Should I get a friend for my bunny?

[MarkBun]

Hello all,

I was recently introduced to this site by a friend of mine and have been having a blast with perusing it.  I do have a question though…

I have a bunny name Maryann who I have had for over 5 years now.  She seems to be a very happy bunny, doing binkies whenever she’s out of her cage, enjoying me scratching her on her nose, and I assume ‘snuggling down’ when I pet her on my lap and that she’s not just sitting there in stark terror.

But lately I have been thinking about getting her a playmate as, like others, I feel a little bit bad about not being around most of the day.  However, she has been alone for so long, I don’t know if she would want someone else around.

Also, and excuse the darkness of this next comment, but I have heard that bunnies get extremely depressed when their partner is called to the happy hopping grounds.  I have never heard how depressed they can become – if even to the point of making themselves ill.  But I don’t think I could handle a depressed bunny as I wouldn’t be around enough to keep it happy.

So, am I being selfish avoiding this issue – thinking that I am looking out for my bunny’s well being if the worst was to happen?  Or should I be brave and let her see if she can find a nice boyfriend?  I have read all the other articles on actually selecting a playmate and I am also going to a bonding class this weekend.

Oh, and here’s a pic of my little girl.

11018472163271.jpg

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi and welcome to Binky Bunny! I am very glad for the referral from your friend, so you must thank them for us!  

Anyhoo, you have a very good question about to bond or not to bond.  Ultimately the decision is yours.  I will not hide that it would be really nice to have a boyfriend for her and bunnies crave to be around other bunnies (by nature) and get that cutsey grooming and licking of the ears and such, it can be quite hard on everyone when one of a pair dies.  There are steps to take through the grieving process that can help a bunny through.

I digress, I will also add a little darkness to the picture. I find that actually the hardest part is leaving the body in the cage until the other partner accepts that they have passed and ignores the partner that has passed.  This is really super important because if the partner that passed is taken out right away as you or I would normally do, the living mate will not affirm what happened and can spend the rest of its days "waiting" for them to come home just as they were.  It’s a strange bunnyland thing, but really, really important to observe as the reaction to the death can be more severe on the surviving mate.  Here is a good little write up on it:

http://www.coloradohrs.com/articles/care_rabbit_friend_dies.asp

I think that you are doing the right thing by looking into it first and really explore if you can observe what needs to be done in the case of one passing. I really commend you for really putting some thought into this. I weighed the pros and cons myself and chose to have a pair.  My first rabbit was a single bunny that refused to bond. But after just watching them and enjoying their antics I do not regret having them both in my home.  I know it is not going to be easy when the inevitable happens, but I am prepared and I have plenty of tissues.

[Deleted User]

Scarlet Rose, you have to keep the poor bunny in the cage with the other one? That is too hard. I could not do that. How long does it take the other to notice that his friend is no longer with him?

[MooBunnay]

Hello & welcome (welcome #2) to Binky Bunny!

Thats great that you have had your bunny for almost 5 years it sounds like she’s fantastic. Most of my bunnies are in pairs because I also feel the way you do about not being home all day. I find that they pretty much always snuggle and hang out together – its very cute to see and lets me know that I made the right decision by bonding them. I do know that one day one bunny or the other will pass, but to me, it will be a period of sadness for me and my bunny compared to 8-10 years of them not having a companion, so I think in the end, if your bunny does find a good mate, it will really be worth it for her. I do have a couple bunnies that prefer singledom, but I have found in almost all rescue cases, the shelters try to bond bunnies in pairs so that they are less stressed, have someone to play with, and so that they do not get lonely or bored.

I am very much for bunnies having friends, I think that your bunny would really enjoy having interaction with another bunny, even though she clearly loves you very much, I think sometimes its nice to have someone on “their level”!

[Scarlet_Rose]

It can take a couple of days but I still think it is worth it to have a pair like Moobunnay mentioned, the joy and longer life span that they have together far outweighs not pairing them at all.  If you think it, about no animal should be without one of its own kind around.  It gives them time to just be bunnies with another bunny.

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