Rabbit trying to mate with guinea pig :(

David M. Williams

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Dec 19, 2001, 6:50:52 PM12/19/01

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We have a young male rabbit (mind you, the pet shop told us it was a girl
when we bought him) and have just received a female guinea pig.

We thought we could put them in together and all would be fine, they would
be company for each other.

However, to our surprise, the rabbit trys to mate with the guinea pig.
We're rather disturbed and upset by this - so much for our little baby
girl bunny!!

Is this a fad that will wear off?? I doubt the rabbit had any significant
female exposure in the pet shop before we bought him, some months ago.

Is this likely to be distressing to the guinea pig? Or is she maybe
'on heat' and thus attracting the rabbit's attention?

Surely they can't breed? I wouldn't want to cause any infertile cross-bred
mutations, but I worry that it is a bit cruel to neuter the bunny.

Thanks,
David W

Olga & Rufus

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Dec 19, 2001, 7:34:45 PM12/19/01

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David,

This behaviour does not mean your rabbit is not female. This is a dominance
behaviour and does not necessarily have anything to do with mating. That said,
though quite a few people do it, the general advice is not to mix rabbits and
guinea pigs. Rabbits can seriously injure guinea pigs either by accident or on
purpose. They also have different food requirements and the gp food is not good
for the rabbit (too high in calcium) and vice versa.

BTW, you should have your rabbit neutered no matter what the sex is. The bunny
will be much less aggressive and destructive and will also be much cleaner not
to mention more happy and settled. Be sure to find a good rabbit vet to do it
as not all vets know much about rabbits.

For excellent advice on all things when it comes to keeping a rabbit go to the
House Rabbit Society web page at www.rabbit.org

Olga

Carlos

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Dec 19, 2001, 10:13:48 PM12/19/01

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have you confirmed that your bunny is a male yet? I say this because:
I bought two bunnys, first a brown one, thought it was a male, never really
cared to begin with, well since he was a male and was bought as a male, we
got him a female, a black nice little female, well we take them home and the
brown (female) started mounting the black bunny (male) well we were like
hmmmm, so I asked and everyone said dominance, later we checked and we found
out the brown bunny was definately female, and after the black one got a
little bigger we checked and he is a male, so they were both wrong. I just
got the black one back from the vet yesterday, he was neuterd, he is doing
good :-)
About the mounting, I think it wears off for a bit, then they do it again,
depends on the time of the month I think, sometimes black mounts brown and
sometimes the other way around.

--Carlos

"David M. Williams" <da...@qed.newcastle.edu.au> wrote in message
news:9vr94s$41g$1...@seagoon.newcastle.edu.au...

Nona

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Dec 19, 2001, 11:52:40 PM12/19/01

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It is not cruel to neuter the bunny. The bunny will be happier as a pet
without those ferocious horonmal surges.

You are liklier to be happy, too, as the bunn will not spray, mount
nearly as much, or be as territorial.

If it is a girl (and it may be -- females mount, too), a spay really is
in order. Female domestic rabbits are highly prone to uterine cancer.

Although some GP/rabbit pairings do apparently work in the companionship
depatment, I have heard that in general caging them together is not a
good idea, and unfair to the GP.

Nona

FaeriDream

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Dec 20, 2001, 12:22:14 AM12/20/01

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The "mating" or humping is usually not a sexual thing at all, but rather about
dominance. Its the bunny's way of saying "I'm the boss around here!" I know
when we first got a new bunny, our other bunny kept humping her face! (He, by
the way, is named Shaina because they told us he was a girl when we got him :)
)
As far as having your bunny fixed, it is FAR from cruel. Bunnies are very
susceptible to all sorts of cancers when they are not fixed, such as ovarian.
There's also a major overpopulation of bunnies around, and, you know what they
say about bunnies... its true!

Good luck with your new bun!

Lauren, Shaina and Lil Girl

Rhonda

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Dec 20, 2001, 1:58:15 AM12/20/01

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Hi David,

I'd separate them right away. Rabbits have been known to hurt and even
kill guinea pigs because they are so much larger. They can be friends to
each other, but I personally wouldn't try it unless the rabbit was
neutered. I just wouldn't take the chance.

Also, when you feel they're safe together (hopefully after the
neutering) it's a good idea to provide a safe place for the g.pig to
escape, like a box with a small hole in it.

Hope all works out! -Rhonda