Some of you may know about my sweet little Ophelia. She is 6 months spayed, about 3 weeks since her spay. A few days ago we just got an 8wk old mini lop buck. I wanted to wait until at least a month after her spay before bringing in a new bun, but circumstances did not permit the one week wait. Of course, I am keeping the new bun, Quincy, in my room where she is not allowed and she still has free range of the rest of the apartment. I thought that this would work out because she never tries to get in our room because she knows she is not allowed in there…. however, a few times in the past few days, I’ve looked around and when I don’t see her, I go ahead and try to sneak into the room. Then she comes darting in out of nowhere! Of course I don’t want to hurt her by trying to slam the door shut. The first two times she saw him, she absolutely flipped! She just started darting around the room running into stuff until she ran out of the door. I try calling her or having my husband grab pellets as soon as she gets in the room but she just ignores me and goes over to him, then just bolts out of the room. I have almost never picked her up because personally, I don’t believe that buns ever LIKE to be picked up, so why bother. Especially when she is so young and still so small. Also, when she is obviously stressed I don’t want to pick her up and risk injury on my part or hers. This morning, when I opened my bedroom door half asleep, she was waiting there and darted right in. This time, she went over to his cage and just stared and sniffed him, from a short distance. I tried luring her out with pellets and she nipped at me when I put them in her face. I had the husband grab some basil STAT and we were able to lure her out of the room. He still has a few months before he can be fixed, and I know they absolutely need to stay separated, but she is becoming ridiculous about sneaking her way in when we don’t think she’s around. New bun doesn’t seem bothered by any of their encounters, but he is only 8 weeks so that’s probably just because he has not sexually matured, right?  I am not planning on letting them be together at all, but in such a small apartment sometimes she just makes her way through when we don’t see her. Can her being around him even for a short time have a negative effect on their relationship when we attempt to bond?  What can I do when she bolts into the room, would covering his cage with a blanket be a good idea so they don’t see each other? I have heard stories of bonding being more difficult if they are introduced improperly and I don’t want them to learn to mistrust one another. Should I do something else, like switch litter trays? So maybe she won’t be so interested in the new smell that she darts into the room?