Thanks Mikey. Just to clear something up Pepe has never skipped a meal in the three days we have had him. He just ate later (maybe 2 hours later) since he does not eat when we let him free roam. I now know I have to put him and the food in the house and lock him in there. While in the house he grunts and complains for a few min and then he starts to eat. He has the option to always go in his house and eat or to eat from another bowl in the living room but he basically won’t leave Stewart’s side while out in the living room and I don’t want to put food within reach of both bunnies.

I appreciate the advice/steps and will absolutely continue to ensure both bunnies are not stressed.

but but but…they seem like they wanna be buddies. I am gonna try and post a vid so you see how calm they are laying next to each other. Plus from some of the other bonding threads they seem like they are behaving okay together. No? Not buying it huh Mikey. I am being a stubborn lady…le sigh.

Agreed, seems the fighting while attempting to bond is always the main concern. That’s why If they are hanging out it is always supervised and my husband or I sit on the floor with them. Even with these hours on end stretches of nothing happening, just laying side by side. Yesterday my bum and my toes got all tingly.

Thanks everyone! I think, I really needed to hear that other ppl have had bucks unneutered that looked as friendly as these two. They have literally just like cozied up to one another so well that it gave me such great hope. So I guess the answer to my questions is I am being too optimistic/unrealistic and a bit delusional. I can always put more of a separater between Stewart’s house and the roaming temp pen in the living room so they are not as close. I have no ninja skills and average reflexes, my only defense was a duck taped ski glove and the swifter which luckily neither were needed. I 100% do not want Pepe on home number three and ideally I want them to live in one area so I certainly do not want a bad experience to form a grudge. We will keep you all posted. Gonna use the forum advice for NJ vet to go for the neutering. Xoxo and I will post more pics with the spacer between cages hopefully later tonight.

Thanks but tonight was pretty rough. I think I spoiled them and in these short few days, I got them used to my silly bad behavior and now it is like punishing them. I placed the temp pen further and Pepe jumped over and out two times to reach Stewart. I got to him each time before contact and then I made the temp pen higher. Well he failed that jump and fell hard! Scared the bleep out of me!!! Stewart didn’t make this any easier with the gnawing at his flat grip clamp that keeps his cage door closed and then jumping between his two floors and standing to grab my attention for pick up. This stressed me out so I know they couldn’t have liked it at all. I held Pepe for a bit and then put him back in his respective corner. I held Stewart with the same hoody I held Pepe and am now drinking wine. Tomorrow I will move Pepe’s entire cage next to Stewart’s with a safe distance but today this mama is DONE!

Oh I also think tomorrow I will buy some stuffed animals to switch back and forth between them for smell goods stuffs!

Sidenote: I am so in love with Pepe!!!! Like, love LOVE! He has been with us 4 days and I just cannot even!

Cage distance and the messy apartment we now call home. When I get back from work I will fold the play pen and put away the tunnel and bunny bed and all that bunny bagged food, litter etc. Day 5 has begun.

Newbie at work…somehow posted the above message twice so I edited the second copy, the date and time stamp for this are now wrong lol.

Tips and pointers welcomed for the cages this was a quick fix. Thanks is advance! Also I think Pepe was free roam in his last house he hates this cage he came with.

Our boys will be neutered on the 16th! Nervous but excited! Also North Bergen vets (closest to us, one just 10 min away) are insanely priced, $600+ per bunny. We are going an hour away from home since it is like $220 per bunny there. All vet info including the one we chose were sourced from House Rabbit Society.

I really hope their personalities stay the same.

Tomorrow is our big day! So nervous!!! Everything must go well or I will feel guilty forever. The boys had kale and plenty of water and of course their typical pellets/hay. Our bags are packed and drop off is 8-9am. The vet is in Whitehouse NJ and I still have to go to work in NYC so tomorrow will be a long day for all of us.

Thanks Mikey for the personality heads up. As it stands today, Stewart is ppl shy and loves to be close but prefers not to be picked up and is a bit of a loner. Stewart is also very chill always lounging, daydreaming out the window and super super quiet. Now Pepe, he is a social butterfly and is a spoiled brat when it comes to cuddles. From his nonstop grunting to his love for hops and binks which include the worse landings ever (SPLATS!!!), he is madness! My hubby is hoping Pepe calms down after this for the noise factor alone (I love his bunny chaos).

p.s. Should I start a new topic in Bonding or keep this one going? I think it is helpful to keep this one going so ppl get the whole story but I don’t want to have the subject be misleading either.

So jealous! @ Vanessa

Hi all,

Surgery went well yesterday Thanks be to God. Everybody pooped peed and has eaten/drank water. Someone by the name of Stewart peed in my car on the way home but I forgive him!!!

