Bonding journal: Pascal and Basil

[Kash]

Hello, and welcome to my bonding journal!! Make yourself comfy for this wild ride as Pascal the Holland Lop, and Basil the Rex try to become friends!

A bit of info on both Buns:

Pascal: I’ve had Pascal for about a year, he is my first rabbit and I’m glad to say we both love eachother! He can be territorial and has lunged at a cat that was invading his space. He thinks he is the boss of everything, stop him from getting into mischief and you’ll get some imaginary dirt kicked into your face as he hops away and shuns you. Pascal may have a short temper, but he loves attention and being pet. His stomach is definitely the way to this little boy’s heart, give him some food and he will let anyone love him

Basil: my roommate and I have had Basil only 5 months, and so far he is such a sweetheart! We got Basil when he was only about 8 weeks old, his owner at the time didn’t know how to take care of the little baby, so we swooped in! My roommate wanted the bun to love her (She is the one person Pascal dislikes) so I stepped out of the way a bit. Basil is fairly skiddish, but loves everyone once he can get a good whiff of who is trying to say hi. He loves destroying his toys more than playing with them as intended.

Alright, a bit more info! These two met a few times before Basil was fixed, only because neither of us knew we were supposed to wait. Now Basil has been neutered about 3 weeks ago, and he has been more docile and hasn’t been so aggressive with his toys, so we decided to start the bonding that we’ve been waiting 5 months for!

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First day was today, we bunny proofed a good portion of my roommate’s room since neither of them has been in there, save a couple rogue adventures. We laid some greens out and a few treats (pellets). We brought in Basil first for only a minute, then we brought in Pascal.

First they hopped around and explored. Then they both found the greens, scattered more toward the middle, and they met in the middle (how romantic!). Suddenly a grooming stand off, both trying to be dominant.

Basil was taken from his mom at a young age, and has never truly met another bunny and doesn’t know what to do, so he stood up, curious. Pascal, grew up a bit with his mom and his siblings, so he saw Basil’s movement as aggressive and lunged a bit then hopped off. That scared Basil so he hopped away, but quickly came back thinking it was a game. Pascal was confused by what Basil was doing and thought he was coming to attack, so he lunged again. They got sprayed with water a bit and broke apart.

Pascal, not knowing what the heck is wrong with this rabbit, is trying to find a way out of this room. Basil is thumping around either out of excitement or anger we weren’t sure (his ears stayed curious the whole time so we don’t he he was angry).

Both rabbits binkied once or twice, happy for a possible friend, but neither knew how to say hi.

They had a few more grooming stand offs, but they usually ended with Basil running off excitedly, probably trying to play.

Basil spent most of the time eating the food scattered around. Pascal was trying so hard to get to me or out of the room. He even tried to jump on the bed which is 2-3 feet, a big distance for the little guy. Needless to say he didn’t make it and we ended the session with Pascal pouting in the counter and Basil laying down in another.

Hopefully tomorrow the two will be less confused. A car ride is a future possibility. I will also try my best to stay out of Pascal’s view since I turned out to be a distraction for him.

If anyone has any advice let me know! I will try to get a video or just pictures tomorrow.

[Bam]

Hi, I don’t know a lot about bonding, but a bonding journal is always interesting to follow.

It seems to me that Basil eating would be a good sign. To eat is non-aggressive, it’s even a kind of a signal of appeasment I’d think. An angry or very scared bunny doesn’t forage.

[Kash]

Bit of an update for anyone who runs across this: Pascal has had some gas and molar spurs, so we will put the bonding on hold until he feels better. he has had his spurs taken care of and this morning he was feeling better and hopping around. He still is on edge from the vet visit, and from me giving him medicine. Hoping Pascal will calm down soon and things can get back to normal for a bit so we can get back to the bonding!

