Marathon bonding with an anxious rabbit

[feireia]

Hi! I’ve been trying the 24/7 marathon bonding method and it’s coming up on a week now. I have a male/female pair where both are spayed and neutered. My girl, Nova, was spayed a year ago and my boy, Pekoe, was neutered 4 months ago. Prior to the marathon bonding, they lived side-by-side in x-pens and switched enclosures daily. They each got free-roam time throughout the day and in that time, they would approach the other through the bars of the x-pen from the exercise area. When Nova approached Pekoe’s x-pen, there would be bowed heads and nose-pressing. When Pekoe approached Nova’s x-pen, she would grunt and nip at him.

Pekoe is very anxious and is very hesitant to explore new spaces. Nova, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She is very confident when it comes to exploring. I started off the first day with a quick car ride then put them in a 2ft x 2ft space when we got home lined with pee pads and a bunch of hay scattered in the area. Nova and Pekoe both explored the area, and in this time, there was a bunch of nipping from Nova but no serious fights broke out (e.g. boxing, chasing, tornadoes). After about 8 hours of no poop or pee from either of them, I added a litter box (an XL cat litter pan) in there to get them to relieve themselves. That litter box has been there ever since and has been the only spot Pekoe feels comfortable in. He doesn’t leave it entirely, even for food or water. Instead, he stretches out of the litter box with his back legs still inside if it’s within easy reach.

I’ve increased the space by a few inches when there isn’t as much nipping to encourage the two to explore, but Pekoe still stays inside the litter box. Nova has no problem with this and is overjoyed with the extra space to move. A few times, Pekoe has tried to come out of the litter box but it looks like Nova is herding him back into the litter box. She approaches him and doesn’t nip, and he hops back into the litter box. On the upside, they have been occasionally snuggling together in the litter box and have groomed each other; Nova grooms Pekoe significantly more than he does to her. They share the food and water bowls fine. I have noticed nipping in the litter box but they look like Nova telling Pekoe to move over, “you’re sitting on some hay I want” or “I want to pee in that corner.”

All that to say, how should I move forward with this? It seems like Pekoe being such an anxious bun isn’t helping matters very much and I’ve been considering putting him in a space to become familiar with then introducing Nova into that space. I’ve also considered re-starting the marathon bonding in a large space but I have a feeling Nova will just get territorial over it.

[DanaNM]

It honestly sounds like it’s going fine if they are grooming a bit and snuggling a bit, and not fighting! This is interesting, because usually one bun will get territorial over the litter box, but it sounds like you have almost the opposite problem!

Perhaps you could remove the litter box for some periods of time if you think it’s causing some issues. Like you could put it in for 6 hours in the morning and evening, then remove it for 6 hour chunks in the middle of the day and middle of the night? You could also experiment with making the space larger. I think sometimes when a bun jumps out of a litter box and the space is tiny, it startles the other bun. So perhaps a larger area would help with Nova herding Pekoe back to the box.  If you make the area larger, you could also try adding some hides (with at least 2 exits) to help Pekoe feel more secure.

Another possibility would be to make the space so small that they only really have the litter box, but I don’t usually like working in spaces that small.

I don’t think I would completely restart the marathon since to me it sounds like it’s going well, but experimenting with larger or smaller spaces (or new spaces) can be helpful. I am also currently marathoning and I’ve been making their space smaller during the day when they are sleepy, and then giving them a large space to run around in when they are active in the evenings. You don’t need to do an all or nothing approach to any one method. It seems to have been working well for mine as I think they are nearly bonded now. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[feireia]

Thanks so much for the reply! I’m glad it sounds like it’s going well from an outside perspective. I’ll try removing the litter box like you suggested. I started in a pretty small area where the litter box took up almost all of the available space. Have you noticed changing up their space that often throughout the day affecting how they are to each other?

[DanaNM]

It can sometimes affect things, but no hard in experimenting a bit, as you might hit on something that works really well. I ended up settling on the small space during sleepy hours with mine to encourage them to sleep near each other, but the bigger space later so they can get some exercise.

I’ve nearly always found with my rabbits that larger spaces work better, although I know small spaces work well for lots of people. There might be some chasing, but with more space to move it’s usually less likely to escalate to a fight as they have room to get away from each other. The chasing etc. can be part of the process as well.

The main rule of thumb is that if something seems to be going well, stick with it. If it’s not working, try changing things up a bit. If you make a change and it doesn’t go well, go back to the last thing you did that was going well and stick with that longer. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[feireia]

What am I looking for to know my two are bonded? There’s still nipping and the occasional snuggle. Nova seems like she’s more dominant but she grooms Pekoe almost every time there is grooming.

