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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum BONDING Bonding my two rabbits

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    • Hannah
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        So to begin, I have had my rabbit Pume Pume (I know it’s and odd name) for about 3 years now. He was bonded to another rabbit but sadly he passed away about 6 months ago now. I recently adopted a new rabbit from a rabbit shelter. There was a couple of tries with other rabbits but Pume did the best with her. The lady said they should be a good pair and it would be okay to take her home so I did. 

        The first two days I think I made the mistake of having too large of a space for them to do a bonding session. They ended up constantly chasing and biting which lead to leaving marks. I could not leave them unattended or they would begin to fight. I know that chasing and nipping can be anticipated sometimes in the beginning but it was definitely too aggressive. I tried taking them for another car ride and then doing some sessions with a smaller pen but they continued to chase. 

        One night they somehow managed to both escape out of their pen and Arya (my new rabbit) and Pume chased and he ended up with a big scratch on his back. She is much bigger than him. So I wanted to wait until that healed. It took longer than anticipated and I did take him to the vet just to make sure it wouldn’t get infected. 

        It has been quite some time now that I have done a full session with them. I usually sit on the floor though and pet both of them and sit right next to them while they lay by one another. Their pens are also right next to each other. They will plop down right next to eachother and other times try to scratch one another through the fencing. I let one out and then the other out all through out the day. It has been over a month now. So believe me, I definitely want to get this process going again. I definitely believe they can be a good pair. They seem to be used to eachother but just need a few good sessions out of the room with their scents. 

        So I guess I am looking for advice as to what I should do now. What kind of bonding sessions would be good for these two at this point of them knowing eachother? Has it been too long? Is it bad that I have them in the same cages/same room without them being bonding?Will that lead to territory issues? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!


      • Dface
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          Im not in any way an expert at this, all I know is what I’ve read up on, but in general it’s best to let them get used to the idea of another rabbit from the safety of their own cage. I actually did ‘dumb bunny’ with mine for a while(each had a cuddly toy that I would then swap, so they became used to cuddling next to the others scent) this also let me see if there would be any aggression.
          The normal thing is to not give them enough space when meeting each other to chase or get away from each other at all. Mine met for the 1st time in a bathtub. There was fleece on the bottom so it wasnt too slippy, but it was slippy enough that ‘negative’ behavior couldn’t really start up.
          The bathtub is also perfect because it’s totally neutral. The next step after everything in the confined stage goes well, is to allow them a bit more room, but still in a neutral environment.

          It’s also important to remember that bunnies hold grudges. Yours is probably not going to like being reintroduced to someone who made him go to the vet.
          Try and keep the introduction short and positive. Pet both of them together while they sit side by side, for maybe ten minutes.
          I might be wrong but after such a scuffle and break, I think you migth be back to the start.

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      Forum BONDING Bonding my two rabbits