Second Bun! (Questions)

[sevyn]

For those of you who weren’t informed, I very promtly decided to sort out the ‘fostering with intent to adopt’ of a second bunny as a companion for my female, Vicki.
Something which I doubt was known by anybody on the forum, though – and I highly appreciate the confidentiality of this site in these regards – is that I am probably a reasonable margin younger than most of the rest of you. (17 years ‘young’, haha.)
So when I contacted the only organized rabbit shelter anywhere near me and their application promptly stated that applicants need to be 21 and over, I was a bit distraught. My boyfriend was just so enamoured of the bunny we were applying for, though, that he convinced me to mail and ask for an exception. I recieved a quick response saying that it would be based completely on my answers, and sure enough they loved my application! I’m trying to arrange picking up the bunny tomorrow or Tuesday, but sometime this week for sure at worst. I’m very excited!
The terms of our ‘adoption’ states that we can foster the rabbit for 3 months and try to determine in that time if bonding – his intended purpose for adoption – is going to be feasible, and return him at the end of that time at no cost if it’s not looking likely. In the meantime, we have a friend who is likely willing to spring for Vicki’s spay until we can pay them back, so I hope to arrange this as soon as possible. 

So in light of mostly just wanting to share some good news with all of you, I also want to ask how long should I wait after Vicki’s surgery before it will be safe to introduce the two? Of course they can’t meet formally before her surgery, and afterwards she will need some time to recover, but how long should I be expecting her to need? 
Also on a less severe note, the bunny we’re picking up is an unfortunately long way away from us and the carrier we have is very small. I don’t want to leave him cramped up in a carrier for an hour and a half, so can somebody suggest a more comfortable way to house a rabbit for a long car trip? We’ll be bringing him home in my significant other’s family car so him being able to spray the interior or anything would be a VERY bad thing. Would a big cardboard box with an open top or a lot of holes do?

Any other tips or advice on what I can expect on the journey home/arrival here/the first few days (I bet he’ll smell my bun right away ) would certainly also help. So to speak, I want to make both their areas ‘spray proof’ in case they decide to have a territory war, but don’t really know how to go about it.

Thanks in advance for any input! Sorry it’s such a long post but I’m kind of wound up.

[luvmybuns]

Sevyn,

I’m by no means a bunny expert, but I believe after a spay it should be at least two weeks before any introductions take place.  I think that is the minimum and then it would depend on how she heals.   Even after the two weeks, I would take it extremely slow.  The one thing I did with my first two bunnies, was to take a hand towel and place it in each cage, then every day I would switch the towel from cage to cage. 

For the car ride home, could you take a blanket and hold him on your lap.  I took my foster bunny (the one I’m now trying to bond with my pair) to get neutered and it was two hours away.  Once in the car, I took him out of the carrier and placed him on my lap.  He got petted the whole way down and the whole way back.  I think he was more calm for the car ride.   Just a suggestion.  I also put carpeting or a rice mat on the floor of the carrier so they don’t slide all over. 

Hope some of this helps. 

[BinkyBunny]

Congratulations!  Let us know how the fostering goes.

As far as how long should you wait after surgery to introduce:  Most hormones die down in about a month.  So I would do it then.  But after a couple of weeks, you could start doing "prep’ moves.  Like switching litterboxes, and or blankets, etc, or even switching cages to get them used to the others’ scent.   IF you put their pens/cages near each other just be sure that they can’t give each other a nasty bit through the pen/cage.   Rabbits can seriously bit each other’s face.

Her recovery will be about a week.  The first few days will be the hardest.

Regarding using a cardboard box.  Some bunnies can chew a hole in a cardboard box soo fast. I remember when I was doing transport for Animal Care and Control to SaveABunny, and they gave me one of those standard cardboard carriers.  Well the bunny proceeded to chew her way right out of the box, and I was flying down the freeway with a bunny who was freaking out trying to jump through a glass window.  Needless to say I was freaking out, and had to quickly exit to get things under control.  I now always carry a plastic one just in case I ever transport another crazy escapee.

Regarding when you bring him home.  There most likely will be mark wars.  So far I have been lucky to only have experienced poop wars, and not crazy spray wars. But some ideas are to get cheap plastic place mats, and bunch of clips.  You can use them to put them over an area horizontally and vertically that a bunny wants to mark.  The plastic protects and it’s easy to wipe off.  

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!!!  Keep us updated.

 

[Scarlet_Rose]

Awe Sevyn that is GREAT news!!!!  I can hardly wait to hear about it! I really hope everything works out well with bonding and sending happy love-bunny vibes your way!!!

[sevyn]

Awww, we got bumped down to next week for the pick-up time since his foster mom is busy this week. Oh well, we’re still very excited and this will give us more prep time. I’ll keep you all posted and ask any new questions I may have along the way! Wish me luck!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Good luck!!!

[BinkyBunny]

Good Luck! My fingers and toes are still crossed, I’m knocking on wood and throwing salt over my shoulder (or is that bad luck? can’t remember)

[sevyn]

I think salt over the shoulder is good luck, though I may be wrong on that one as well, haha
Either way, we’ve got it all worked out! The second bunny is coming home with us tomorrow! I just pray there’s no spray wars – either way, for the time being, I’m super excited

[BinkyBunny]

Oh, how exciting!! That’s great.  Can’t wait to hear all the updates.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Wheeeeee! That’s wonderful!!! Finally some happy news on this board! So many sad posts, I was really getting depressed and I needed a pick-me-up! You’ll have to let us know how it goes!

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