to get a new rabbit or not to get a new rabbit. that is the question

[beautifulbabybunnies]

i’m very seriously considering getting another rabbit but there are a few issues/worries and was hoping someone could weigh in.

reasons for getting one: my current bun, cooper, doesn’t play with normal toys. they have to be treat based or he won’t touch them. i can’t constantly feed him treats so this often leaves him very bored. he pretty much eats and sleeps thats it. he still seems pretty content, he’ll flop and zoom occasionally but i know while im at work he’ll sit on my bed or in the middle of my room and do nothing. he seems lonely and i don’t want that for him. he at least needs someone to cuddle with.

 

pros: cooper won’t be as lonely and the new bun gets a home. maybe cooper would even learn how to play with toys lmao. there very little pros but they’re very important to me.

 

cons: -cooper only free roams in my room. i still live with my parents and cannot let him out. it’s not a small room but it’s not all that large. currently he owns at least 80% of it. the only things of mine taking up space are my desk, my bed (which he’s allowed on and frequently takes over lol) and my dresser. still, getting another bun would mean sharing that space, it might be cozy,

– i wont have a true neutral space to bond them in. cooper house can be taken apart and washed, anything he’s touched can be washed or disposed of (i’d get him new ones) and i can deep clean the carpet but he’s still familiar with the place. i have an xpen to separate them with at first but i’m not 100% sure how cooper will take to this. it’ll probably be stressful since he’d have to have less space to run in than he’s used to, plus he’d be separated from my bed (and therefore me)

 

so, tldr: want another bun but space is a worry, 2 buns would only have one room to share both with themselves and me. is it still plausible?

 i want to give both these buns the best life i can.

[Asriel and Bombur]

As coming from someone with 2 unbonded buns for the past 2 years in a room I rent with my husband and our 2 nuggets all crammed into one space, yes its possible. Would I recommend it? Not really. It gets really cramped and if you’re planning on dividing the room in half, you’re really going to have the added stress of ensuring it’s high enough and secure enough that neither bun can get to the other one. I know you might not want to think about cage life or two xpens for them, but until they’re bonded that’s your safest option for sharing a space with them. If you went that route, you’d need to ensure they could each get at least 3-4 hours of play time.

Depending on how old your new bunny would be, you could have a long time until they’re bonded. For instance, if you get an 8 week old girl you’d need to wait until she’s 6 months old to spay her, and wait another 1-2 months while you prebonded and let her hormones settle, and then you’d have to actually go through the bonding process which can take a month or longer depending on how they get along and how patient you are to not rush the bonding. Or if you took him to a shelter to pick out an already fixed bunny, you’d need to let new bun settle for a month, then prebond for a month, then start bonding sessions. There’s also no guarantee he’ll bond with another bunny, so you’ll have to figure out what you would do if that does indeed happen. It doesn’t happen often, but it can happen.

Lastly is finances. I know you said you’re living with your parents. Are you financially independent? Can you afford two buns and their costs, especially if one gets sick, or you need to spay/neuter the second one? I don’t say this part to sound mean, but it’s a hefty consideration. One of my boys has a chronic illness which costs a lot of money every 2-3 months on physicals and medicines, and my other boy is healthy as an ox. You really don’t know what you’ll get with a second bunny, and you don’t know what could happen down the line with your existing bun.For neutral space, could you use a bathroom? Neutral really is best because it stops them from thinking of the space as theirs and it really does help with potential fights. 

That all said, if you don’t mind being cramped in your room for a good while, you have the time and energy to care for both of them separately as well as when they bond, and if you’re financially independent and able to get a second bunny… then yes. Enjoy the crazy emotional roller coaster xD

[Meg]

You are so lovely to be thinking about all this. I say go for it!! Others can speak to the bonding process — my bunnies had a super easy bond so I don’t know enough about how that usually goes.  YMMV — I adopted a spayed 9-month-old girl from a shelter, had her for three months (thinking I couldn’t afford two bunnies), and then I broke down and adopted a 3-month-old boy from another shelter, right after he was recovered from being neutered.  I took my girl to speed date at the shelter and he hopped right into her carrier.  (;  I had a tiny apartment so they bonded in her space, separated by an X-pen, but after like 3 days they were already inseparable.  So that can happen too (though it’s not that common.) 

But I will say that once they’re bonded, they will be fine with sharing your room. They don’t need their own territories once they’re bonded. Mine had the run of a small apartment but half the time they’d be snuggled up right next to each other.  

It’s true, bunny vet care can be expensive if it becomes an issue.  And you do buy twice as many greens which is not the cheapest.  I was a grad student when I got my two bunnies and I didn’t have a lot of extra cash… but I in no way regret it, speaking for myself. 

I think getting Cooper a friend is a wonderful idea, assuming he’s open to it. (Bunnies who don’t want company are rare, but it does happen.) They’re such social beings, they love having the companionship of a fellow bunny. And two bonded bunnies are SO CUTE together, grooming each other and snuggling and playing — it is the best. So yeah, dooo eeeet!!

[Dface]

Im all about keeping rabbits in pairs-rabbits are very sociable little creatures, and they really do appreciate a partner. For me no amount of toys treats or attention I could offer would compare to what my rabbits get from a companion.

That said, it can be hard work.
Speed dating is a really good idea-find a rabbit that your rabbit just gets on with. Shelters often have neutered rabbits up for adoption and some will even offer to help bond the rabbits for you.

Do you have a garden or a safe greenspace? I used one as a temporary neutral zone when bonding my 2, and it was crazy convinient.

