I don’t think this means they won’t bond, but it does mean you will need to put in a bit more effort! My first pair (in my avatar) was like this, and it took a while to bond them, but then they were SUPER tightly bonded and were obsessed with each other once they finally clicked.

Since you have only had Pumba home a week, I would slow things down a bit. I think it would be helpful to do at least another 2 weeks of pre-bonding before starting sessions, possibly more since you got off to a rocky start (especially with the little tussle they had in the pens before you started sessions).

When you resume sessions, you can start with SUPER short sessions, and try very hard to prevent fighting. Don’t be afraid to have your hands (with thick gloves on!) on them a lot. A dustpan can also be really helpful for sticking between them if you think they are about to fight. I would start with a 30 sec time goal. The goal is to end the session before there is any fighting at all. When they approach each other, be right there and start petting them both as they go nose to nose. This will keep them calm and make them think the other rabbit is grooming them. If that goes well, try for 1 minute in the next session, then 2 minutes, etc.

If in these short sessions they are still fighting immediately, I would try stressing. If you have a helper, you can take them on a short car ride together. I like to use a large plastic tub instead of a carrier as it’s easier to see and intervene if they start scuffling. Have the car running, pop the buns in the bin, and drive around for 10 min. Then repeat that for a few days in a row if it goes well.

I definitely recommend spraying water or a dustpan to help diffuse fights! My boys have been a long bond and it has helped to stop things before someone really gets hurt. Tornados can definitely set back bonding a lot more than just a nip or something like that. I wouldn’t be too worried though, most rabbits can bond together, some just take more time than others. My very tightly bonded pair used to beat the crap out of each other and tornado and then suddenly, one jumped into the other one’s pen one night and when I woke up the next day, they were bonded with no aggression or injuries lol. In my experience, they will show signs of no progress for sometimes weeks and then suddenly, there’s a huge breakthrough where they show that they really like each other, so don’t feel defeated if it takes a long time to see improvements. Good luck! It is actually really worth all the effort you’re putting in.

That sounds great! For now just keep petting them when they ask for grooms! Once this calmness is a bit more established, you can pause your petting for a few seconds here and there to see what happens, and then slowly ease off petting more and more. Sometimes this will actually trigger one bun to groom the other.

That sounds like you have made some progress, but very slowly.

Have you tried any stressing techniques? A 10 min car ride each day for a few days in a row can be very helpful in these types of bonds.

I would give the bathtub a shot! Sometimes it seems like neutral spots become less neutal when bonding takes a few weeks, so it’s good to change up locations, as long as they are all similarly neutral.

Another thing to experiment with is the size of the space. I’ve had the best luck with really large spaces, so if the bath tub doesn’t go well, you might try the date in the neutral bedroom, minus the play pen.

Personally, my next steps would be to try a car ride and/or a very large bonding area. For car rides, have someone else drive, get the car running and ready. I like to use a large plastic tub, rather than a carrier. Have you leather gloves on, pop the buns in the bin, and go for a drive. Most buns will not fight in the car, but sit in the back with the buns and be ready to break up any fighting. Drive them around for 10-15 min and then end the date. Repeat that a few days in a row if there was no fighting in the car.

Do you have a space where you could set up 2 x-pens linked together? I used to use my friend’s garage or backyard when I lived in a small apartment. Then the bonus is you can do a car ride on the way to the bonding area. 🙂