could my Bunnies be overly bonded?

[Mollykuehl]

Hello, Bunnies and Bunny parents I’m new to this forum. but I would like to tell you a story and get your takes on it please.

I have two rabbits a boy Harlequin and a female Holland Lop my female her name is Aurora and my boy is Dex (Dexter) anyway I got Dexter On January 28th 2015 and I got his girlfriend on March 11th 2015.

after I had Dexter 3 months he started showing signs of being very lonely like he wanted the friend so I decided to make that wish come true for him we went out looking for a place to get a rabbit I found a lady that was selling lops I was not able to go to the shelter simply because the closest one is not accessible by public transport so I went to a woman that was selling purebred holland lops, I took Dexter in to meet a few of the rabbits that she has there I introduced him to one girl he showed no interest to her instead he wandered away to a cage where Aurora was in looked at her through the bars and started sniffing her I tried to get him away from her cage but he insisted to go back over there so I asked the woman if we could see the rabbit that was in the cage she then brought out Aurora Dexter ran over to her and started giving her kisses. it was love at first sight! I didn’t have to go through the bonding ordeal where you have to keep them separate and slowly introduce them because they wanted each other from the second they saw each other. they have been together ever since.

anyway now I’m starting to wonder if the level of bond that they have might be unhealthy for them. I cannot even separate them for 10 minutes without Dexter going into a panic and running around looking for her I recently took her to the vet she was gone for a few hours and Dexter stopped eating and was hiding and looking and all of her little places that she normally goes. Dexter also starts to freak out if Aurora goes into a place that she cannot fit cuz he’s much larger than her. Aurora on the other hand doesn’t mind time away from Dex here and there I honestly get the feeling that sometimes she would like to be left alone for a few minutes but he insists on following her everywhere she goes non stop when I put food or anything out Dexter waits till she goes to eat before he does if he is sleeping in a nice cozy spot and she decides to get up and move he jumps and starts freaking out and goes running after her. I’m wondering if I should separate them for maybe an hour a day here and there because it seems like Dexter is overly obsessed with Aurora is this normal is this okay? Is this type of obsession something I should worry about? I would really like some advice on if this is normal in a bonded pair this is the first pair I’ve ever had I had a rabbit before them for 9 years but she was a single rabbit her whole life because she hated other rabbits. so I’m not sure if this is normal behavior or not would anybody care to weigh in? Thank you very very much 🙂

[Bam]

I’m no expert in bonded bunnies, but from what I’ve read, it’s not uncommon for rabbits to become really, really attached to one another. This is why you should bring both bunnies to the vet even if just one needs vet care and you should never separate them unless it’s absolutely necessary: it’s so stressful for them that they can get physically ill from being apart.

I’m sure others that have bonded bunnies will come in soon and tell you more about how their bunnies behave. To me it seems within the range of normal.

[Tessie]

Bam is right, that’s normal for bonded bunnies, they shouldn’t be apart

[JackRabbit]

Some bonded bunnies seem to enjoy each other’s company, some seem to want to be velcroed together, but once bonded, they should not be separated unless absolutely necessary. Separation for a vet visit can result in the bunny going to the vet picking up a different scent while there and being rejected by the bonded buddy once home. Taking both on a vet visit even when only one needs to be seen also allows the well bun to comfort the sick bun.

My bonded pair act similar to yours. Moshi must know where Marlee is at all times. Marlee sometimes acts indifferent. However, if Moshi doesn’t follow her back from playtime she will head back out to retrieve him, and she thumps repeatedly at the vet until he’s back in the carrier with her and then will groom him like crazy!

[Mollykuehl]

I’ve been told that they should go to the vet together but my particular vet does not want them going together when I took Aurora to get spayed Dexter stayed home. I asked my vet if I could bring them in together they said it’s not safe to bring them together they also said that I should keep them separated after her surgery for a few weeks but Dexter wasn’t going to like that so I didn’t do it. I’m glad it’s normal is it also normal for him to be as insanely submissive to her as he is? If I give him a treat and she looks at him he gives it to her he also tends to stay in a lower place than she is. also they’re both fixed but they still have sex I don’t understand! Also I feel like they don’t like me very much they seem like they like each other better and don’t like me around. How can I get them both to like me?

[Mollykuehl]

the thing about my vet is he has requested they not come in together. I have asked him if they could he said that it’s not a good idea and that is a dangerous thing to do bring them together. He also wanted me to keep them separate for a few weeks after her surgery but I didn’t do that because Dexter would have had a hissy fit. Also sometimes Aurora seems very very irritated about him following her the way he does. you can tell sometimes she just wishes that he would go away. I’ve talked to my vet numerous occasions about bringing them in together but my vet always says no that there’s no way to keep them together for veterinary work. what should I do about this? & I know I’m jumping the gun a little bit but whatever happens if something happened to Aurora and Dexter was still alive? They’re both still very young so I know they won’t be dying anytime soon but I know life can sometimes throw crazy things that you. so I worry about the future I’m afraid that he would die if something bad happened to her. Dexter also has this bad habit of giving her all of his treats she will just look at him if he has a treat and then he will look at her and walk over and give it to her. it’s actually quite interesting to watch she submits to her on so many levels. Aurora on the other hand will sometimes get very aggressive with him when he follows her around too much but she does eventually come back to cuddle with him. I know that they love each other even when Aurora gets I kno so I don’t know what I can do about vetinary trips in the future since my vet does not want them together for veterinary treatment.

