Getting a friend for my bun

[Andreea]

Hi! I have a spayed female bunny. She has been living alone for a while and this weekend I finally get a seccond bunny, so she will have a bunny friend to socialize with. Since the bunny I will get is not fixet yet I will keep them separated at the beggining but I have some questions:

1. Should I get him fixed as soon as possible or wait a little while for him to get used to the new home? I think it would be pretty stressful for him to be in a new place and I don’t know if it would be ok to add the neutering procedure to that stress.

2. Until I get him neutered I won’t let the bunnies see each other but I will interact with both of them. Would it be stressful for him to sense her smell? Or for her to sense his?

3. My girl is a free roamer so she knows every corner of the apartment very well… It is pretty hard to find a good spot for bonding. I’ve seen on the internet that the bathtub is a common space to use for bonding. If she has unlimited acces to the bathroom (because this is where her litterbox is), is the bathtub a good place? She has never been in it but the rest of the room has her smell.

Thank you!

[DanaNM]

Hi there,

Congrats on the new bun and welcome

I’ll just answer your Q’s in order:
1. I think giving him about a week at home would be nice for him. I would call to see when they can schedule you, and go from there. It might be that they don’t even have openings for a few weeks so your decision will be made for you.

2. It probably wont be too stressful, but you can certainly expect lots of marking, and probably some extra thumping! If you already had a bonded pair, the new un-neutered boy might upset that, but since your girl is single I wouldn’t worry too much. You might want to prepare for pre-bonding by getting an extra x-pen or two (or cube grids works great too). That way you can divide up the room with a buffer so they can both have free-run at the same time (but not nip at each other), and then swap sides so they get used to each other’s scent, and she looses track of what’s “her’s” a little.

3. I feel your pain here. I have a studio apartment and finding space for bonding has always been a challenge. If she’s been in the bathroom, I wouldn’t use the bath tub. I also haven’t had great luck with the bathtub or small spaces in general (but every pair is different!). I’ve found with mine that smell is just as important (or more important) than sight, so if they are within smell of their normal turf, it counts as “semi-neutral”. Do you have a backyard, garage, or friend’s garage or kitchen that you might be able to use? I had the best luck with mine when I set up a large area (like 2 x-pens linked up) in my friend’s garage. Even if you can’t do sessions daily, I think 3-4 times a week in a truly neutral spot would be better than daily in a less-neutral spot. The more neutral, the better!
You can also do stress sessions (car rides, or walks around the block in a bin, or in a bin on top of the washing machine, etc) on the days that you can’t take them anywhere. Since he’s not neutered yet, you’ll have some time to plan during his healing and pre-bonding once his hormones have settled.

. . . 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.  

[Andreea]

Thank you for your answer! I don’t have my own garage but I have a car that I can use for stress sesions. She has been in the kitchen a few times but I blocked her acces with a baby gate because there are few things I can’t bunny proof and it was a little bit dangerous for her. Maybe if I clean the room to get all of her smell out of the kitchen it would be an ok space? I don’t have my own backyard, I’m living in an apartament building but we have some kind of yard outside. I can set up a pen outside but there will be a problem with my neighbours kids. Every time I go out with my bunny (to go to the vet for example) they come very close and they are so noisy…I understand that they are kids and when they see a cute pet they just wanna play with it but it really really scare the bunny. Maybe I should think about something else or ask a friend to help me

[DanaNM]

Hmm yeah you can try disguising your kitchen and see how they do. Clean with vinegar, and see if you can block view of anything familiar (cardboard, blankets, etc can all work). That said, if they aren’t doing great in the kitchen, don’t be afraid to ask for help! I’ve pushed too hard to bond in my own apartment by disguising things and it was never as positive as in a completely new space. You would also prob be surprised at how entertained your friends will be at the lengths you go to for your bunnies.

I wonder if there are times when your neighbors kids aren’t around that might work? The added noise might actually be a good thing for bonding.. but I do agree that too much distraction isn’t great.

. . . 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.  

[Andreea]

It would be ok to try when they are at school but around the same time I’m at work. I’ll find a way to try it. Thanks for the kitchen ideea! ?

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