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Rabbit sprying

22 10:47:28

Question
I have 2 female mini rexes, both under a yr old. Up until recently they have been perfect. 1 1/2 months ago I got then a 2 story hutch they seem to like it. But they have started peeing or spraying all over the cage. Mostly in the sleep box.  And 1 is now digging in the litter box and dumping out the litter and eating some of it. Is there something I can do to fix this behavior? I really don't want to put them outside sense I live in AZ and it's HOT.
Thanks,
Karyn


Answer
Hi Karyn,

this is an easily fixable problem.  DO NOT put them outside.  Between heat and predators they will not last very long.

Your gals have hit sexual maturity.  Since you have two of them, they are both interested in claiming the same territory.  Thus the spraying and marking.

The solution is to have them both spayed. By a good rabbit vet, not just any old vet.  Not all vets have good records with rabbits.  If you need to find a good rabbit vet, go to:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society-recommended vet in your area.

If there are none local, check nearby states if you are close to a border.  If not, call up local animal shelters and rabbit rescues and ask where they would go if they had a rabbit that needed surgery.

Spaying will basically greatly reduce this behavior, if not eliminate some of it.  Generally cage aggression goes away, marking goes way down.  It probably will not eliminate it completely since there will be another bunny around and they will overmark others' scents.  The good news is that they may decide to mark things more often  with their glands under their chins instead of wanting to pee on it.  

The other benefit of spaying is that your gals will be less aggressive towards you and each other, and they will have an excellent chance at living a full life of 10-12 years instead of 5-6 (most unspayed females die of uterine cancer by 5-6 because they have super-high hormone levels).

Write back anytime.

Lee