[DanaNM]

Bonded buns will be very comfortable with each other, with no tension when one comes near the other. Bonded buns will share food no problem (including yanking it out of each other’s mouths!), usually share litter box, will snuggle, and groom each other. Sometimes the grooming is a bit one sided but usually gets more equal over time. Overall there is just a level of comfort and relaxation between them.

An occasional nip is OK, but you shouldn’t see fur pulling or scuffling. In my experience, when they are bonded it seems like things “click”. If you are still a bit uncertain they prob aren’t quite there, but it sounds like they are very close!

. . . 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.  

[feireia]

Thank you for all the help! Fingers crossed my two bond soon. Coming up on a week and a half of marathon bonding :/

[DanaNM]

As long as they aren’t fighting I think you’ll get there! Sometimes it seems like one day they just decide to trust each other and things click. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[feireia]

I’ve learned that expanding space and adding new toys doesn’t change their behavior but adding hidey houses/boxes do. When a box is added, Nova (my girl) ends up chasing and nipping Pekoe back into the litter box. Would adding two boxes interfere with building the bond?

[DanaNM]

You could try it and see what happens! If the nipping/chasing continues, then remove them.

If you feel like things have hit a stalemate, you might try taking them on a car ride together or changing up the space (or even moving them to a new space if you’ve got one).

 

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

It took a while for my pair to be OK with hidey houses in their shared space, so if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t mean it won’t be agreeable eventually!

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.

[feireia]

Update and a few more questions: I’m still slowly making progress with bonding Nova and Pekoe, and I’ve noticed chasing has increased. Nova will nip and chase then sometimes pinky afterward. Pekoe is always the one getting chased and a few times I’ve seen him lay down relaxed after being chased or even a flop. What does this mean? He doesn’t seem to like being nipped but him relaxing afterwards is confusing me. After the chase, he’ll also bow his head and Nova grooms him almost every time. He, however, doesn’t reciprocate. I’ve seen him groom her maybe four times in the past week.

Based on my readings and research, I should expand the space they have when there have been 48 hours of no negative behaviors. The only behavior I’ve seen are the chasing and nipping. Can these be considered negative behaviors? Thank you so much for all the guidance so far!

[Wick & Fable]

Flopping after being chased can be interpreted as a “Well, I don’t actually care… look how relaxed I am.” It commonly happened with my Fable after she got in Wick-initiated scuffles and chasing. Now that is just an inferred interpretation — in reality, who knows what it means, but at the minimum, we know that rabbits who are significantly distressed don’t flop, so it is probably indicative of some sort of comfort sign.

Chasing and nipping can be negative behaviors in some cases. I think it is your judgement in terms of what your observing. Situations I see chasing and nipping as clearly negative is if it’s bullying. The chasing is keeping the rabbit away from food, litterbox, or moving freely, for example. Also, if the nipping is unnecessarily frequent, so not just in response to not wanting to groom or unwanted proximity. Sometimes my Wick would just go up to Fable and start nipping her at the same spot repeatedly until she would run away, when then he’d go chase here. Alternatively, if it is small nips to communicate small behavior changes in one another or the chasing seems like aggressive and more playful/changing lounging locations, then that isn’t so bad.

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.

[DanaNM]

Agree, it depends on the type of chasing. Are Nova’s ears forward or back? Back is an aggressive chase. Forward is playing or often a mounting attempted, which is not negative as long as they cuddle and groom after and it’s not bothering the chased bun.

. . . 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.  

[feireia]

I haven’t paid attention to how Nova’s ears are but I will from now on. It seems to bother Pekoe, the chased bun, because sometimes he will thump. Other times he’ll turn around after a short chase and lower his head, which Nova will groom.

[feireia]

ETA: When Nova chases, her ears are up, not flattened and she tries to hump after chasing.

[DanaNM]

Ok, so yes that’s a “I want to mount you chase”. Pekoe is then saying “no ma’am”, and asking for grooms. Sometimes buns will groom right before mounting as well to kind of woo the other bunny. Pekoe might be saying “if you want to mount me you better groom me more”, or “I’m top bun here and you should groom me, but no mounting”.

These types of interaction are normal and as long as they aren’t leading to scuffling then just let them happen. I think these types of interactions are actually a good sign they show that they are interacting and communicating with each other (rather than the anxious bun just sitting in a corner scared).

. . . 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.  

[feireia]

Good to know! I’m glad Pekoe isn’t as nervous as he was when we started these marathon sessions, but that may be because I moved them back into their initial space after a deep clean. It’s funny (and odd) that Pekoe always bows his head for grooms and (supposedly) wants to be the dominant one, but he doesn’t display the typical dominant behaviors like chasing and mounting. I’ve expanded the space a bit so there’s a bit more room for Pekoe to escape Nova, but am unsure if I should add in a hidey house or two. I tried it before in a smaller area but Nova just got possessive over both boxes so I removed them.

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