hi all!  i have been bonding my two neutered males Red and Puff for 3 weeks now.

here’s how their bonding went so far…

first session, I started them out in the bathtub. they ignored each other. Then Puff started humping Red. Red just took it.

 Second day, they were just doing standoffs and Red usually gives up and grooms Puff then runs/hops away. Puff ends up nipping him when he does that. it was 1 hour long.

 3rd day, i added litterbox to the tub. same thing. they just did a lot of standoffs/groom begging.

 4th day, Red grooms Puff right away when Puff asks for it.Puff was really demanding though. He would nip if he wants more and because of that,they had their first scuffle. it was hard to stop them. so much fur flying and bunny over the air boxing. they werent hurt thank goodness!

 Day 5, Puff was extra nippy so i ended it once they relaxed.

 Day 6,i made a 2×1 NIC pen and covered walls with towel for extra neutral feel. it was in by bedroom. i watched rfom outside. they were ok for a few minutes then fought. i had to throw my blanket in because they cant be stopped! after they calmed down, i tried again but they fought again so i put them back to their pen. i did a full body check and they werent hurt.

 Day 7, i made their pen 2×2 assuming that they didnt like how small the pen was from yesterday. Red was still on edge and stayed in the litterbox most of the time. everytime Puff comes near him, he would panic and run away. Puff got a lil nippy and almost caused a scuffle. I put them in a small box to stress them then put them back to the pen. once they started ignoring each other, i ended the session.

Day 8, i started with a box stress bonding like yesterday. Red just froze in one corner. Puff was more curious about whats going on. I put them in the pen, they just explored and ignored. end of session.

Day 9,i did 2 sessions. for the morning session, i did the same as yesterday. Puff was a lot less nippy. whenever Red comes close, he would barely nip him or he would seem like he is about to nip but then stops himself. Red quickly groomed Puff. this was the first groom since after their first scuffle from day 4. for the afternoon session, same thing. they both were sleepy. Red flopped in a corner. first time doing it since start of bonding. Puff still nips him but he just ignores it/ hops away most of the time.

Day 10, I expanded their pen to a 4×3. bad idea. they fought twice.

after that, i was about ready to give up. I took a 4 days break to think things through. i was seriously stressed. i had nightmares of them fighting!ugh!!but i got over it. and started bonding sessions again.

Day 11, back to the bath tub. I only did a 10 mins session. they ignored each other in the beginning. then standoffs for the rest of the session. Red would always give up and groom Puff for about 5-15 seconds and he would hop away. Puff nips him in return. 

Day 12, bath tub session again for 20 mins. mostly standoffs. i seriously timed it and the longest one was 9 mins!! Red is still the one giving grooms. Puff gets jumpy though because Red only grooms around his eyes. Puff still nips Red’s bum.

Day 13, i did two sessions. first session was just 10 minutes long. No grooms. Puff was extra nippy again so i did forced snuggles. second session was also 10 minutes. same thing. ended with forced snuggles.

Day 14, 10 minutes again. more forced snuggling. Puff managed to nip Red twice. no grooms.

Day 15, 2 sessions. first one was 30 mins long. they almost tolerate passing by each other without tiffs. Longest standoff ever!it was 20 minutes long!! at one point, Red tried to slowly creep up closer to Puff and sniffed him then hopped away. it was like he was in slow motion.hahaha. second session, 30 mins long. same thing. Red groomed Puff and after that, they stayed loafed nose to nose.

Day 16, 30 minutes evening session. same standoffs. Puff licked Red a few times and then he would grunt and thump and then shove his face at Red’s tummy. Red would run away after that. This is the first time Puff ever licked/groomed Red.i added the litterbox once again. Puff used it. Red just watched in the corner. after forced snuggling, i ended the session.

Day 17, one hour long. they stayed beside or close to each other. Puff nipped Red a few times and Red just moved away. Red groomed Puff. I did a forced snuggles in the litterbox to encourage sharing. ended session after that. 

