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Onana, Lukaku and us

Onana & Lukaku

Warren Scout
Good morning from London!

Three months ago, totally unexpected, Onana and Lukaku hopped into our lives. A family member couldn't keep them, and since we felt sorry for them, we spontaneously decided to take them in.
After half an hour all three of us (my husband, our teenager son and I) were totally in love with them and can't imagine that they weren't here always! Of course they are the greatest rabbits in the entire world and we would never want to be without them again, as I suppose you all feel.
We are still total beginners and happy about any advice, so I am glad to have found this forum.
Both our long-eared friends are born on 2 November 2018, but they aren't brothers.
Onana is a beautiful black Havana rabbit with white markings, weighing 1.8 kg, and Lukaku is a beautiful fawn and white lop mix, weighing 3 kg.
Unfortunately, they are both males and came to us un-neutered. They were totally loving with each other, always grooming each other and laying down side by side - but within two weeks they started fighting and we had to split them. Which means I had to split my office, which is now there living room in half and they have only half the space available we want them to have. They also have to take turns in their outside pen, which is a shame.
We do want them to re-bond, so there is no other way than to have them neutered. I went for their health check yesterday, which was fine, so they are booked in for next week, but I am terrified. Even though our vet was very reassuring one reads everywhere that it is riskier than with dogs and cats (which we both had neutered before).
Any reassuring experiences very welcome!
We love them so much - we want to provide the best life possible for them.
Have a great day rabbits and people alike!
Charlie with Lukaku and Onana

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Hello! Try to make sure your Vet is knowledgeable in rabbits. You can ask on here for a recommendation and I know that the Twickenham Vets are excellent, if you are in this area.
 
Thank you so much!
I will try to use the photo website as soon as I find time.
We are in Hither Green and our Vet is Beresford Capps. I actually trust him a lot and loved how he and his team handled Onana and Lukaku, how open they were about what they would check in order to make sure that they are in good health for surgery and the advice they gave me. I am terribly nervous about the neutering, though, but then I am with everything that concerns Lukaku and Onana. I had big animals - horses, dogs and a cat - my whole life, and those two beautiful creatures seem so much more vulnerable to me ...
 
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Welcome to the site! I really hope everything goes well with your bunnies' neutering, and re-bonding!

If you download the Tapatalk app, adding photos is a lot easier :) I've never quite gotten the hang of it via the website...
 
I should admit that I am a technical idiot ... I don't even know what Tapatalk is.

Does any of you have good experiences with neutering? I would love to hear stories of rabbits who had no problems at all ...
 
Neutering boys is a fairly straightforward procedure if your vet is used to operating on rabbits. Make sure they are both eating normally before the op. You must never starve a rabbit. They do not have the mechanism to vomit, so there is no risk of this during an anaesthetic, and they need food constantly going in to keep their guts working properly. After the op, they will need to be inside for a day (as yours already are) as they won't be able to regulate their temperature properly. It also makes it easier to monitor input and output. They should be eating before they leave the vet to come home. Poo output should hopefully be back to normal in a day or so, but should never actually stop. You may be given some meds to aid gut transit and advised to syringe feed if they are not eating for themselves straight away. Having some favourite / strong smelling greens on hand may tempt them - herbs (coriander, parsley, etc), celery leaves, etc. They will have a post-op check-up after a couple of days to make sure there is no infection or swelling.

As for bonding - you will need to wait for hormone levels to decrease before you reintroduce them. This could be anything from 6 weeks post-neuter. Personally, I would leave it for at least 3 months as they have previously fought, as this will give the best chance of a successful bond. They can still have contact between bars if that is what they normally do, as long as there is no aggression between them. Bonding is usually best in a neutral area where neither have been before.

Just as an aside - As these bunnies are new to you, I would ask your vet to check their teeth while they are under anaesthetic. It is reassuring to confirm that there are no dental issues brewing, and it is only really possible to have a good look when they are sedated - so this is a good opportunity to get it checked out.
 
Thank you very much! That is so useful advice.
Lukaku and Onana really love all the herbs from our garden - but definitely mint the most (both of them, while their taste differs on other herbs). Would that be okay to feed afterwards? If not, we have cilantro/coriander as well, and they usually like it, that wouldn't be a problem.
With the bonding I will wait as advised, rather longer than too short. Even though I really want them to have the use of the entire room (and eventually the entire floor) and a companion, for the moment our arrangement is fine, as the room is big enough to be halved and still provide running space for both.
I was with them for a check yesterday, to have heart, teeth, ears etc checked because I don't want to go ahead with the neutering unless I know they are in perfect health. The vet really took a long time and was very calm and loving with them to make sure, they were fine. But it is a great idea to ask him if he could have another look at their teeth.
Our vet also told me to bring in food, so they could eat immediately when they woke up and to have food in their transport boxes.

Thanks again. I so hope it will all go well ...
 
Thank you so much, Graciee!
I am really crazy ... I am a mom and a granny and feel so proud of Lukaku and Onana as if they were my children or grandchildren. I was really sad, that you couldn't see their pictures, as I have spent already ages to look at all the wonderful rabbits on here ...
THANK YOU!
 
Welcome to RU :wave: I can see your photos fine, your bunnies are just gorgeous :love: hope all goes well at the vets, I'm sure they will be fine.
 
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