So I have two buns right now, Jawa-our 1 yr old neutered male and Finn our new bun who is about 2 1/2 months old. Jawa has not taken super well to Finn so far.
From the beginning-a week and one day ago
First intro went fine enough. Finn tried to mount Jawa (which was super funny to see since Jawa is 9 1/2 lbs and Finn is maybe 2 lb) Jawa mounted Finn and there was some chasing but nothing too extreme. That night I had Jawa running in the living room free range and Finn on the couch with me. This was an error on my part looking back. This is one of Jawa’s main play areas, so I think territory played a part. Once Jawa noticed Finn laying by my side he jumped up, grabbed Finn and ripped him right off the couch. Finn was fine (I was a mess!) with just a small bite on his side that was mostly hair loss and just a tiny bit of broken skin (didn’t bleed).
-super scared mama!
So now I have their cages side by side with a few inches between them. I have done two more supervised intros in a neutral area and have been using a vacuum to deter chasing and stop fights before they happen. Luckily Finn doesn’t seem to be too scared of Jawa, just cautious. The two of them basically ignore each other until FInn comes just too close to Jawa and then Jawa will chase. They had one nose to nose moment where Jawa just chased Finn after (so no immediate bite) but that is the best I’ve gotten. I’ve been switching their cages every day or two and have surrogate teddy bears that I’ve been switching. Jawa is nonreactive to the teddy covered in Finn’s scent.
When they’re in their cages, they will both lay right against the closest part to each other’s cage (so if the cages were touching they’d be laying next to each other), but when they’re free range Jawa is still very agressive.
I know that it’s early in the game, but I’m nervous to push them too much too early due to the size difference. Jawa could do Finn some serious damage if he had the chance and decided to take it. I’ve been avoiding small area intro’s because I worry that this could be setting Finn up to get really hurt. I can’t do a car stress bond since Jawa isn’t uncomfortable in cars-he drove cross country with us. They will be taking a 12 hr car ride with us when we travel north for Christmas. They will be in separate cages but next to each other. Maybe this will help?
Bottom line is what are some safe ways to either stress bond or move forward with the size difference. I know this is a process and I want to be patient but also want to be making progress.
Thanks! So happy to have help!