the never ending bonding adventure: advice?

[thumpers momma]

so i’ve been working on bonding for a while, going at a slow pace, but here’s what happened last night:

i took the advice some people gave me to allow my buns more space to roam around in together while bonding, instead of using the tub. it went fine. there was a bit of chasing, a bit of fur flying, but a lot of it was them sitting where they couldn’t see each other and ignoring one another. there was one small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel when they sat near each other and didn’t do anything for a couple minutes, but then thumper started to move and baxter immediately jumped after him to chase him a bit. each time i would try to stop it before it happened or at least as soon as i could but they’re just so darn fast.

i was feeling a bit hopeless (as i always do after sessions) and decided to swap what bunny is in which enclosure, since i know you’re supposed to do that to make them be less territorial. however, i didn’t wipe any of the stuff down because i didn’t think it would matter since i want them to be used to each other’s scents. i was very wrong. their spaces are separated by a deconstructed xpen so they can stick their little faces through the bars and potentially bite if they want to. they used to be so bad about that but they’re getting so much better, they even flop next to each other with only bars separating them. when i switched them, though, thumper was on high alert. anytime baxter walked around (in thumper’s normal space) thumper would run along side him by the xpen. i went to my room for a bit to take care of my bearded dragon and by the time i came back to check on the boys thumper’s face was bleeding!

baxter must have gotten irritated and bit thumper. i can’t and don’t blame him, just myself, and i immediately scooped thumper up and took him to the bahroom to get him cleaned up. he was such a trooper. he didn’t seem to be in any pain at all, even when i was wiping at the small, albeit kind of deep, wound. he was grooming himself shortly after and binkying around as well. it looks to have scabbed over today.

so, i guess i have a few questions. what does this mean for the bonding process? they have never ever drawn blood from each other until yesterday. i’m going to take a little bit of a break, maybe until thumper is completely healed, until i have another session, even though it didn’t happen during a session. how long of a break should we take? even if it’s such a small wound, should i take my thumper to the vet? i have since put them back in their usual spaces and have had no problems. any other advice or anything you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

[Sirius&Luna]

You absolutely must make sure they can’t reach each other through the bars. Have you moved them now?

Swapping them between hutches is a very important part of the bonding process, and skipping that might be why it’s not going well.

Now that blood has been drawn, the injured bun will likely hold a grudge. At this stage, it’s normally advised to keep them totally separate for a couple of months so they forget each other, then go back to the beginning and prebond for a month before actual dates. Swapping them between hutches is an essential step. They shouldn’t be able to reach each other during this time but smelling the others scents is the point, so don’t clean between.

I would keep an eye on Thumper – if it’s healing okay and he has a normal appetite, then it’s probably ok.

[Sirius&Luna]

Wait I just saw in your bio they’re not spayed and neutered? Or is that old? Spaying and neutering is the FIRST step, and is a million times more important if you have a male/female pair so you don’t end up with babies.

You cannot and should not attempt to bond unfixed buns.

[thumpers momma]

agh! yes! that’s very very old. i forgot the password to this account a while ago and just remembered it recently. they’ve been neutered since november.

i did hang up a towel and fasten it to the xpen in the part that they could reach each other from so that they no longer can. so, is it okay if they’re able to see each other right now or should i completely block it off so they can’t? they have a room to themselves so they’ve always been in sight of each other, it might be hard to make it so they can’t see each other, but i can make it work if necessary. and i know you said i shouldn’t clean between swapping, but should i clean them at all before i begin rebonding them in a while?

[sarahthegemini]

^ ^ On one of her previous threads, she mentions that both are neutered/spayed

The thread I’m referring to is about the two of them fighting – apparently a lot of fur was pulled. In which case, it is really irresponsible to allow them to reach through bars :-/

I think you need a complete reset. Keep them in separate rooms. After a couple months, start pre bonding and take things slow when you finally do a physical introduction.

[sarahthegemini]

Double post.

[sarahthegemini]

Also, FYI, “a bit of chasing, a bit of fur flying” is NOT okay.

[thumpers momma]

i’ve heard mixed things about this, some people say chasing is okay as long as it doesn’t lead to a fight but clearly my boys need a break.

and just to clarify about my last post of them fighting: i always put up barriers comprised of large storage lids so that they couldn’t get to each other through the bars, and baxter wound up lifting and moving his cage with his teeth which set him free. it’s hard to explain my setup and i’m typing from my phone so don’t know how to add in a picture, but i secured that part of the xpen to the hutch in thumper’s section so he can’t move it anymore and it has worked wonders. also want to clarify that i didn’t just knowingly let them bite each other through the cage: they were making progress and flopping next to each other after a bit of successful stress bonding so i rearranged and didn’t have enough xpen to double-layer it so they couldn’t reach each other. i just went with it but i don’t think i should have no matter how well i thought they were doing. just don’t want you guys to think i am purposely putting them in harm’s way as that is not my intention at all!

thank you guys for the tips. i really appreciate it. i will probably end up moving thumper into my room for a while and letting baxter have their bunny room to himself. when should i start swapping them between rooms?

[thumpers momma]

so thank you for telling me chasing/pulling fur is not okay, i definitely ended bonding sessions shortly after they got too aggressive (after ending on a good note, of course). for future reference, should i immediately separate them if they start chasing or pulling fur?

[sarahthegemini]

Some chasing isn’t too bad but it’s the fur pulling that’s the problem. If you stop the chasing tho then they won’t have the chance to pull fur. If they start chasing, you can make a loud noise such as hitting a saucepan with a spoon or putting the hoover on. That *should* sort of stop them in their tracks. Then you can simultaneously pet them both to calm them and help them relax and then end the session.

[Harley&Thumper]

There’s hopping after each other and then there’s sprinting after each other. The first is fine but the second should be stopped immediately. When one rabbit humps the other one they will nip and grab some fur with their teeth. If the other rabbit hops away that fur might get pulled. It’s certainly not ideal but I refuse to believe that little bit of fur being pulled is a bad thing.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Harley&Thumper on 3/20/2018 5:56 PM

There’s hopping after each other and then there’s sprinting after each other. The first is fine but the second should be stopped immediately. When one rabbit humps the other one they will nip and grab some fur with their teeth. If the other rabbit hops away that fur might get pulled. It’s certainly not ideal but I refuse to believe that little bit of fur being pulled is a bad thing.

She never said fur was pulled due to humping/mounting. She said they chased and pulled fur. That isn’t okay.

[thumpers momma]

if anyone stumbles across this thread i have a question! i’m moving thumper into my room today so he can forget about baxter. should i clean out thumper’s enclosure thoroughly before letting baxter take it over? they were splitting the bunny room but now baxter will have it all to himself.

[Sirius&Luna]

I don’t think cleaning it thoroughly matters really Since Baxter was the aggressor it would probably do him good to deal with some Thumper smell. What we want is for Thumper to forget that Baxter bit him!

[Author]

Messages