[Kash]

bonding session 2

It seemed to go well, they were ignoring eachother and Basil was hoping around and thumping every now and then. After a bit Pascal hunkered down and looked really scared, my roommate went down to see if he was okay and Basil came and bugged her. I then went to see Pascal and he looked pretty freaked out it seemed. I comforted him just a bit and Basil came over to see what was up. I moved out of the way. Pascal didn’t move and Basil just sniffed at him for a minute, then turned at me, did a little jump and sprayed me with pee…

I went and cleaned up and came back. Wasn’t sure what to think of it, I wanted to stop but also wanted to see what the two would do. Pascal started grooming (bet he got some pee on himself, poor guy) and Basil went to say hi, and we saw him spray again, so we ended the session.

We had to spray my roommate’s room with vinegar, hopefully it will stop smelling so strongly before bed… in the meantime, I’m not sure if we should stop for a bit(maybe Basil still has some hormones??), or stress bond them with a car ride? If anyone has any idea let me know! I think in the past session when he was jumping around he may have sprayed then too, especially since Pascal was trying so hard to get to me and away from Basil. I just hope Basil’s spraying didnt ruin their ability to be bonded…

[Kash]

bonding session 3

This time we moved to the bathroom, the large area made them avoid each other so we decided to move. We placed Pascal in first since he wasn’t being territorial, and then we brought in Basil. I hid in the bathtub and poked my phone through the curtain to watch, my roommate was half covered but able to view so she could spray anyone who started a fight. 

Luckily there were no fights! Basil was still thumping around, and made a few upset noises(I think). Pascal moved around more than the last couple times.They both munched on some hay and groomed themselves a few times too (not each other though). They were both able to sniff each other with out one of them running away too! it also looked like Pascal may have groomed him a bit? I didn’t have a good angle on it so he may have just been sniffing Basil, either way, it was a good session!

It wasn’t until the end that it went less than okay. Basil sprayed once, then he decided to pee. We waited a bit to where they were ignoring each other before we removed them both. Luckily it wasn’t actually a territorial pee. Turns out we should’ve set up a litter box, so tonight I am going to get a disposable one and line it with a can liner since we don’t have any spares(both boys just use the ones in their cage).

I took a pretty good video of this session, and will edit/upload it tonight(hopefully).

Any questions/advice is welcomed!

[Kash]

bonding session 4

Short session, they sniffed each other a couple times and then ignored each other the rest of it. Pascal stayed in one spot for the most part. Basil didn’t spray for once! really uneventful, and we did have to make it short due to previously planned arrangements.

bonding session 5

normal session, Pascal refused to groom Basil no matter how much he asks/demands. Basil sprayed a few times and tried to take over the litter box. Pascal sat in the corner most of the time again. I’m pretty worried about it, he will explore the room for the first 5 minutes and then he just sits in the corner and doesn’t move. Basil also doesn’t go over to bug him much.

Ended the session as all that was happening was Basil eating all the hay and Pascal sitting still.

bonding session 6

This was tonight. We decided to try stress bonding them, so we put them under a hamper and vacuumed the hall next to them. They seemed to try their hardest not to snuggle, my roommate poked them to get them to be next to each other. They snuggled for a bit, but our vacuum is old and we couldn’t keep it on for toooo long so we had to stop with the stress.

We then let them run around the room, and it was the same as usual. Pascal and Basil explored a bit, Basil demands to be groomed by Pascal. Pascal then sniffs him but decides to hop off and finish exploring before hunkering down in one spot again. Basil didn’t bug him, just explored and then went to munching hay. Luckily there was no spraying!

I’m getting really worried about Pascal cause he always seems so freaked out when I go to pick him up after a session. I’m wondering if since Pascal is so close to me that maybe I should try to sit in with them? maybe them Pascal will calm down enough to actually be sociable?

Please let me know what you guys think! I’m at a loss and if they won’t bond idk what I’ll do!!

[Kash]

bonding session 7

This time we put them in the bath tub so we could clean up any attempts to mark. I also stayed on the edge of the tub and Pascal seemed a bit more confident knowing I was around. After a bit he stopped trying to get comfort from Basil and started just sitting in the corner near me so I moved out of site and my roommate took my spot.

