Back at bonding—how to get him to kiss her?

[The Rabbit]

So…after my upset a couple months back over my new buns behavior towards my old bun…I want on a short Hiatus. I went to the HRS and they explained to me that Zelda, my girl bun was madly in love with Pixel. The problem is, she wants him to kiss her. and he won’t. So she would get frustrated and Bite him.

Zelly is definitely staying. I’ve just gotten back into bonding them. she’s much calmer now, and has claimed me as her person. She feels safe.

 

She’s started to enjoy sitting with Pixel, although she hasn’t done it on her own. Pixel won’t kiss her which is the issue.  She shoves her head under his chin and keeps trying. Today it ended with Pixel being confused, and her getting so frustrated that she threw a tantrum attacking the towel and boxing the ltiterbox.  How can I get him to kiss her? I’ve tricked him with pieces of dried apple. I lure him to her head and then he eats it off her forehead, and she thinks he’s kissing her. But after that she always asks for more and when he won’t give it she gets upset.

[Beka27]

There’s not much more you can do besides putting something on her head like banana or even some drops of water. You can trick her by rubbing her forehead instead of Pixel grooming her, but that’s obviously not something you can always do. Some rabbits are more into grooming than others. This is something they need to work out on their own.

It may be a female thing. Max couldn’t care less whether he was groomed, but Meadow demands it a hundred times a day. The trick will be trying to get Zelda to accept that sometimes she’s not going to get groomed.

I am glad you’re keeping Zelda and she’s working out so far!

[The Rabbit]

It was really hard at first. She was so wild. Now she even plays games. I spent tons and tons of time with her and she got used to me. Now she lets me pick her up, and likes her petting.

Last night(late last night after I wrote that post) I tried again with some interesting results. Pixel did his usual eat the apple (and some banana) off her head, and she loved it. She Started grooming herself heavily. Then Pixel started grooming himself(something he’s never done around her) at the same time. Then Zelda came over and kissed him(something she’s never done!). She did this for 34 seconds(yes I counted) stopped, flopped, and then started again. Then she turned around climbed on his back and humped him vigorously. Pixel didn’t mind. He flopped when she was done(another thing he’s never done around her) But she threw a fit and attacked everything in site. Pixel seemed nonplussed but Zelly was so upset so I put her back in her cage.

why does she keep throwing fits?

[Helenor]

Well, I’m having a similar issue with my bunnies with them not grooming each other. It gets frustrating, but mine don’t throw fits, from what I’ve seen. They kinda scuffle a bit. I’ve been checking out The Language of Lagomorphs, http://language.rabbitspeak.com/ for the body language. Under gazing, it says:

If rabbits don’t get along they may play a little game one could call “I’m happier than you are.” Usually when a rabbit flops near another it shows how comfortable it is with the other, but with rabbits that are not good friends it can actually be used as a mild insult. When used in this way it means something similar to the “I don’t care about you” insult described later, but more like “I’m happy and you’re a miserable excuse for a rabbit, so there.”

Maybe she sees his flop as an insult or something? I’m not sure since my rabbits don’t react to flops near each other, only refusal of grooming really.

[RabbitPam]

That’s an interesting interpretation and would fit her reaction.
Maybe she just expected more from him after she’d gone the extra mile and thought she’d established dominance, so her every wish is now his command.

They are definitely making progress. I don’t know if this would have any effect, but perhaps you could groom her with a comb or brush frequently, so if she is asking for grooming help as well as kisses, at least you will be able to make her feel good that way and his responses are strictly behavioral.

I think you’re handling it very well.

[allegrabunny]

I have no helpful advice. I only wish I could bite when i get frustrated, it would certainly help clear things up in the human world. lol

[Author]

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