So, a few weeks ago my little grumpy dwarf Perry passed away rather suddenly of a not-eating/bloating issue that escalated from “normal happy bunny” to “routine trying to scare me” to “he probably won’t make it” in a matter of hours. I miss him terribly; he was an incredibly special little rabbit, even though (and maybe because) he was kind of a bully and kind of Bunny Hugh Hefner. I always joked that we needed to get him a smoking jacket to lounge in.  Looking back, however, his health had been gradually declining throughout the year– he had a handful of stasis scares, an infection and a bout of torticolis– and he had become much more laid back and cuddly; I suspect that he was older than I thought. He was a shelter rabbit who had been abandoned, so his age was uknown when he arrived into foster care. I know rabbit age is usually estimated by the teeth, but Perry’s teeth were impeccable his entire life (in fact, vets regularly commented on how amazing his teeth were), and so I would not be surprised if the foster network had lowballed his age based on that.

So here’s the deal, now: Perry was sort-of-bonded to Humphrey, my other bunny, and Humphrey has not been a happy bunny since it happened. They were not actually cage mates (but lived in one x-pen with a divider that they could groom through) and had an utterly bizarre relationship; they day they met it was love at first sight (mutual grooming, flopping, food sharing– it was like they were already bonded), but then I took them home and Perry decided that biting was more fun than licking and they quickly started fighting. Put them in the same space and Perry would “gently” nibble Humphrey’s butt and sides until Humphrey got fed up, and then they would run in circles tugging out one another’s butt fur. Move them too far away from one another and they would mope and pine and stare longingly at one another from across the room. Through the divider they cuddled and groomed and were the best of friends, without the divider the fur went flying. Also, they got along fine on armchairs for whatever bizarre reason, but no other kind of furniture. Nearly four years of trying on and off to get them to really bond, and not a single thing changed about this behavior– they were happier as “frenemies.” I think Perry maybe had a persecution complex and wanted to be the star of a cheesy romantic melodrama or something.

Even so, Humphrey seems very lonely without Perry. He has been very needy and obsessed with grooming everything– his new stuffed penguin, me, my boyfriend, the couch, the carpet, whatever– and so I’ve decided that even if I’m not ready for a new rabbit, I need to think of Humphrey’s needs first. I would love to try and document the bonding process from start to finish, as, well… it didn’t exactly work out last time, and I think I could use some advice.

Since it’s been a while since I was last active on these forums, this is the bunny in question:

He’s not usually quite so scruffy– he was shedding when I took this. He just posed so nicely I needed to use it.

Humphrey fluctuates around 8 and 9lbs, is probably around 5 or 6, although he was found on the side of the road, so who knows. I’ve had him about four years, though, so he’s at least four and a half, as he had already hit sexual maturity by the time they found him. He’s neutered, and generally speaking is quite healthy. He does have fur missing on his feet, but I got him that was and it’s kind of par for the course for rexes, anyway. It doesn’t stop him from running around a binkying and escaping over 4 foot walls. (Seriously.) He can be a bit of a troublemaker and used to be fairly neurotic (I think he was abused before being dumped, as they found him covered in super glue and he used to cower and flatten himself down at sudden movements– not anymore. I could do a jig right in front of him now and he’d just watch with interest…), but he’s mostly a fairly laid back rabbit and VERY friendly. He wants to be friends with everyone, human and animal alike. However, he has become a little gunshy around other non-human creatures, as he has been bitten by basically everything he has ever tried to befriend– my mom’s bunny (who is terrified of all rabbits), Perry, two different chinchillas (they nibble for love– Humphrey will go up to the cage and stick his nose in, and the chinchilla will go “oh my! it’s a new friend! *chomp*”)– so while I think he’ll be a good bonding candidate, I think I’m going to have to take it slow and find a bunny who is not very aggressive or territorial. Humphrey has no sense of territory whatsoever, has always been more interested in male rabbits than female ones, and has been called “the girliest male rabbit ever” by a number of rabbit people, so I think he could also bond equally well with male or female bunnies.

So anyway, I’m going to be out of the country for a week starting Wednesday, so I thought I would get the ball rolling so I could come back and start bunny-dating in earnest. I contacted the House Rabbit Network (where I got both Humphrey and Perry), and while they were very sad to hear that Perry had passed, they were happy that I was coming to them for a new friend for Humphrey. I specifically said I was looking for a bunny who would make a good bonding candidate and had no other caveats. They recommended a few rabbits but only one was less than an hour away, so they suggested I meet him first.

So, yesterday Humphrey went on his first bunny date.

This is Otis. Otis is assumed to be about 3 years old, and he’s about 6lbs. He is also completely blind and partially deaf– I’m okay with that. He gets around just fine, and while ne needs daily eyedrops he otherwise has a clean bill of health. Also, he escapes. He’s an escaping blind bunny. Like Humphrey, he was picked up on the side of the road. Otis might be the most laid back rabbit I have ever met– he was completely and utterly unbothered by being stuck in a room he had never been in before, Humphrey coming to visit, and two new people coming to fawn over him. He’s a real sweetheart– he doesn’t mind being carried, takes immediately to new people, and doesn’t seem to have an aggressive or territorial bone in his body– and oh yeah, he was only neutered ten days ago, so this is with male hormones still floating around inside him!

Anyway, I am cautiously optimistic about how the date went. It was not love at first sight (but frankly, I don’t trust love at first sight anymore, so I’m okay with that! ), but they largely ignored each other and were very relaxed. Humphrey was a little strange when we first got there– a few times he went up to Otis, seemed fine, and then suddenly got terrified and bonked him on the head and ran away. However, Otis didn’t retaliate at all, there was absolutely no biting, and as their date went on Humphrey seemed to calm down somewhat and stopped with the bonking. There was food out and they didn’t fight (mostly Humphrey just ate it al– he is a pig, and Otis apparently doesn’t do much eating outside his scheduled meal times), they happily shared a litterbox, both of them explored the room without seeming worried about one another, and they also both did comfy dead bunny flops. Humphrey even stayed perfectly still at one point when Otis came over to sniff him while he was flopped.

When I return from vacation, I plan on bringing Humphrey to meet Otis again. I may still bring him to meet some other bunnies anyway, although Otis is such a sweetie that I’m partially tempted to scoop him up before someone else does… Anyway, what do you guys think? Promising first date? What do you recommend I do from here? Sorry for such a ridiculously long post!