Just typed this all out only to accidentally hit the back button and lose it all :roll:
Anyway, after reading the no nonsense thread on bonding yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet and try introducing a third bun to my pair. Rex is another bun who's had his incisors removed so I wasn't so worried about introducing him, plus he'd seen them a couple of times through the bars of his cage plus a quick meeting pre-neuter on neutral territory.
I'd had to take him and Mary to the vet anyway (post-op checkup for Rex and molar checkup for Mary - vet found his nasty spur had returned but managed to sort it out without knocking him out, much nicer for Mary and my bank balance!), so I took Squishy along too. We had to detour to the petshop to pick up my sack of rat food anyway, so I had a bit more time to allow the carrier bonding method to do its work.
It did, and fantastically. When we arrived back, I was confident enough to plop them all in Mary and Squishy's crate together (cleaned it out so it was semi-neutral anyway), popped the carrier in and let them sort it out. A bit of chasing and mounting occured, but interupted with snuggles in the carrier, and after a few hours it had all calmed down. Felt it was safe enough to leave them in overnight, and woke up to find Rex and Squishy having a bit of a cuddle. Mary was sulking (he did the same in the bonding attempt with Joey, and while I was bonding him with Squishy, think he's not used to not being the only bun anymore!), but within an hour I found the 3 of them having a snooze/grooming session together.
They're not as lovey-dovey as Mary and Squishy yet, but the chasing and mounting has stopped and they're happy sharing a bowl of food together.
Now for the photos (plus a few of Joey, couldn't leave him out!)
Anyway, after reading the no nonsense thread on bonding yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet and try introducing a third bun to my pair. Rex is another bun who's had his incisors removed so I wasn't so worried about introducing him, plus he'd seen them a couple of times through the bars of his cage plus a quick meeting pre-neuter on neutral territory.
I'd had to take him and Mary to the vet anyway (post-op checkup for Rex and molar checkup for Mary - vet found his nasty spur had returned but managed to sort it out without knocking him out, much nicer for Mary and my bank balance!), so I took Squishy along too. We had to detour to the petshop to pick up my sack of rat food anyway, so I had a bit more time to allow the carrier bonding method to do its work.
It did, and fantastically. When we arrived back, I was confident enough to plop them all in Mary and Squishy's crate together (cleaned it out so it was semi-neutral anyway), popped the carrier in and let them sort it out. A bit of chasing and mounting occured, but interupted with snuggles in the carrier, and after a few hours it had all calmed down. Felt it was safe enough to leave them in overnight, and woke up to find Rex and Squishy having a bit of a cuddle. Mary was sulking (he did the same in the bonding attempt with Joey, and while I was bonding him with Squishy, think he's not used to not being the only bun anymore!), but within an hour I found the 3 of them having a snooze/grooming session together.
They're not as lovey-dovey as Mary and Squishy yet, but the chasing and mounting has stopped and they're happy sharing a bowl of food together.
Now for the photos (plus a few of Joey, couldn't leave him out!)
