stasis & stress

is it possible that the change in having another rabbit living with him could be causing eric to seem 'off'? i'm not panic station worried atm but his poops are a bit smaller and he seems quieter (not in a lying flat tooth grinding way, just in a not as happy-binkying way).

he is eating and drinking but i'm not totally sure how much now esme is with him.

he seems to be a bit jumpy too and has stopped lying in his favourite spots. really odd.

so, now i'm on poop alert. again.

can a second bun have a negative effect on the health and wellbeing of an original bun?

Do they seem ok with each other? Grooming, sitting together?

If Eric is feeling edgy/stressed because of Esme being there, then im sure it would show health wise. I suppose its like us humans, when we are down, we generally get poorly.

I hope Eric will be ok Sending lots of nose rubs, not spoke to you in ages Wendy xxxx

If you're wondering how much Eric's eating then hand feed them their greens/pellets instead of in a bowl - then you'll know if he's still interested in food as normal.

It sounds like he's just adjusting to life with another bunny and perhaps because you're watching them/him more then you're over analysing things.

Remember, it's still early days - they've only been together for just over a week.

One of the things that occurs to me is that Eric has a very close relationship with you & your family. I wonder if giving him a bit extra fuss in case he's feeling a bit insecure might help?
To answer your question - yes - several buns "around" the forum, mine included, can go into stasis for purely psychological reasons - commonly separation anxiety.

thumps_ said:

One of the things that occurs to me is that Eric has a very close relationship with you & your family. I wonder if giving him a bit extra fuss in case he's feeling a bit insecure might help?
To answer your question - yes - several buns "around" the forum, mine included, can go into stasis for purely psychological reasons - commonly separation anxiety.

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this is my concern - the psychological factor - but it may seem 'weird' to some:?
they both run to the door to me - esme tends to shove him out of the way - so i make sure i talk to eric first and stroke his head before esme as she's dancing round my feet wanting food rather than fuss. when eric feels 'secure' i fuss esme.
probably in for a slating saying that but he's very sensitive and as i've already said, i hope the partnership can do more good than harm.
esme is lovely - i never realised a bun could be so 'busy'

Becky86 said:

Do they seem ok with each other? Grooming, sitting together?

If Eric is feeling edgy/stressed because of Esme being there, then im sure it would show health wise. I suppose its like us humans, when we are down, we generally get poorly.

I hope Eric will be ok Sending lots of nose rubs, not spoke to you in ages Wendy xxxx

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hi becky,
its early days but they don't fight. thats all i can say really! they share some stuff and do sit together at times (not snuggled up but about a foot apart). i wouldn't say they dislike each other at all, seems they tolerate each other.
as you know, eric has had a fair few health probs so the last thing i want to happen is for him to get stressed (his tum and stress is a no no and i have noticed his nose is a bit wet).

hope you're ok?

xxx

RavinRabbit said:

If you're wondering how much Eric's eating then hand feed them their greens/pellets instead of in a bowl - then you'll know if he's still interested in food as normal.

It sounds like he's just adjusting to life with another bunny and perhaps because you're watching them/him more then you're over analysing things.

Remember, it's still early days - they've only been together for just over a week.

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i have been hand feeding them pellets and sometimes greens as esme will scoff the lot! it seems to be less hay in eric's case as esme is obviously scenting everything and when eric sits down for a munch, he loses interest very quickly when he's had a sniff.
(yes, i do have a few hay trays scattered around).

poppymoon said:

this is my concern - the psychological factor - but it may seem 'weird' to some:?
they both run to the door to me - esme tends to shove him out of the way - so i make sure i talk to eric first and stroke his head before esme as she's dancing round my feet wanting food rather than fuss. when eric feels 'secure' i fuss esme.
probably in for a slating saying that but he's very sensitive and as i've already said, i hope the partnership can do more good than harm.
esme is lovely - i never realised a bun could be so 'busy'

Click to expand...

The psychological factor is very strong & real with many buns, but especially a bun like Eric who has been so poorly as a baby, & developed a strong bond with you. He's also been free ranging which is wonderful, he's having to handle a lot of intrusion into "his" world. I don't see why anyone should slate you. I hope some one has some better answers for you than my offering!

I say just give it time. The feigned indifference is a good starting point. Not all bunny bonds are full out fights or love at first sight, you can get this sort of middle ground indifference as well, but from what I've read, and certainly from my bunnies when they first bonded, we noticed that the bond grew and changed over many months. Ours bonded pretty easily - in fact instantly really but they weren't especially close, often choosing to spend much of the middle part of the day apart whilst free range - interestingly they still do now, but they are also inseparable at the same time if that makes sense? But we really noticed their relationship develop over time and have watched them grow closer. Two years on they are a very different couple to the couple we introduced to each other. They have taken on a bit of each other's personalities - like a human couple - bad habits and all! :lol:

We had Nino first for a year and like you and Eric and Judy, and Thumper, he and I were very close and communicated a lot with each other. This did change to some extent when we introduced Poppy, and I would say now he is more of a bunny bunny than a people bunny, which is only natural and I can't begrudge him that, but he shares himself between us They have grown so close to the point that if she has not come upstairs he will go back and get her, same thing for going in the garden or bedtime, I can say 'Where's Poppy? Go and find Poppy' and he does and brings her with him , it's very sweet, and yet when together they will often do their own thing.

If it's any consolation - Nino is a 'stress alone' stasis bunny and used to have many episodes - esp related to separation anxiety when we went away for a night/wknd. Since Poppy arrived he rarely has these separation stasis episodes now if at all, she's there when we are not. Yes he did have an episode following the stress of bonding I must admit this, and it was a risk we were aware of, but the risk has paid off and Poppy has in her own way saved his life by reducing this anxiety he experiences So I would say hang in there and give it time, all relationships need time to grow and you might find that she helps him in the long run, even though I appreciate in the short term there are risks, we found they paid off. I hope that helps a bit

thank you prettylupin, it helps immensely to hear nino's story.

the pure and simple reason i looked for a companion for eric after his health improved enough to be neutered was 'in case' i was out all day or needed to spend a night away.

i strongly hope that having a friend like esme will help to decrease his stress in time as although she loves fuss (on her terms!) she is much more a 'couldn't care less so long as there's food' bunny:lol: