Newly bonded suddenly fighting – help!!

[LuluRabbit]

So after two weeks from declaring them bonded… Theo and Alfredo suddenly had a fight one night! 🙁  We woke up and went to their room one morning and there was fur everywhere. Fortunately no injuries or bite marks on either… but now whenever they are together, Theo chases Alfredo relentlessly and Alfredo runs away real fast, and it seems that if I don’t stop it they will get into a tussle again. I tried a stress bond session and it didn’t help, though they were peaceful during it. I’ve separated them with an x-pen now. I’m so sad and frustrated! Before the fight, they were cuddling, following each other everywhere, grooming each other, eating together, and I thought we were home free – and including the marathon bonding, they had been together for like a month without incident. I don’t know what happened – though I’m pretty sure Theo was the instigator, because recently (like one day before the fight) he peed on our bed and in a corner of the room even though he is litter trained. It’s been almost 3 months since his neuter so I don’t know what’s gotten into him. They have NEVER fought like this before, even throughout bonding (with the exception of micro-bonding, they don’t do well with that).

Any advice on how to proceed? Alfredo has been an angel (he still grooms Theo through the bars) but Theo has just been aggressive with the chasing and also he refuses to be pet, he’s eating though so I don’t think he’s sick? They are separated by an x-pen now, so they can still see each other but I’m wondering if they need to just forget each other – I don’t really have space for that though! And there has been no bite marks/bleeding/injuries so I’m thankful for that, but they definitely can’t be together right now. I’m at a loss for what to do… we are moving cross country in a few months so we are going to have neutral territory soon but right now there’s barely any neutral, unless I go to a friend’s.

[DanaNM]

Oh no, I’m so sorry 🙁 That is so frustrating.

I would give them a chance to calm down. It might be easiest to just wait till you move… because then you’ll have the journey and a completely new space to work in. New bonds can be a bit tenuous. I’ve also heard that sometimes in spring hormones can trigger some issues. But it’s really good they didn’t injure each other, because it means it’s more likely you will be able to re-bond them.

 

. . . 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.  

[LuluRabbit]

Thanks! I didn’t realize that spring hormones was a thing even for fixed rabbits… Theo has been peeing a lot on things recently so maybe that’s it. In fact, he JUST peed on his bed….. 🙄  I’ll probably at least wait it out through this season if that’s a contributor.

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