Having read threads of various rabbit forums, and as many articles as I could find on Google, I decided to go ahead and introduce my two rabbits together - 2 males, one around 2 years old (Mary - yes, he has a girls name, no it wasn't by accident ), the other just over 4 months (Joey).
Their cages have been side by side for a few weeks now, with no signs of aggression. However, when I let them out in my room, Mary kept mounting Joey, and Joey would get annoyed and nip at Mary.
Once the mounting stopped, Joey would still chase and nip at Mary, and I split them up before things got nasty.
I tried putting the both on my lap, as they tend to relax when being cuddled, but Joey wanted none of it and kept nipping at Mary.
I then read about confining them to a cat carrier. I've done a similar method to this with my mice when I introduced them, as they kept chasing each other around the large new tank, but when confined to a small carry case they got over it and cuddled up.
There was a little spat or two at first, but there wasn't enough room for them to be annoyed at each other, and eventually they just sat there ignoring each other.
I did this several times yesterday and today, and this evening I got brave enough to try them in a small indoor rabbit cage (Ferplast 100/Roger 3 size)
This time it was Joey doing the mounting, but no nipping (Mary doesn't have any front teeth so this would be impossible anyway!), and if Mary was fed up he'd hop off and back up to a corner to prevent Joey doing it. They settled down and were sitting near each other, and then began sitting next to each other (see the photo in my signature! Though Mary seemed a little tense, he did start to calm down).
I then put them back in the carrier for a bit, so I could keep an eye on them while I gave Mary's crate a good clean. I chose Mary's crate as if he wanted to defend it, he can't bite Joey, whereas Joey could bite him.
I put them into the clean cage, and Mary began mounting Joey, but after this initial burst, they calmed down and are now fine together. Mary seems to be a little bit quiet, though he has been eating and hopping around, and Joey's keeping busy exploring the cage.
I've never done rabbit introductions before, just guinea pigs, rats and mice, so wanted to know if I was doing things right or taking things a bit quickly (though I have been keeping a close eye on them and seperating them to cool off if they get a little rough).
I also wanted to know if it was too soon to leave them in together overnight. I don't want to wake up and find one of them injured, but I don't want to reverse all the progress that's been made today.
Their cages have been side by side for a few weeks now, with no signs of aggression. However, when I let them out in my room, Mary kept mounting Joey, and Joey would get annoyed and nip at Mary.
Once the mounting stopped, Joey would still chase and nip at Mary, and I split them up before things got nasty.
I tried putting the both on my lap, as they tend to relax when being cuddled, but Joey wanted none of it and kept nipping at Mary.
I then read about confining them to a cat carrier. I've done a similar method to this with my mice when I introduced them, as they kept chasing each other around the large new tank, but when confined to a small carry case they got over it and cuddled up.
There was a little spat or two at first, but there wasn't enough room for them to be annoyed at each other, and eventually they just sat there ignoring each other.
I did this several times yesterday and today, and this evening I got brave enough to try them in a small indoor rabbit cage (Ferplast 100/Roger 3 size)
This time it was Joey doing the mounting, but no nipping (Mary doesn't have any front teeth so this would be impossible anyway!), and if Mary was fed up he'd hop off and back up to a corner to prevent Joey doing it. They settled down and were sitting near each other, and then began sitting next to each other (see the photo in my signature! Though Mary seemed a little tense, he did start to calm down).
I then put them back in the carrier for a bit, so I could keep an eye on them while I gave Mary's crate a good clean. I chose Mary's crate as if he wanted to defend it, he can't bite Joey, whereas Joey could bite him.
I put them into the clean cage, and Mary began mounting Joey, but after this initial burst, they calmed down and are now fine together. Mary seems to be a little bit quiet, though he has been eating and hopping around, and Joey's keeping busy exploring the cage.
I've never done rabbit introductions before, just guinea pigs, rats and mice, so wanted to know if I was doing things right or taking things a bit quickly (though I have been keeping a close eye on them and seperating them to cool off if they get a little rough).
I also wanted to know if it was too soon to leave them in together overnight. I don't want to wake up and find one of them injured, but I don't want to reverse all the progress that's been made today.