Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Rabbits > Lionhead Siblings

Lionhead Siblings

22 10:19:15

Question
I bought two lionhead rabbits (a male and female) about a month ago. Just yesterday, we had the male rabbit neutered. When we brought him home he was kept in a separate cage(but it was right next to the females cage) just so he could fully wake up from the surgery. When we tried to put them back together today, the female got very agressive with him. We separated them for a few more hours, and then rubbed them both with vanilla extract so they would smell the same. When we put them together,the female was still very agressive with the male. Is there any hope they will bond again? Is it normal for this to happen?

Answer
Hi,

please don't try rebonding for 4-6 weeks.  He needs a week of rest after the procedure.  You need to wiat 4-6 weeks for his hormone levels to stabilize at their new, lower levels.

I personally do not mix altered and unaltered rabbits.  It is not fair to the altered rabbit.  One is driven by huge levels of hormone, the other is not.  I would get the female fixed, wait 4-6 weeks for her levels to drop, then go through the rebonding process.

The House Rabbit Society (www.rabbit.org) has many articles on bonding - just search on 'bonding' and you'll get the articles.

Lee