Sexual behaviour

Question
Hi, my 13-month old mini-rex started displaying sexual behaviour for the first time today & I need some advice. He has a small cuddly toy dolphin which he has never taken much notice of before but today he suddenly began mounting it & humping it.  He has not displayed any other aggressive behaviour in his first year, he often circles feet and emits soft grunts but thats it. He is a very lively & active boy and my husband and I are not keen to have him neutered so can I let him continue doing this to the toy or should I dissuade him? Also, isnt it rather unusual for a rabbit to take so long to reach his sexual maturity?? Thanks.

Answer
Hi,

the circling and honking are signs of affection.  Even fixed animals will still do that.  With rabbits love and sex, there isn't really a line.

I would consider neutering, but only by a good rabbit vet.  One thing that will probably make the difference is if he's frustrated a lot of the time.  Another factor will be if he starts mounting your arm/leg and you don't want that to occur.  Put it this way: adult hormone levels can often 'override' your rabbits' personality (ie what he'd normally do if he wasn't flooded with hormones).  Neutering will allow him to live a life without being sexually frustrated, mountings, drive-by sprayings of you marking you as his, and litter habits will remain good.  It will allow his personality to drive his decisions rather than hormones, and you'll avoid the real chance of testicular cancer taking him earlier than necessary.  It's basically a good quality of life improvement for him and you.  There are a lot more positives for all of you than negatives.

The key is going to a good rabbit vet.  Not all are.  You need rabbit-savvy vets doing the procedure.  Start here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

for a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.   They have links to pages that have international listings if you're outside the US.