Pascal seemed scared that I wasn’t there and sat in the corner like he has been for the past sessions. I tried to coax him over to Basil but he wouldn’t move so I started petting Basil. Pascal saw and I pet him to let him know that I’m not replacing him or something. And I went back and forth petting them both.

Pascal came to say hi after doing that off and on for a bit. He only sniffed the first few times. Towards the end I was able to get them near eachother and I got them to kiss me (me making kissy noises and they put their noses/mouth up to my mouth) and then I pet Basil on the head while Pascal was close and watched. Something clicked in him and he groomed Basil! Once he stopped I praised them both, and got them to kiss me and then Pascal did it again for a bit. After that I could tell he just wanted out of the tub so we ended it before Basil decided to try and spray again.

I think it worked well with me being involved because Pascal sees me as another bun and that we are bonded. I also think Pascal refused to submit to Basil because Pascal sees me as the top bun and wasn’t going to submit to a different new bun.

I hope I didn’t ruin anything, but I really think it worked out well! And I don’t mind being the top bun in the warren!

Let me know what you guys think!

[vanessa]

I think 6 sessions are too soon to give up. I had 2 easy bondings, and my third is surprisingly difficult. So I slowed WAY down, and the aggressive female is now joying being petted in their “forced snuggles”. I’m at the point where I trust her enough to release my hand from her head during their snuggles, and see what she’ll do. She buries her nose under his chin. Amazing progress considering that she attacked him on their 43rd and 4th date. Broke skin, left him with 4 open wounds. That’s when I slowed it down. I’m on week 4 now. So going really slow, and I won’t speed it up untill he shows signs of relaxing. Before she attacked him, he would eat and preen in her presence. After she attacked him, he would only close his eyes and wait for the bonding session to be over. So now that her aggression seems to have passed, I need to wait for him to trust her again. If I had given up on session 6, I would never have seen her bury her nose under his chin. I don’t know when I will see him reciprocate, but I don’t want to give up too soon and miss it.

Are they both neutered? Just wondering why they are spraying.

What are their living arrangements like? I started seeing progress when I moved their pens next to eachother and let them get to know eachother. When I saw her stop marking the fence line with pellets, I knew her territorial jealosy had died down with him and I could pick up the the bunny dates again.

Getting to know each other through the fence has proven to be great. Her lying up against the fence was another sign to let them meet again.

Patience patience patience. I’ve read stories of people saying within the first 5 dates that a certain pair wouldn’t work. I’ve read other stories of plenty of patience (many months – sometimes up to a year) with a difficult pair, and a successful result.

[Kash]

I definitely don’t want to get up, but the bonding is stressing Pascal out and I’m worried about him. But since the last session went so well I won’t stop.

Both of the boys are neutered, luckily Basil is the only one spraying. Right now they are in separate rooms, Pascal is in my bedroom and Basil is in the living room. Pascal is really territorial of my room and has lunged at Basil when he went on a rogue adventure (he is a major escape artist!) and came in there. We are waiting for them to be bonded before moving Basil into my room because Pascal is so territorial. If it will help them then I will for sure move them in together as soon as possible.

[vanessa]

I had similar territorial issues, and I got advice from one of the local bunny rescues. I took a room in the house that Gwuinevere had already lived in, cleaned it out thoroughly. I mean spray and wash the carpets, then vacuum with baking soda, cleaned the baseboards, cleaned everything Guin had ever touched. Then moved the furniture completely around. Removed furniture, added furniture. Created a whole new habitat for the 2 separate x-pens. They had new bedding, new litter boxes (bleached), new houses, new or cleaned everything. By the time I put the two in their new pens in the same room, Guin didn’t recognize it as hers anymore. Guin is very territorial. She marked the fence line dividing the room for weeks. But I think that cleaning the room out so thoroughly made it seem like a new room to her, neutral territory. If I had just added his pen to her room while it was still her original room, I don’t think she would have taken too kindly to it.

