Bonding Temmie and Kanelbolle – some questions

[Retallicka]

The bunnies –

Temmie – 8 months old, spayed female
Very bold and very friendly. Incredibly tame and spoiled. Very attached to me and my boyfriend and has her run of the house.

Kanelbolle(cinnamon bun in Norwegian) – 7 months old, neutered male
A ‘sensitive’ boy, not as keen on attention. Lives in the kitchen only. Doesn’ t like us very much. We got him in december from a shelter and he has improved a bit since then. He sometimes boxes and growls if you mess with his litter box or food dish.

We have had a few bonding sessions. The first one Temmie started humping quite quickly. He took it ok at first but she was very vigorous and tried to hump his head a few times. After the second session I think he firmly decided ‘no more humping!’ and he rose up with her on his back in fury. Then he bit her foot and made her bleed (just a small puncture wound) The next session he washed her thorily straight away ? Then the fifth and last session we carried it on for quite a long time in the bathroom. Both rabbits ate from the same bowl and shared toys and a litter tray. So it is going OK…

One question I am wondering is, why do they flop so much when they are together. In the bathroom Temmie was flopping every 5 mins or so, the most dramatic flops I have ever seen. Right on her back with her eyes filly closed. He also flops but his aren’t as dramatic or frequent.

The other thing I am wondering is why do they thump so much? They do it usually at the start of their sessions and they don’t seem to be scared.

The other thing is how do I stop Temmie from humping him? He really hates it. She is humping him less and less but every time they go into a new ‘neutral’ territory she starts again, also she seems to sniff the fur on his back a bit then get in the mood for humping I would love it if she groomed him instead :/

http://imgur.com/k3NeLnt

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sorry no one responded.

Flopping is a good sign. It means they are relaxed. Bunnies hump during bonding to establish dominance. They need to work out who will be the dominant bunny (the dominant bunny is the humper). If the other bun is tolerating it, it’s best to just let them work it out. If one seems stressed, don’t let the humping continue for long or it could cause fights. Never allow head humping as this can result in nasty bite wounds.

[Author]

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