Cost is a consideration. If you adopt a rabbit you’ll have a fair idea if it does or doesn’t have any chronic illness or dental problems.

You’ll need your room split up until they are bonded, and like A&B says this can take time, although if the bond isnt working with an adopted bunny you do have the adoption to return to the shelter and “swap” for a maybe more compatible mate.

Yes, there are lots of things to consider and logistics to work out, but generally 2 rabbits are happier than one.
Id encourage you to look up anyone who may offer bunny bonding services in your area as this would greatly reduce the stress on you, and can give good advice and help

[beautifulbabybunnies]

as much as i dont want to, im fully prepared to keep them in their own xpens until they’re bonded. and if they can’t bond, i’m not sure what to do. as some people’ve been suggesting i want to see if i can try with different rabbits, if the shelter allows it. if not i can figure something out. i do have a backyard i can set up an xpen for them outside and let them out there sometimes, as well as let them out in my room one at a time to get more leg room.

all the buns i’ve had my eye on are already a couple of years. cooper will be 2 years soon and i want a bun close to his age. thats a good point about how long it will take though, i might have to think about this longer. it sounds kind of cruel, but if they don’t bond, i might just return the new bun and wait until i have more space to get a new bunny. it seems mean to make them live their lives in an xpen when it doesn’t have to be like that. and i’d sponsor the bun i return so hopefully theyll get adopted quicker. if that’s not a liable option i probably won’t do this. i don’t want to put either buns through extra unnecessary stress for nothing.

 

i do pay rent for my room, most of my money goes into savings for moving, but i definitely can pay for vet visits, more food etc. i’m already pretty good at finding cheaper ways to take care of cooper while still giving him the best possible care. and no worries, i know money is a good thing to consider. i could use the bathroom, or the living room for short bonding sessions occasionally. i also have the backyard, although it gets really hot here so that might not be useful.

thank you for bringing up all these negative points lmao. it’s easy to justify them in my head but when someone else has gone through this and the bonding wasnt successful, it’s easier to see how things will go for me and the buns if it doesn’t work out. i think i’ll take a bit more time to think about it and converse with the shelter a bunch until i’m more sure of myself. thanks

[beautifulbabybunnies]

i’m glad the bonding process went so well for your bunnies!! i hope it goes well for cooper and any future bunny ;w;

ah im glad you mentioned that, i wasnt just worried about space while bonding them, i was a bit worried about them spending time in a single room for awhile ;w; theyd have most of the space ofc but theyd also have to share some with me lmao

 

yeah, i mentioned it earlier but i have savings meant to go toward moving but if needed i can always use some for vet visits and the likes. theyll always come first.

 

it sounds mean but i hope he’s so desperate for cuddles from someone his own size he’ll accept them pretty quickly lol… when i got him he had a cage mate but i couldn’t get both and i still feel kinda bad about that.

(also yes im definitely looking forward to bunny cuddles ;w; i see pics of bonded buns sometimes and get jealous theyre so cute lmaooo)

thanks for the advice!

[beautifulbabybunnies]

i wanted a companion for cooper from the very beginning but at the time it wasn’t an option ;-; and i know what you mean, cooper loves me and he’ll let me cuddle but it’s pretty obvious he can get annoyed from how much bigger than him i am lol

i was hoping i could speed date the buns i’m still contacting the one or two shelters in my area with questions. if neither will let me bring cooper to meet them though, i dont think i’ll go through with it. i don’t really want to spring it on cooper. he got angry when i put a fish tank in the room lmao

 

i can set up an xpen in my backyard, if that works! it won’t be 24/7 but they can meet together in a neutral space instead of being separated where they can see each other in a space cooper knows.

 

i’ve been looking into my budget and making sure i have enough for the adoption fees and any emergency vet visits. luckily checkups at my vet are only $80 and their checkups usually include an array of things other vets would charge you for. the only thing i could see being a problem are medications but even those i can dip into savings for if needed.

 

thank you for bringing up various points, it’s stressful to think about it not working but it’s necessary. i want both buns to be able to live the best life they can. unfortunately, i live in arizona, and there’s not much in the way of animal services near where i live. i could only find two shelters that have buns, one is about an hour from where i live, and that’s the best option. the other supported places like petco and petsmart which. isn’t great to me. i technically found another shelter but upon doing research on them their owner got charged for neglecting their animals so. things are crazy down here..

i’ll keep looking and hoping for a place that can help me bond them though, lmao. and i’m hoping to ask a lot of questions about the adoption process to the shelter i’ll probably go to.

thanks

[Meg]

Awesome, good luck! Yeah, I’m sure the shelters can be very helpful. By any chance is Cooper’s former cagemate still adoptable? I bet they would remember each other!!

I do think that, if you can afford it, having a friend for Cooper would be such a big benefit to him that it’d be worth trying for. On the cost side, in my experience the checkups and meds aren’t that much. It’s more if they get really sick and need an x-ray to see if there’s intestinal blockage, for example, or if they need bloodwork sent out. That can be a couple hundred dollars. You can always decline it, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to. But over the course of 10 years with my two bunnies (just anecdotal of course), that’s only come up a couple of times. Again I definitely don’t regret it.

Good luck to you and Cooper in your quest!

[beautifulbabybunnies]

nope! he’s not they were both adopted as babies i think.

 

that’s a good point. i’ll be sure to keep cost in mind when finalizing my decision. i’m really looking forward to the day i get another bun. even if it’s not now

 

thank you

[Author]

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