormone levels. That's what's driving this behaviour.

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Ok - just spoke to the vet and she said it's one of two things: one of them may have Cystitis which has changed the scent of their urine, or they're fighting for hierarchy. Either way it looks like they're both going to need to be spayed sooner than expected.

I asked if they'd be able to live together after spaying and she said yes as there would be no hormones. Does this ring true or are they trying to make a buck? (no pun intended!).

And sorry - I know none of you are psychic but I'm just worried

Sam and Truffs said:

What's changed is their hormone levels. That's what's driving this behaviour.

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This.

As far as I know this is actually very common. The same thing happened with Truffle and Fudge when they were 12 weeks old - that is what led me to this forum!

What is your setup like? Although this is hormonal behaviour, I was advised at the time that T&F didn't have enough space, and that that would be making it worse. They were in a 4x2 pen at that time. We expanded their space using a puppy pen to 6 x 4 and were lucky enough to be able to keep them together until they were spayed. Our backup plan would have been to have one in the pen and one in the 4x2 cage side by side and keep swapping them until they could be spayed.

esupi said:

This.

As far as I know this is actually very common. The same thing happened with Truffle and Fudge when they were 12 weeks old - that is what led me to this forum!

What is your setup like? Although this is hormonal behaviour, I was advised at the time that T&F didn't have enough space, and that that would be making it worse. They were in a 4x2 pen at that time. We expanded their space using a puppy pen to 6 x 4 and were lucky enough to be able to keep them together until they were spayed. Our backup plan would have been to have one in the pen and one in the 4x2 cage side by side and keep swapping them until they could be spayed.

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They're in their cage for a couple of hours each day and the rest of the time they're out hopping around the apartment or with us. This morning I let them both out to see if it would help or stop them and she continued going for her :roll:

Probably just a case of keeping them separate for now then unfortunately. It's just one of many things pet shops don't tell you.