Marathon bonding & what to look for

[vdemske]

Good morning! I have posted on this forum a few times before, so for all of those who have helped me along the way – thank you!

We were supposed to attempt a marathon bonding session a few months ago, but unfortunately it was cut off short and was unsuccessful. So, we went back to the drawing board and had shorter sessions in our typical neutral space – we have been doing this since.

After we felt really comfortable with the two of them in their neutral space (2-4 hour sessions with mutual grooming and cuddling), we started our second marathon bonding session attempt. We are now on hour 16, as we made it through our first night! There have been no real signs of aggression, but definitely signs of curiousness and some signs of grooming (one-sided).

Our plan was to do this until Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning (so a full 48+ hours). 

Unfortunately, this is going to be an a-typical marathon bonding session, as we are traveling to my parents house on Thursday, so we are bonding at our house Monday-Thursday morning, taking them in a car ride (7 hours in a carrier together), and then putting them back together at my parents house (very neutral space). We have no other option (as we work a lot), and my boyfriend has off from work this week and won’t have this much time until the holidays. Again, while we understand this may not be the best method, this is what we have to work with. We then plan on returning home on Sunday and setting up their forever home with new housing items, and will supervise them from Sunday – Tuesday.

My questions for you all as I’m in desperate need of advice:

1. What should we look for to deem them officially “bonded”? I’ve heard mutual grooms, cuddles and humping (to make sure dominance is established). I’ve also heard people say that it’ll be a “gut instinct” and you’ll know. So far, we’ve seen one-sided grooming only and I know they need more time.

2. Is this safe to marathon bond them until their bond is cemented and then travel? Unfortunately, we really don’t have any other options and we figured a car ride is stressful enough that it’ll only help. Obviously, they will be in the same carrier and not separated after their marathon bonding session (if all goes well). Thoughts on how to make this the best for what it is? If it’s truly that dangerous and could really really hurt them, please let us know.

3. When we return to our home on Sunday, we figured we would clean the hell out of the apartment and set up their forever home space with all new toys, rug, etc. I’m assuming they should be supervised for another couple of days to make sure they are truly bonded and comfortable. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Side note – it has been almost A YEAR from pre-bonding until now – we are very excited for them (and for us)!

Thank you!

[Sirius&Luna]

To be honest, I think moving them during the marathon bond may work in your favour! So, don’t worry about that. You will need to keep monitoring them both at your parents house and when you return home. Moving to an entirely new space can stress even established bonds, so you will need to monitor, but the stress of travelling and moving may well help to cement their bond. You might need to take a couple of stops on the journey to ensure they’re eating.

Clean apartment, rearrange furniture if possible, and monitor for another 24-48 hours on return home.

To call them officially bonded, you want to see NO negative behaviour for 48 hours, and positive behaviours. Not all bunnies mutually groom, and with some it takes more time, but you should still see cuddles, flopping together, and general ‘hanging out’ together. They should be able to share food and litter boxes with no fuss, and they should generally be comfortable with each other. My buns will literally step on each other to get to litter boxes etc without it ever turning into a fight – that’s what I mean by ‘comfortable’. You really will know when you see it!

I hope you finally get this bond cemented!

[vdemske]

Thanks Sirius&Luna!

So Jay is a hyper bunny and loves to binky around; sometimes this scares Lola and she gets defensive – it doesn’t turn into a fight but more of a scuffle. I’m interpreting this as negative behavior? I’m assuming when he binkies and she no longer considers it a threat is when they are progressing.

Jay gets bored easily, should we put in some neutral toys for them both? I’m thinking it may serve as a distraction for both of them! Thoughts?

Thanks again!

[Sirius&Luna]

Yeah, I think it will be real progress when she learns he’s just being happy and it doesn’t make her defensive! My more dopey bunny sometimes startles when one of the others binkies past him, but it never escalates from there – so startling is fine, but then a further reaction from that is negative.

Start off simple, but as it goes along definitely add toys. If you feel confident you can add things like cardboard boxes, but be aware it could cause a scuffle if one is still feeling a bit wary.

[vdemske]

Thank you for the response! So we are almost at the 24 hour mark and I think we are making progress! They are snuggling and apparently Jay flopped right next to Lola and she remained laying down for a few minutes and started to groom him! Hopefully this continues!

[Sirius&Luna]

That sounds like great progress! Hope it keeps going well

[vdemske]

Hi Sirius&Luna – thanks again for your support! I don’t mean to bother or bug, but Jay and Lola have been going for over 50 (!) hours now and for the last 36 or so there have been little to no chasing, not too much startling, lots of grooming and sporadic snuggles. I feel like I can leave them alone for a few minutes or go downstairs and not worry – I think they may be bonded! We are going to keep them through another night and then off to my parents house we go!

[Sirius&Luna]

Yay! Sounds like it’s going really well. Hopefully the journey to your parents will really help them to cement their bond as they comfort each other. Do keep a close eye on them in the new space, as that might change things slightly.

[vdemske]

Great, thanks!

[Author]

Messages