Day 18, 1 hour long. moved them to the hallway. its like the size of a 4×3 NIC pen. Red groomed Puff. One bunny in the litterbox munching hay, other bunny eating hay from outside and vice versa. at least theyre sharing. baby steps. Puff still punks Red out of the litterbox though.

Day 19, 1.5 hrs long. This time, Red was seriously begging for grooms. He would literally shove his head under Puff’s face. Puff moves away, Red follows and shoves head. Puff grooms himself, Red shoves head. . Puff would accidentally lick Red on ocassion. Red would still run away though after grooming Puff. Puff nips and grunts at him.They ate their morning pellets together. no hostility.

Day 20, 30 mins long. Surprisingly, Puff was in the litterbox eating hay and Red hopped in.hoorah!! I would have never thought that Red would do that because he’s such a scaredy bun. They munched on hay for a good 3 minutes and hopped out. they were fine for a while but…..Puff got extra nippy and Red didnt like it. They had a minor scuffle. I calmed them down but after a few seconds, another scuffle broke out. sigh…..1 step froward, 2 steps back. I did another session in the afternoon for an hour. Puff was still nippy so Red was on edge. They shared pellets together. after that, they got sleepy and slept. Puff was leaning on red’s side.

Day 21, i transferred them to a pen in the common play area since i cant use the hallway anymore. i covered the walls and floor with blankets. red was kinda on edge still from yesterday. Puff was just being nosy with the new area. They ate their pellets together. I smeared banana on Red’s forehead. Puff licked it off. after that, Red was back to his grooming demands. hahaha.

Day 22, 2.5 hrs long. both was nippy but not too much. Puff nips Red out of the litterbox. He also nips Red if he goes to “Puff’s sleeping spot.” They circled but stopped on their own. i did another half hour session before i went to sleep. this was the best session i had so far with them. I smeared banana on Red and Puff licked it off. he still groomed him even after the banana was gone. Red was happy to groom him back. after grooms, Puff flopped 3 times and Red once. it was so cute watching them rolling on to their side.

Day 23, 3 hours long. i added one more litterbox since Puff still punks Red out of it. I also added a small willow tunnel that they both chewed and chinned.after standoffs, they both flop side by side. Puff stll tries to nip/lick/shove his head under Red’s tummy side after grooming him and Red nips back causing a mild scuffle. i usually stop Puff when i see him going for the tummy but this time, i wanted to see what he really wants to do. they just fought though. if i do stop him though, he would just flop by Red’s side. Red would get ready with his tail up but would put it down when Puff flops. Red was chinning almost everything today. They shared pellets and veggies together. Red grabbed all the carrots and hid it under him since Puff always gets it. hahaha!!

Day 24, 4 hours long. same as before. Red begging for grooms and chinning everything. Puff nipping whenever he gets the chance to. they got into a minor scuffle but they stopped right away when i told them to. after that, Red was extra protective. he pretty much had his tail up the whole time. he even accidentally lunged at me. if only Puff would get over nipping him, they would be bonded already. after a while, they both relaxed and flopped side by side. Puff even groomed Red for a long time. probably apologizing for nipping his bum.lol!

so that’s pretty much it. i have a few questions that i hope you guys can help me with…

1. When can i cement them?i am in no hurry to bond them but im just curious.

2. What signs should i look at to know theyre ready for cementing?

3. can i use the same pen im bonding them with as their cementing pen? 

4.how do i stop Puff from nipping?

5.why does Puff try to nip/lick/hump/grunt Red’s tummy side after Puff grooms him? he usually licks his forehead and then go to his side.

6.the pen they are being bonded in is in their common play area. the walls and floor of the pen are covered. they only see the ceiling and probably smell some scent from the area. is it fine if i keep bonding them there and cement them there eventually??

whew, that was long. please and thank you!