Anyhow, I am really concerned about pain or fever. So today the first day after surgery they both look a little moist on the ears and face. Like their fur is damp…They are not warm to the touch at all and they are acting normal, maybe lying down a bit more than normal. I gave them both a dose of the pain meds this am and the box says once a day so I am lost.

Also Stewart has a wet bottom and I am not sure why either.

Vets office is closed but I plan to call in the am.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks will try the fleece blanket I put a little bag of ice for both and neither went close to it. Only Stewart has a water bowl.

Posted By Quartz on 5/18/2017 11:06 PM

Is it actual moisture or lubricant? I know the shelter near me that does spays/neuters on their rabbits lubricates their eyes prior to surgery, so the face can be a bit greasy for a few days afterwards (as the buns rub that stuff all over when cleaning later).

You are 100% correct, sorry I did not update you guys and yes it is an ointment for their eyes.

Also I am making a calendar for the countdown of days till they reunite! I may sing a lil Peaches and Herb on that day, hehehe. All jokes aside from my calculation they are good to say a in person hello starting from July 5th.

Currently I have stopped with the switching of litter pans and blankies during these few days of recovery post surgery. Figured I will let them just have their time to heal without going crazy over random smells but starting Monday the swap meet is in full effect.

I have also purchased them both a stuffed animal that I leave in the cage and have never swapped (Pepe Loves his – Stewart has literally stuffed his in the corner and never returned for a visit again).

So aside from the swapping of items and telling each boy how amazing the other is, what else should I do?

OMG! Weirdest thing, so they both do everything at the same time in the separate spaces! They are definitely in view to one another at all times (cages are about 14 or so inches apart). But if Pepe is grooming/cleaning himself Stewart is too, if Stewart is in the litter pan you bet Pepe is too and same for laying down on their belly for lounging, totally mirrored. So cute! I am hoping this is a good sign does anyone else with two not bonded bunnies notice they follow the same schedule as one another?

Okay so I could not wait till July 5th as i originally planned but it has been 4 weeks today since the neuter. One of my buns also had a stasis issue about a week or so ago but has been super chipper since then (thanks to everyone who sent the healing vibes our way).

Today, every boy seemed to be in a good mood so I made us an area in the hallway with my oven mitt, swifter and colander all ready for action. Well I am so HAPPY to report there was no need for any of it! My boys were all over each other in a good way, I think. So we started off with both taking turns humping, which worried me a bit but neither seemed to mind. They were literally like taking turns. Then they separated from one another both just laid there flat on their tums for like 7 minutes. Stewart got up suddenly which seemed to startle Pepe a bit but then Pepe hopped over to Stewart for some nose rubbing and sniffing. Stewart shook his head cleaned his face and hopped away, over my leg and went to the door of his cage so I secured him in and Pepe stayed in the hallway a bit longer before going to his cage for some hay. All in all I think this is more than awesome can’t wait to tell you about meeting number 2 post neuter.

For anyone with a neutered pair what did you specifically look for to confirm bonding is complete? I have read a bit but am worried I won’t know for sure and mess it up.

Also is it a bad idea to introduce toys while attempting to bond? Both really enjoy toys and like when I roll something back and forth to them but I am worried they will be more possessive/territorial over the toy even if neither own it. 

I really hope they bond 

Sorry your bond didn’t go so well and thanks for the advice to steer clear of triggers for territorial behavior. 

We read the same for post successful bonded pairs to have all things neutral. 

We plan on building a bigger C& C cage for both of them if they bond well so it is new to both, different layout same location of Stewart’s current cage but I am unsure if this is an issue. Side note, this is gonna be a fun build and if they bond we cannot wait and of course will share pics with everyone. 

So far if they are to share a home I am worried most about the litter boxes because Pepe is totally obsessed with his litter box. Like even when I try to clean it he needs to be distracted or he will hop in it so I cannot take it out lol. 

Drives me nuts when I am rushing for work in the am. 

Haha, that is a great idea!

This morning he and I had a stare down…2 lone cowboys in the living room, the bar doors swing open, the people are standing still…(insert whistle from The Bad and The Ugly here) then… I make my move, chucked some romaine heart pieces super far from him. He folded like a cheap suit.

Hi Vanessa – They were both laying down but Stewart (the black and white bun) is wayyy more cautious. So most times he sort of bows in front of Pepe (tan boy) or stays lower than him like sort of tucked under his chin. Also when they laid down if Pepe moved even a little Stewart popped up right away (not so relaxed) but then he would lay back down. 