The trouble with territorial rabbits is that they can quickly claim even “neutral territory. Sometime I stilI see Guin claiming their bonding spot, so I move them to a new spot for bonding dates, and run the vacuum cleaner for a few seconds.

I started with their x-pens 6 inches apart. Once she was lying up against it and had stopped marking, She had accepted him as neighbor. So I removed the x-pens and put in a NIC-cube scheme. They now share a dividing fence.

But hey – 2 steps forward 1 step back… We did a bunny smoosh and snuggled for 45 minutes today. She tried to nip a few times, but for the kost part, was pretty good. He is still nervous…

I’m super glad to read about other peoples bonding experiences. Each rabbit is different. I’m nervous about my current bonding attempt. IT helps to be able to read other peoples experiences and share mine.

[Kash]

bonding session 8

Another bathroom session, went well at first, Pascal locked him again but still wasn’t happy about the tub nor was he fully submitting g to Basil. Basil then got upset, about Pascal not accepting him as dominant and the fact that the tub didn’t smell like him, so he sprayed. So we cleaned it up, and Pascal seemed upset that Basil keeps being to rude and just sat and ignored him for the rest of the time. Basil sprayed a few more times before we decided to end the session.

bonding session 9

We thought that he was spraying because there were no bunny smells so we tried a session in my doorway, hoping that Pascal would be more comfortable because it’s kind of his area and that Basil won’t spray in another bun’s area. That idea didn’t work. Pascal didn’t submit to Basil again, and Basil got mad and sprayed, since it was Pascal’s area, he lunged, didn’t growl or even really touch him, just told him “hey don’t do that!” We cleaned it up and after a bit Basil sprayed again, Pascal didn’t lunge he just sat their, it looked like he got some in his eye, or it could have been just water from us spraying Basil with water. Either way I let Pascal go from the fenced area in the doorway. We waited to see what Basil would do and we kept spraying, no matter how much we cleaned it, told him no, or sprayed him with water. So we determined he isn’t spraying because of Pascal, he is spraying because whatever area he is in doesn’t smell like him and that just upsets him.

Next session we plan on making a neutral area and spreading smells of both Buns in the area in hopes that that will make him not spray.

Luckily Pascal isn’t being territorial and was completely fine with Basil being in his area, he was only upset that Basil sprayed and even then he didn’t start a fight. The only problem is Basil spraying, so far that’s the only thing that makes Pascal upset about Basil. So if anyone knows how to teach a neutered rabbit to stop spraying let me know! I won’t give up but boy is it hard to keep cleaning this stuff up!

[alaina1]

I don’t know anything about bonding bunnies, since I haven’t yet decided if I will get bunny #2, but I will say that it took almost 10 weeks for my male bunny to stop spraying after getting neutered. I think it takes quite a while for their hormones to actually go down.

My question is, since it seems like you and Pascal are quite bonded, how is he treating you when not in the bonding sessions? Is he still as affectionate- are you still ‘his’ bunny? I would like to get a second bunny for my male, but am nervous that I will lose the strong bond we currently have

[vanessa]

Once your bunny likes you, he always will. But his bond is different with a human than with a rabbit. The idea of bonding is so he can live like a rabbit, with another rabbit, and enjoy the bunny bond that only another rabbit can provide. He won’t love you less. Instead of spending his alone time lying up against a fence, he will spend it lying up against his pal. But he’ll still come greet you, and ask for petting. I didn’t lose a bond with a rabbit over getting them a pal. If anything, having a bonded pal makes them happier rabbits, which means they are happier to see me than before. You will see a difference in their behavior, but it will be a good difference.

[Kash]

For now we are taking a break from bonding and just switching their litter pans and stuff like that so they can get used to eachother’s scent more.

As far as Pascal, he still loves me, he does get upset for a few minutes after a bonding session, but he always comes back! So there really is no need to worry about that. As Vanessa said, once a rabbit is bonded, even to a human, they will stay bonded.

[Author]

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