Finally seeing a bond forming

[tskelly93]

So we got Nachos nearly 8 months ago as a companion for Chaos after his mate died. While rearranging the living room (their main room for roamimg) we decided that instead of having Nachos live in a cage beside Chaos’ cage we would split Chaos’ cage into 2 sections so that they were abit more together. This was mainly because Nachos loves in a large dog cage that was not suitable for her, and splitting Chaos’ cage gave her more room. Bonding sessions between them in a neutral territory never ended positively as they would be too stressed to interact or be near eachother.

Since doing this about 2 weeks ago we have seen noticeable differences in behaviour. Nachos used to be a poo/pee machine, marking the length of Chaos’ cage. We now haven’t had a single wee outside the cage. But then Nachos got stasis, so we took her to the vet and her teeth needed filing which is all done now. She’s still recovering from stasis, handling her stresses her out and makes her go back into stasis but we need to if she doesn’t eat/poo and needs medicine.

We have started to let both buns out together in the living room, as we thought having Chaos with her might reduce her stress and she would eat more. It has been working, and we have seen Nachos groom Chaos and they even lie down together. They go into the other buns cage and there have been no issues like the other bun attacking them, even for eating their food or using their litter tray. There is still the occasional nip from one to the other and running after the other but it isn’t very often, and no fur is ripped out of the other bun.

I was thinking that if I don’t see them nipping eachother for 2 days then it might be time to take down the divide and try letting them be in the same cage, under supervision for a day. If there was any attacks then the divide goes back up and we try again. If not then could I finally say that I’ve been successful in bonding them? Or should I revise my plan? The only issue I foresee with them living together is Nachos loves to chew Chaos’ vetbed and he needs it as he’s arthritic.

[DanaNM]

Hi there,

So, sorry if I read things incorrectly, but would you consider the living room neutral territory? But maybe you tried this because neutral didn’t work?

In any case, it sounds like you have taken a somewhat unconventional approach, but it seems like you’ve been making progress. Do keep a close eye on them when they go into each other’s cages, as if a scuffle breaks out in there it would be hard to intervene.

In general, the good signs to look for with bonding are: grooming each other, cuddling, sharing food, sharing litter box, and just generally being relaxed around each other.

When deciding whether they are ready to be together overnight, you should not see any chasing, lunging, or aggression. A light nip might be ok, as long as it doesn’t escalate. My bonded pair might give a light nip as if to say “hey move over” when one is in the way, but it is almost like a nudge.

Usually you would want to have them spend the night together in a neutral space before having them spend the night in their own cage. Can you have them spend 24-48 hours in the living room before that? I worry about an enclosed space for a marathon, in case a scuffle breaks out.

Generally you would also want to clean and deodorize the final home to be as neutral as possible, but again since they’ve been going into each other’s cages without issue then this might not be as much of an issue.

Finally, I would wait until Nachos is fully recovered from her stasis before trying to move forward with the bonding. There is a chance her illness is making her behave differently, so you should wait until she is 100% better before moving forward.

. . . 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.  

[tskelly93]

The living rooms not neutral territory as both buns had access to it, but we had tried everywhere else in out house so we had ran out of options, but it was mainly seeing nachos struggle to eat that we felt that having another bun would be more beneficial.

We’re now a few days out of stasis and Nachos personality is coming out more. She likes to be slightly bossy, but I wouldn’t say that she’s being vicious, it’s more her testing what she can get away with (it appears that she’s the submissive in the bond). They’re still ok with the other bun being in their cage, eating and using their litter box. And there has been no fighting or any negative behaviour. Chaos last mate was the dominant and wasn’t exactly cuddly so I know that all bun pairs are abit different.

She has to go back to the vet later this week to get signed off, so we will take Chaos over with us, after which I was going to put them in a different room together with supervision. I would be cleaning out the room/cages and modifying it into one enclosure during this time so if things go smoothly then they can go into a new cage to live together

[DanaNM]

Sounds like a good plan.

Do plan to supervise for at least 48 hours once you move them in together to make sure there are no hiccups.

. . . 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.  

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