Stewart is grooming Pepe only and Pepe when mounting sort of nibbles at Stewart’s back, seems more so to keep him in place. No lying next to each other aside from being like a foot or so apart like the photo. As far as adding items thanks for the tips and I agree before going into the shared space I will insert some toys and food to check they are okay with sharing. Today will be day 2 so I will not add anything tonight. Yesterday’s bonding session was like 20 minutes but they were mainly laying down like in this pic. The mounting nibbling and grooming only lasted for like 10 minutes. I know this is long as many people say a few minutes for the first interaction but they seemed to be doing so well I let them hang.

Tonight the goal is 10 minutes total depending on how they are interacting. I am going to try for a video but think to share it I may need to open like a YouTube account. Plus if it is just me I will not be able to record and break up any drama if required.

I think all the tips of swapping items between the two cages when they were separate is paying off. I also gave them each a plush animal and I switched those every week. With the plush animal it is so funny that they seem to be treating that plush toy the same as they are treating each other when face to face. Stewart’s plush toy for example he sort of leaves alone but will sit next to it on a occasion (rare) vs. Pepe will lay on his plush toy and at times drag it from one side to the other so it is always close to him. 

My buns have never had a juice but that is a neat idea. I will keep it in mind. Omw home now so the buns will have another go at all this very soon. I am so excited for them lol, sounds silly but I really want them to bond. This would make me feel less guilty when I leave them and head to work.

It has been a little over a week of full swing bonding and so far so good I am content with the process. 

So far I would say the boys are doing really well adjusting to one another. Stewart my black and white boy seems a bit jumpy but overall still flops so that is great. Zero fights to report  so this makes me extremely happy Our longest time letting them hangout together was maybe 30+ minutes, speaking of long… the vids are pretty lengthy but I could watch my buns all day so hope you enjoy.
I have also started to limit the amount of space to get closer to a cage size for them and I added both of their litters and bowls since they are doing so well . I feel like I am moving really fast but they seem so eager to be together. Once I walk in the house they start to nudge on their doors to come out.

This vid is sharing a bite of romaine together, excuse my sneeze! This scared our nervous bun Stewart made me laugh a lot tho. 

As always tips and views on how we are doing are welcome!

Thanks for the advice my boys are neutered and have been hanging quite often now at least for 10-15 minutes a day. Sometimes longer… Love that your two are roomies…

I know, I know it’s been months now. Fell off on my forum updates but happy to say our boys are bonded and sharing a space!!! We plan to build them a new home soon because we feel like they could use a bit more space. They really love the bottom portion of their house so we want them to have more room down there. Below are some pics and things we learned during our bun’s bonding. 

The most important rule …Pepe is the boss! Pepe is super affectionate and always first to approach the humans of this home for a cuddle and some attention. Now we assumed this would translate into the same for the bunny relationship but it turns out Pepe is a demanding diva of our other bun Stewart. See evidence below of how Pepe must always be on top for play time

Next thing we learned is what works one day may not work the next. These buns started to favor and use one litter box so we assumed they only needed one litter box (Hint: Never ever insert or try something new during bonding without being fully prepared to watch the interactions for the entire day). So with one litter box all was well in the world for the first few hours and then…Pepe started grunting at Stewart while he was in the litter box, which is not nice. Stewart being the submissive bun he is, exited the litter box but stared at Pepe the whole time after he took over. Pepe must have taken too long (see pic below). Good measure to note, our buns never had a “fight” but in these little quarrels, we (humans) said okay this (insert change), it’s a confrontation starter – no litter box sharing. In their shared home there are two litter boxes and from time to time they swap but one litter box is not ideal for these guys:

Full honesty bonding takes hours of supervision and pretending/attempting to be a bunny whisperer and understanding where your buns are setting boundaries or saying this enough for us today. On some days Stewart in particular would cancel a bunny bonding session before we even started. 

I used a particular blanket and the same toys (toys, were introduced later into the bonding sessions) and whenever we had a bonding session in our mutual space (the hallway). I would start each session by letting one bun out at a time, always Stewart first. Some times after opening Stewart’s cage he would hop out and once he hit the hallway and saw the setup with the toys and blanket he would run right back to his cage. This was my alert that today is not a good day for Stewart and on those days I would take the plush toys they have and swap them into the other buns house. So the smell of the other bun is near but not all the personality. They really love their seals (Stewart with his Pepe scented seal):

Thanks for the advice and amazing posts that helped us with ideas like the plush toy swaps, the mutual space, the do’s and don’ts for sharing and of course the advice for neutering before bonding. Our boys in their shared space having breakfast :

THANKS AGAIN!