Did I make a mistake?

[kevinlilo]

Hello all!

So, I have had a male named Lilo for almost 2 years. He was neutered almost a year ago. Recently, I moved to Seattle (after graduating college), and decided to adopt a friend for Lilo for while I am at work. 

I went to the local humane society and adopted a female who is only about 6mo older than Lilo. She was spayed while at the humane society.  

Anyways, I moved the female to my apt, and set her up in a pen adjacent to the male’s cage/pen/condo. I did not notice any changes in behavior from the male except for trying to get high up in his condo to get a good look and what is causing the new smell. 

Yesterday I constructed a DMZ area between their 2 pens. It is a 4 inch wide zone that neither can get too, but they will both be able to see each-other at ground level. This way if things get heated, I can put a piece of cardboard in the DMZ and neither bun can see the other. 

Lilo (the male) was acting really odd when I finally opened the viewing zone. He started sprinting around at full speed and violently chewing and pulling at the DMZ wall (its made from the metal squares for condos). He was not honking or grunting, but he was really animated. Then, one of the walls opened from the bottom (oops, should have tested), and he was able to get face to face with the female. He would snap at the wall wherever she put her face, looking like he was attacking her…

Was the DMZ a bad idea? I am worried that I have forever made my male hate her  

I want to put them in a neutral location to actually be around each other but I don’t want him to kill her…

Thoughts? Maybe I am over-thinking this and he was just excited and wanted to get past the cage to see her in person?

[MoveDiagonally]

Welcome to BB!

It sounds like territorial aggression to me. I would give them a break from any kind of interaction/bonding. After a week or two I would try to introduce them in neutral territory. I wouldn’t allow them interaction anywhere near their pens/homes.

[kevinlilo]

Thanks for the reply and the welcome!

Do you think I should attempt the switching litter boxes method during this week of isolation?

[Clarajb]

I’m in a very similar situation right now and I found that my original guy Ralphie was wound up enough having Pepper’s cage right next to his – I didn’t try switching litter boxes but let them be next to one another for 2 weeks before starting bonding. It’s a slow process but step by step Ralphie is getting acclimated to pepper. Also depending on how recently she was spayed hormones could still be a factor. Pepper was spayed a little over a month ago and I wonder if that could have something to do with ralphie’s behavior. How is your male when they are side by side? It took Ralphie a few days to stop going crazy in his cage.
I’m keeping track of my bonding sessions in one of the threads in this forum, has some more details of how it’s going for us.

[LBJ10]

I agree with MD, a timeout might be the best course of action.

[kevinlilo]

Thanks for the input everyone!

Ralphiesmom1 – I will track your progress, thanks for the input!

LBJ10 and MD – Do you think I should swap litters during the “timeout” or just leave them alone for a week?

[LBJ10]

I suppose that would depend. Swapping litter boxes can help in some cases. Maybe start the timeout and have no contact for a few days. Then try swapping the litter boxes and observe them to make sure they aren’t completely freaking out. If all is well, then continue with the swap. You could also try stuffed animals. Put one in each cage for a few days, then swap.

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