is it too soon.....update theyre almost ready to share a house!!

after unbonding new years eve and bifs health probs and bandits nervous weeing episodes......
theyve been exercising togehter at nights for a while now least two months....theres been washing and grooming for a week or so now but they still have spats....bifs the troublemaker as ever:lol:

the last few days theyve been washing each other..cuddling upand sleeping...playing together..evry now and then she gets a bit nippy but not outright fighting like they were doing..well she was anyway

hardly any fur pulling now..and the cutest thing is now when i pop her into her cage he goes into his by himself...and they kiss etc of ages now through the bars..he didnt get to kiss her before she got put in so he came out again and was kissing her thru the bars franctically and trying to get to her and she did the same......

is it too sooon to try bonding them do you think or is it bonding theyve been doing.......we have no neutral areas anywhere in this house now but theyve got the exercise patch they share........

do i keep them out as long as poss..id say yes but they need to be caged too for their nerves and bifs squishy bum before midday......

bif goes into bandits dog crate and beats him up so he leaves....so im wondering when i ought to trust them to share an abode...id like them ot use bifs cage..it was bandits before...and willows when she was a tiny baby frenchie:shock:

its got a lovely smooth plastic base inside so easy to keep clean..and metal top..its a good height both buns can stand as high as they can and they dont reach the top....its wide enough for them to lay stretched out across the cage and enough for a few hops to the end..id like abigger one but i cant find one with a shiny base....but ill add a playpen later for them.

they cant get in and out of bifs cage by themselves as the dor hinges a few bars up form the base.....i usually stack boxes and then the wood bridge..a fiddlestiks bridge etc but bif cant fathom it out but bandit uses it well did when it was his.
im scared if i let them go in each others cages shell attack him both ways...
so i know they cant be ready yet....or can they.

if i give it a few more days do you think it may get better..i mean theyre so loved up now never like it when part of a foursome even tho they stuck together quite a bit..he never washed any bun..he didnt seem to know how...he still doesnt get the signals she gives for wash me..he does it of his own accord.

to ealry to try and live togehter?
i dont want to force it and wreck it but i also owrry by keep splititng them up im making it worse...

arghhhh i hate bonding..i have had two completely successful bonds..bif and her departed husbun oscar..then bif with bertie but theres amways been her having a go at him and fur flying..his i hasten to add!
it was hard but the ofursome seemd to be so good till new years eve...

now the frenchies live free range together in the lounge one end and the littlies take up the other end in their cages....

how do i approachthis..please help....theyre so sweet and loved up now..but she still is a bossy moo and nips him and chases him and tells him what eh can and cant do eat etc..he adores her...a real door mat:lol:

they get frantic when caged up..theyre sniffing and rubbing noses and staring at each other..bif digs at her tray thinking she can get to his cage...theyre side by side no inches between them anymore too.

Help!!

please please......this is such a weird set up i hadnt even considered it to be bonding i just hoped theyd get closer ready to bond...

is it enough to let them carry on like this or should i be taking it further..is it too soon...

im lost here i dont want unbonding to reoccurr again

well ok in case anyone is actually reading htis or can be bothered with it....
bif n bandit have been washing each other..snuggling..asking for washes etc..bandit hasnt peed on the floor for 3 days solid....and theres only been one instance of fur pulling..bif trying to get it on wthbandit and him moving away rather fast:lol:

the last two days and nights..whenever it is with this sleep pattern:?
theyve bene going in and out of each others cages with no arguemnets....till bandit scared bif in his litter tray and she thought it was the cats and charegd at him then apologised deeply..he took a while to belive she was sorry

they were snuggled up for hours on and off..going everywhere otgehter..were out from 1pm till 1am...i couldnt decide what to do so decided to put off moving in for another night or so just in case.

i want to get anohter cage so its neutral..the little dog crates not practical...bifs cage has too high a door opening..you should see the effort to build box landings and fiddlesticks and ramp bridge onto and off of the boxes inside and out:shock:


so i was debating wood hutches allsorts..even letting them have the elc tent with a playpen around it but i have noticed they both check to see if bifs cage lid is down..if it is they relax in there..if it isnt they keep butting the gap and crouching down.....so im guessing indoor cage

i was ooming and aaahing between a imac cavia 120 or a savic nero deluxe 4....the imac one has a smooth base easy to clean unlike ferplast! but i cant find ut about the savic one.....
the savic one is 4ft by 2ft by 2ft so a little longer than bifs as high as bifs and a litle wider than bifs..hers is a montana ranch one..100cm long.

