Bonding with my bunny

[~Jodie~]

I adopted 2 bonded lionhead rabbits just over a month a
go. The male is named Simba and he is definitely getting used to me (letting me pet him, coming up to me,etc) but the female (Lola) seems to always be frightened of me. I let her sniff my hand and then she just runs away. What can I do to help bond with her?

[lillian]

Are both the buns fixed?
My bunnys are still pretty shy sometimes but have outgrown it mostly, only being “shy” when they know its bed time or when they first come out and want to play.

Something I suggest to everyone as its what was suggested to me and it worked best for me. So, let the bun out alone so the other bun cant influence them, lay on the ground, and just focus on something other than the bun (a book, phone, newspaper, etc) If the bun comes up to you, sniffs you, walks on your back (my little bun is pretty light so it feels like a little massage!) just let her be. Don’t pay attention to her, don’t try to pet her, etc. Only pet her if she comes up and starts nudging your hand, but be slow and gentle.

cant promise it works, but, its what worked for me lol. It definitely wasn’t an instant bond, and did take a few weeks for her to get to the point where I could sit on the couch or the bed and she would come up to me wanting pettings

[~Jodie~]

Yes both buns are fixed, Simba is 5 years and Lola is 4. Thank you very much for the advice I will definitely try this

[lorree]

My experience with my rabbit Boonie was also a slow start.
As Lillian said just being there on the floor definitely helped out bond too.
I found she would sniff me and go all the way around sniffing me and marking me as hers with her chin and then run away again. After a while I’d just lay there staring at her, cos a read that rabbits in love stare at each other for hours (aww)
And then if I could I’d slowly pretend to groom myself as rabbits do that when things are ok
She took her time but eventually started coming in for pats and treats
But cuddling and picking her up didnt happen until way later

So yeah it can be a slow process, u just gotta be patient and keep trying

Also just be aware of smells, sounds weird I know but I find Boonie is very sensitive to how things smell and if I’ve just put on a chemical smelling moisturizer she won’t come near me, or if I’ve just used cleaning products.
My housemate is a smoker and she still, after 4 years, doesn’t go near him
So hopefully ur not a smoker, or if u are maybe wash ur hands after smoking but with something not harsh smelling

[HappyHollandDays]

I am no expert by any means, Rumple has only been with me for 6 days. but the process I’ve been using seems to be working very quickly!

What I’ve been doing is literally sitting on the floor for hours a day while he is out for playtimee. I leave him completely alone. I do homework or scroll on BB. That made him not afraid of me. To bond with him I have been feeding him his pellets (his favorite) exclusively by hand. That way he associates being near me with something good!

This may just be his personality though, he nose bonked be his first day home because I was in his way.

But that’s what I’ve been doing! He and I are bonding quickly I like to think!

[~Jodie~]

Thanks so much!

[Author]

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