Will his behavior change back?

[Charlene]

We recently bonded two rabbits, a male named Rupert and a female named Rosie. Before bonding, Rupert was super friendly and loved being pet, while Rosie did not like being pet. After bonding, Rosie was basically the same, while Rupert started to behave like Rosie. He went from being super friendly to not wanting to be pet at all. They have only been bonded for a few weeks and two days ago, unfortunately Rosie escaped our home through a back door that was left open. So far Rupert is the same, he doesn’t seem down, but also hasn’t reverted back to his friendly pre-bonding personality. He still avoids being pet, though he’s curious and gives kisses and comes up to us. My question is: is this a permanent personality change? Or now that he’s lost his partner (for the time being), is his personality permanently altered? Or will he go back to liking being pet? This is kind of the worst of both worlds for us because our previously friendly bunny lost his partner and still remains unfriendly. Thoughts and advice would be appreciated from the more experienced posters here!

[DanaNM]

I’m so sorry for the loss of Rosie. Do you have any leads on finding her?

The fact that Rupert gives kisses and comes up to you, but avoids being pet, makes me think he is just still recovering from the bonding process, since they were only bonded a few weeks ago. Rather than behaving like Rosie, I wonder if he just didn’t want to get scooped up for another bonding session? Bonding involves lots of handling, so my buns learned to avoid me during that time, but then went back to normal after not too long.

I would follow the normal steps to re-bond with Rupert. Lots of floor time, hand feeding, play hard to get, and don’t reach for him or try to pet him yet.

I hope you find Rosie . I hope that you find her, and follow these steps with the two of them to build a strong bond with both.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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