one has a double door opening one doesnt.....size is the best guide tho...oh theyre not living in it theyre having it as a base and bedroom until i can let them out safely then its hours of run aorunds....maybe i can find a way of fitting a metal playpen to it......then itll be perfect for in cage time....

any one had either cages?

i felt so guilty putting htem to bed seperately..will i stop the bondiong process doing that untilt heyre used ot each others cages a bit longer..or if i get the new one as its neutral they should be ok?

Hi,

I'm not that experienced at bonding having only done it once. I do share your pain though - it's so hard to know when the buns are safe to leave together all the time. It does sound as if they may need a bit more time with the current set up if there are still occassions when they have tifs. You've also got to think about how stressful it is for you.

I have had the nero 4 cage. I found it too small for a mini lop (each of mine weighs 2.2Kg). I do keep it so if they do need to be separated I've got a spare cage. They have a large do crate for their house which gives them space to hop around.

Hope it goes well.

hi purple bumble-I was up bonding till 4am then fell asleep till 6am-I was thinking of coming on here but thought no-one would be up! Had I known we cudvhad a chat!! I can barely read your posts now as I my eyesight is blurred am soooo tired n watching the buns still-Will read it properly later today and be intouch - good luck -Sue:wave:

When Simba and Tinkerbell got together she was a houserabbit and he was a rescue, hated inside so lived out.

For about 2 weeks I would put them together outside and then part them at bedtime and bring Tink in. The next day I'd put them back together and it was never a problem. Tink eventually ended up living outside with Simba.

I got a large indoor cage you could borrow if it will fit in my car, it's about 4 1/2' x 2 1/2' and is just sitting in my garage doing nothing at the moment! Good luck with the bonding

:wave: is it a crate hun or a cage?

thank you for the offer..when you feel better and bif feels better ill take you up on that:wave:

thank you


silly ive bonded buns before..these 2 were part of a 4some..he NEVER EVER bites or nips her..never has....only willow and bertie..odd isnt it?

bifs now got start of gi probs....robs not on till tuesday..its not severe weve got fibrplex and a weeny bit of metaclop syrup..fingers crossed..back to the start again...path of true love never runs smooth....but they were soooo loved up more than they ever were before

It is a cage

ooh yes please hun and once i get the new house for them ill sterilise it for you to take back....youre a star!

but it wont be for a while..bifs only had 3 doses of fibreplex and im going to give her some metaclop syrup tomorrow to see how she goes...but her n bandit stayed in respective cages she needed peace and quiet and ive given her their shared cat litter tray which had two poos in it and a tiny wee...shes finding it comfy to sleep and lay in bless her. hes been trying to get to her all night andshes had a kissy sess thru the bars..once.
shes hardly getting pellets but more hay..if it doesnt shift by tomoorrow..animed here i come:roll:

soon as shes picked up ill borrow the cage if i may..pleeze!

dont get anyideas bunnynapping bertie for sugarplum tho:lol:

well bifs had fibreplex and for the last two nights a dose of metacop syrup i had left..
i think no im sure its a tooth prob despite coming up fine in examinations shes not eating her hay right..her fave a straw plait i finally found online and she tried to chew it and gave up.....
her n bandit were out of their cages form about 11am till midnite 2am.....no food just hay hay and hay and hay.straw nibbly toys..and water....shes pooping but very small amounts and tiny not the tiniest ive seen her do but as shes on her 2nd tube of fibreplex its not good, still doing pudding poos till late morning lunchtime
but her n bandit are so loved up..i had to separate them overnite as i needed to monitor her pooping etc..she had 2 teaspoons of food from yesterday..shes eaten it all today..
so i will leave the cage request until after i come back from vets this evening...im not looking ofrward to it as robs on holiday and the vets called mark and i dont know him..it was either that or the guy called radu who talked down to me like i had never had a sick bun before....:evil: and gave her antibiotics for stasis/sticky bum:shock::shock:

fingers crossed...if i can get some met jabs and ask if they can get hold of anysyrup...then ill see rob when he gets back...