[Mollykuehl]

why can I not reply to anybody on here? I’m wondering if the mobile version might be shotty

[LBJ10]

Posted By Mollykuehl on 6/12/2015 12:18 AM

why can I not reply to anybody on here? I’m wondering if the mobile version might be shotty

You’re replies came through just fine. I did delete a double post you had though.

[Bam]

If your vet doesn’t want you to bring in both buns, then of course you shouldn’t. I don’t think any vet would allow an extra bunny in the operating room. It’s more for simpler procedures like nail clipping, shots etc that the other bun could be present in the room, in the carrier, so the buns are reunited right away. But if your vet doesn’t want this, then you could just keep the other bun in the carrier in the car f ex.

Bunny owners often worry a lot, especially in the beginning of rabbit ownership. I know it’s hard to will yourself to stop worring, but when it’s about things you can’t control (like what will happen to Dexter if Aurora dies), those are bridges you can’t cross until you get to them, IF you get to them. In general it’s said to be important to let the surviving bunny know that the other bunny has passed by actually letting him/her sniff the deceased bunny. This is recommended also with dogs, and as horrible as it may sound for a human, it may help animals accept the loss. Very often the surviving bunny can then be bonded to another bunny. So please don’t worry too much, use your energy to enjoy your bunnies =)

And don’t worry, your bunnies like you if you are good to them =) They have ech other though, so it’s only natural for them to turn to one another for comfort and love first of all. 

[JackRabbit]

That’s odd that the vet doesn’t want them coming in together. The two would not go into an actual surgery together, but a rabbit savvy vet would know that a bunny who isn’t feeling well will do much better with its bonded buddy. Our vet even expects the buddy to come too. When Marlee had a UTI and we had to leave her at the vet’s office during the day so they could get an adequate size urine sample, they even pointed out that we should bring Moshi too to keep her company (no charge for him being there of course).

[LBJ10]

My vet has no problem with both of mine coming together. I do occasionally take Wooly by himself, but they don’t seem to mind being apart if it’s just for an hour (the vet is only 10 minutes away). So I just gauge the situation and take Leopold along with if I feel like Wooly would appreciate having him. Leopold rarely needs the vet, but I suppose it would be the same if the roles were reversed. Mine love each other, but they aren’t joined at the hip. Some bunny pairs, however, are very strongly bonded and it can be distressing for them if they are separated. It really just depends on the bunnies in question. Every bunny is going to be different.

I don’t feel that Dex is an unusual case. This is something a lot of bunny owners face. I would say keep them together as much as you can. Obviously, there will be situations where one bunny simply can’t tag along (surgery, etc).

Your idea of desensitizing him actually doesn’t sound crazy. But I wouldn’t start out by completely separating them for an hour at a time. Perhaps you could do some exercise in independence though. You could separate them with a baby gate for a few minutes for example and then reward Dex with a treat. He could still see Aurora and he might see that good things can come when he isn’t clinging to her every movement.

How long have they been spayed/neutered? The humping you are seeing is probably them establishing dominance.

[JackRabbit]

This may sound a little “out there”, but because a bunny can smell a little different from going to the vet, if you only take one of them, try bringing something from home that would smell heavily like them with you (ex. blanket that they lay on). Leave in the car or carrier. When you leave the vet, let the bunny snuggle it. I would especially do this if its Dex that goes to the vet so he smells as much like himself as possible.

[Bam]

A bunny certainly can smell differently after having been to the vet, last time Yohio had his teeth done, when I brought him home he smelled of sth chemical that was very obvious to me, and people only have a fraction of the sense of smell that a bunny has.

(In my case this was not a problem since my bunnies can’t stand each other anyway, I’m just mentioning it as an example of weird body odor after a vet procedure).

[Mollykuehl]

Dexter has been neutered since April and Aurora has been spayed March. When I first brought them together they were not fixed at all I got Aurora at a very very very unusually young age she was only 5 weeks old and Dexter was actually only 3 months old when I introduced him to Aurora. I was asking questions about them on Facebook originally but when I discovered that the people on the Bunny groups out there are absolutely insane I decided to ask questions here. The Bunny people in facebook found the fact that I let Dexter and Aurora stay together without the normal bonding situation extremely offensive. No matter how many times I explained the little girl is too young to have babies and no matter how many times I explained that they were not fighting the Bunny people on facebook insisted they would kill each other.o.0

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