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Last Post 06/19/2010 07:03 PM by lwayne. 67 Replies.
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leyley904 User is Offline
Pluto isn't a planet!?
Little Bunny
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06/17/2010 10:35 AM
Arduina is so beautiful! Congratulations with the bond!
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lwayne User is Offline
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06/17/2010 08:33 PM

 Aww thanks!  Thank you all for helping me through the process.  It was time consuming and stressful, but well worth it.  

 

Petzy, the bunny house S.O. helped me built this past winter.. there are some pictures in this thread: 

http://www.binkybunny.com/tabid/54/...fault.aspx

 

Arduina has figured out how to jump up onto my desk (over 3ft high!!) to get to where I keep Leo's left over pellets.  She prefers his food over her own, so I'm just mixing the two brands until I run out of Leo's kind.  They seem to do better eating out of one bowl and Leo doesn't seem to care which kind he gets.  

Here you can see how high my desk is, she can clearly jump from floor to desk if temped by pellets.  Can you spot her in this picture?

Litterboxes: can I pair it down to one??  Leo has started using the hay basket also as a litterbox, I think the two in there confuse him. I'm going to try it tonight with only one.  

 

Next post will be a tips and things I've learned about the bonding.  I need to gather my thoughts a little more.  

Petzy User is Offline
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Northern AB Canada
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06/18/2010 08:02 AM
She is on the chair! So hard to spot! I had to look for a while to see her. Nice desk, too....
Photobucket "what happened? did something happen or can I just go back to my hay?"
Petzy User is Offline
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06/18/2010 08:04 AM

I went to the thread about the bunny house. I want one, too. Let me paste it here again to show everybody. Your S.O. did a great job!

 

Photobucket "what happened? did something happen or can I just go back to my hay?"
lwayne User is Offline
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06/18/2010 08:12 AM
Leo is sitting on my chair now too! I guess he found Arduina's favorite spot. (When she was free run, that is where she would sleep all day and all night).
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06/18/2010 08:27 AM
Don't they chew up the pretty desk?
Photobucket "what happened? did something happen or can I just go back to my hay?"
lwayne User is Offline
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06/18/2010 05:56 PM
between that apple bitter stuff and tobasco sauce they don't touch it. they have plenty of other things to chew on, like their house!
lwayne User is Offline
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06/19/2010 07:03 PM

The bunnies are officially bonded!!   The whole process took about 8 weeks in total from the day we brought Leo home until now when I can say they are completely bonded.  

Even though I'm still new to having a pair and have only gone through the bonding process once, I'd like to comment on somethings I've learned along the way.  

First of all, I was skeptical at the bunny dating... Arduina didn't seem interested in anyone (she tried to fight/nip at every bun).  However, Leo was friendly toward her (lowering his head in front of her wanting to be groomed, ie not fighting back) so we decided to bring him home.   

The first week or so they did ok running around the neutral downstairs bathroom.  We had some issues with neutral space in that Arduina thought the whole house was her Queendom (she wasn't allowed in the downstairs bathroom and had only been there once when she was a baby).  When we had a new house mate move in downstairs we moved them upstairs and thats when the big fight broke out.  Leo was in Arduina's territory.

Breaking down Arduina's Queendom was probably what slowed the whole thing down.  Not being able to keep Leo in Arduina's room put a damper on things until we needed the room as a guest room.  We moved her out into the living room with Leo.  From there they had separate play times in the living room and bonding each night for ~2 hrs.  

We progressed as much as the bunnies wanted to.  For example, when Leo or Arduina tore down the cardboard surrounding the other one's pen, we knew it was time to take it down (they originally fought through the bars).  

The turning point where things started to pick up quickly was in the box (big green tupperware container) when we stepped back (not quite so literally).  Instead of petting them to calm them down and keep them from not fighting, I would shake the box if one of them started to pick a fight.  Arduina learned quickly and completely stopped nipping at Leo.  Leo took the upper hand and we would then use the spray bottle on him.    I did this in the bathtub and when they were more focused on trying to jump out of the bin then trying to fight with each other, we moved up to the bath tub.  Same in the bathtub, when they were more focused on jumping out of the tub then nipping at each other, we moved up to the bathroom.  

Once they were able to run around the bathroom (now neutral) with no fighting and we saw some positive interactions (licking and eating together).  I had them spend two nights in the bathroom (I'm a light sleeper) with the door barricaded.  After that I took the larger (4x4ft) pen and washed it really good and set up a neutral pen back in the bunny room (they hadnt been in there in 4 weeks or so) with a brand new tarp as the floor covering.  I spent the weekend with them, and they did great, no fighting whatsoever.

In conclusion:

Progress as they are ready (once more focused on finding a way out than nipping/fighting, move to the next step).  Also, plan your next two steps ahead of time (it may come sooner than you think!).

Sometimes stepping back (aka not interfering) helps them sort things out, either shake the bin/cube their in or use a spray bottle (shaking worked to stop Arduina while spray bottle worked for Leo).

 

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The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet since every pet’s situation is unique. Always seek advice or second opinion from your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

 

 
 
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