Advice for bonding bereaved neutered female and younger male

[B&A]

Hi, 

  Okay, I have been reading the pages and relevant posts but I thought I would post in case someone might have some further advice for me. 

  The situation: 

  I have a female bunny, Arlo, who is neutered and will be a year in November. We lost her partner Bertrand very suddenly. He wasn’t eating right Thursday night and I took him to the vet Friday morning… he was in there until Sunday and we thought he was getting better, we were going to bring him home, but when the vet was talking to us about to give him back he just.. it was so sudden.. the vet said we did everything we should have – but it was so shocking – we were so close. He was my bunny – I think he could have been a single bunny – he just followed me everywhere. His partner though, Arlo, she needs another bunny I think.. or so my mum thought who was visiting and got us a three month old male bunny on Monday. It’s all so sudden and I’m not quite sure what to do. 

 I do worry about Arlo, my girl, being lonely – I know the female is usually the dominant one, but I think my male was – and since he has been gone, Arlo has been getting a lot more affectionate, though I think she is lonely too. I don’t want her to get depressed – she didn’t see the body – I read that they should – but it was all too quick. I have this wee boy now too – Gus. He is a very nice natured wee  bunny but I am reading about how difficult this introduction may be and I don’t want to cause any unwanted stress. At the same time though I think Arlo is missing someone to lie beside – other than me – and someone to clean her ears.

 Arlo is free range in my flat – but for now I have the wee boy Gus in a cage – he is so small the cage gives him a lot of room and I let him run around the kitchen every few hours for extra exercise. When he is in his cage I let Arlo in the same room as him – she has been sniffing him and chinning him through the bars – she seems very interested and doesn’t seem aggressive. She is a very sturdy bunny though – she isn’t fat – but she isn’t thin –  I think she is quite muscular.. she digs a lot. I am unsure if I should try to properly introduce them and see how it goes. They were together without the age very briefly and the little guy just made a B line right for her – but she looked shocked by his presence and startled and I was afraid she might hurt him so I took him away very quickly. 

I don’t know if I should just let them try and see if maybe they do get on – since they are interested and Arlo is lonely – or well I think missing a companion – or it is all too sudden and she will be okay being lonely and grieving.. I don’t want her to get sad… but I don’t want her to hurt wee Gus.. I’m very confused. I think the only think I know is that it’s good if he is in the cage that she can go and check him out when she likes – not knowing where he was but smelling him seemed to be distressing. 

Any advice appreciated! 

[Mikey]

They can see one another like youve been doing, but you cannot bond them yet. You cant do bonding until youve gotten him neutered, waited two months after his neuter for his hormones to drain, and deep cleaned atleast one space that Arlo will no longer be allowed to go into until after their bonded.

You need Gus to be neutered and his hormonals flushed out (he does this on his own over time, after being neutered) to avoid aggressive, territorial, and/or sexual hormonal behaviors. All of these can cause a bond to break if you bond before a neuter, and all of these can cause bonding to fail if you bond too soon after his neuter.

You need atleast one space thats neutral to do bonding session. This space needs to be a space neither bunny is allowed to go. Since shes allowed everywhere, youll need to block of a deep clean an area. Dont allow her in that area until its time for bonding sessions, and only then allow her in that area only during the bonding sessions. Outside of bonding sessions, neither bunny will be allowed their until after their bond is cemented.

Sorry to hear about your little bun. It truly does sound like youve done all you could do (((((binky free)))))

[DanaNM]

Sorry for your loss

Agree with everything Mikey said. I’ll just add that even though they aren’t bonded yet, the presence of the new boy may be some comfort to Arlo, because they are such social creatures. In the meantime do spend lots of floor time with Arlo. Even if she doesn’t come to you all the time, your presence will comfort her as you grieve together.

To help with pre-bonding and temporary housing/bonding space, it’s a good idea to buy/borrow an extra x-pen or two, or get storage cube grids which you can zip tie together, so you can divide the space in two, with a buffer between the fences, so they can exercise at the same time. You’ll also (eventually) want to be able to swap who is one what side, so the x-pen/cubes can come in handy to make Gus’s area bigger.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Noel_dee]

I’m so sorry for your loss. I know that is difficult losing a bun you’re so close with.
My rabbit Theodore has gone through that twice, definitely give her extra love while she’s by herself. How old is this new baby?
I agree with what DanaNM said, definitely get a pen for the new baby! He might out grow a cage. I did the same thing while waiting to bond my new baby to Theodore (who is also a free range bun). I blocked the perimeter of my pen with cardboard zip tied down so they don’t accidentally nip each other. Don’t put them together just yet but definitely swap toys, bowls, things that have their smell so they get used to each other so once he is ready to meet his new big sister they won’t be such starangers. Good luck!

[Author]

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