Re-Introduction

[dramaqueen_msc]

Tonight  Chance and Andre had their big re-introduction.  I haven’t been working with them much, but I think it went well considering how terrible it had been previously.  For those who weren’t here or don’t remember, Chance would always pick fights with Andre.

I started by allowing them to run around a bit one at a time to get out their pent up energy.  While they were out I cleaned out both condos so I could switch which condo they were living in once the bonding session was over.  I do have to watch Andre a bit since he managed to find a hair tie on the floor and we’ve only found half of it (thankfully we found the half with the metal clasp).  He seems to be eating a pooing alright so I think he spit the other half out under something and I haven’t found it yet.

After their run they went into the carrier and onto the dryer.  They stayed there for about 15 minutes completely pressed up against each other.  Then, they went into the bath tub which had some food and a litter box in it.  Andre hopped out first and went straight for the littler box.  Chance came out a few seconds later, sniffed him briefly and hopped in next to him.  To calm my own nerves I started petting them since that calms them both down immediately.

I continued to stroke Chance’s nose to keep her calm since she is usually the aggressor, and allowed Andre to come out of the “trance.” He picked his head up, nuzzled her bum (which was closest to him since they were facing opposite ways), licked the tips of her ears and hopped out.  That as about 15 minutes of togetherness and I figured it was a positive note to end on.

[BinkyBunny]

That sounded like a great restart! One thing to watch for is sometimes bunny’s can get aggressive very quickly when their bum get’s sniffed or nuzzled. Depends on the bunny, but the reason rabbit who are bonding can get a bit cranky about that is sometimes it’s a sign from the other bunny that they are about to mount. So far it looked like she was okay with it.

Great progress! Keep it up.

[MarkBun]

And try not to be afraid when bonding. I know it’s hard but you’re there and they really can’t hurt one another before you can seperate them. Remember that buns can read your energy.

But I agree with BB, nice start.

[dramaqueen_msc]

Thanks to you both for the advise. Chance seemed a bit moody this morning about being in the other condo where Andre usually resides, but I suppose that’s bound to happen.

Markusdark, how’s your pair doing lately?

[MarkBun]

They’re doing just fine. I actually sat down and just watched them in their condo for about an hour yesterday. It took them about 10 minutes to realize that begging for treats wasn’t going to get them any.

I’ve noticed that Maryann will still nip Dono but this seems to only happen when the ‘food begging’ is going on and she slips and falls from her handhold on the cage bars. She falls under him and I guess she figures if she bites his leg, he’ll fall to so she can get in front again. I corrected this by pushing her head down, at which point Dono lined up for a mounting and I had to push HIS head down. However, this is very rare.

But I finally found out how they wind up snuggling together. Maryann hops up next to Dono and then flops over as if to say, “We (the royal ‘we’) wish to be groomed now,” and Dono complies for a few seconds. Then he flops next to her as if to say, “Your turn”, to which Maryann replies with a stare of, “We Disapprove.” So they just lie there next to each other.

Yeah, I REALLY anthropomorphisize my buns.

[dramaqueen_msc]

Hehe, I’m glad they’re doing well, and the video in the other thread was sooo cute.  Here’s some pictures from the other evening.

 

 

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[dramaqueen_msc]

We just had bonding session 2.  It went fairly well…despite an attempted nip from Chance.  They sat in the carrier on the dryer and then were back in the tub again.  Andre sort of lightly nipped at her a bit, but more in a grooming manner since she is shedding a bit.  When he lost interest we put banana on Chance’s head which lead to grooming from Andre.  However, when he was done Princess Chance (she too has the royal we thing going on) still wanted more grooming and attempted to nip him.  I calmed them both for a bit and then gave them both a bit of banana before switching condos again.

Hopefully she’ll learn if she wants to be groomed she has to be nice.

[Author]

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