and they started fighting after a month...

Hi there,

sorry I never updated my bonding diary, I've been far too busy...

Anyhow, things settled quite smoothly between Eliot and Molly and I soon felt ready to leave them together unsupervised.

They have been happily together for a month; Molly (minilop, spayed) is a little temperamental and would occasionally bite Eliot if irritated about something, but Eliot didn't seem to care too much and would get close to her again soon after. For the rest, they seemed to be quite a happy, cuddly couple.

Now, today they started fighting and I don't understand why. Everytime Eliot gets close Molly bites his behind or his face, they start circling and Eliot now runs away from her. She doesn't seem to want him close... What the heck is going on?!? Help please!!!

Is it biting nasty or just chasing...
My newlyweds have their moments and circle and chase, it will soon calm down....

x

Hello, all I can say is that I had almost in identical situation between Bobbin and his first partner. They were fine for a month before the fighting began. I believe she found her feet and decided she wanted to be the dominant one, Bobbin would still cuddle up to her even when she bullied him

Are they separated now? I would advise to separate them if you can't supervise them all the time. Biting the face sounds quite dangerous. I would seek some professional help and ask an experienced rescue that does bonding to assess them and try a re-bond if they deem it possible

well, fur flies, and considering how hard she can bite when she bites me, I don't like the idea of her biting Eliot. I don't think she's any kinder to him than she is with me... so I will definitely separate them if this happens again. at the moment they're eating together, let's hope it was just a momentary thing... they're not cuddling though. :?

Oh thats good I really hope it was just a blip

Keep an eye on them and let us know how they get on

When I put them back together in the cage, I kept an eye on them, and they are still tense. As far as I could tell, they would always stay in different areas of the cage (one upstairs, one downstairs) and when Eliot moves, Molly moves too, etc. If he asks her to groom him, she grunts and attempts to bite, and Eliot moves away. I don't know why Molly is now refusing to groom him all of a sudden, I haven't noticed anything different that could have messed with their habits... :?

My idea would be to give them the carrier treatment and redo a bit of bonding in very restricted spaces, as they seem to be ok with sharing spaces, as long as Eliot doesn't try to get close to her face.
That girl is troubles!

Thea & Bobbin said:

Hello, all I can say is that I had almost in identical situation between Bobbin and his first partner. They were fine for a month before the fighting began. I believe she found her feet and decided she wanted to be the dominant one, Bobbin would still cuddle up to her even when she bullied him

Click to expand...

does this mean that you eventually separated them for good and found him another partner? I really don't want Molly to go... I can only keep one pair of buns, so I would have to rehome her and find another girl
Please Molly, just behave!!!