Honeylovesthumper
Young Bun
I have an eight yo male (Thumper) and a possibly 1 year old female (Poppet). Poppet was spayed 6 weeks ago and on the advice from another of my posts I had them in completely separate cages - after initially having them separated within the same run. Tonight is the start of the bonding. They are in a small indoor cage for the bonding and I will be sleeping next to them so they dont need to be separated at night. There was a bit of biting, quickly halted with a swift spray of the water bottle before anything escalated but I realised this was because I put a litter tray in with them and they were getting territorial. Everything has been neutralised with vinegar. I've taken it out and there are no more issues like that. Poppet and Thumper have both been putting their heads down for licks, with neither giving an inch. I put a teeny bit of banana mush on each forhead which led to thumper being able to mount poppet and lick the banana off her head. Poppet is a VERY fiesty girl and gives all indication of being the most dominant, but suddenly she is absolutely frozen as thumper mounts her (to the point I had to check she was breathing!) And whilst she is very submissive and thumper is mounting he is really tugging and pulling out her fur. I know a little is normal, but we are talking mouthfuls and have to 'tug' a number of times to get the fur every time he mounts. Poppet isnt flinching during this, but I'm worried she'd turning into a ticking time bomb. Is her behaviour normal or a big warning sign? Also, if there are any other warning behaviours i need to look out for during the bonding process? Thank you x