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Bad History - Now bonding in new house!

The age old bonding situation, and every single thread I read is different but I'm hoping someone can give us some advice...

We have two buns, both approx 1 yr old. We had Nala first and a couple of months later we got little Milo. Both have been done for around 6 months (may be longer now).
In the old flat the bonding was unsuccessful due to Nala being extremely territorial. There were 3 bad fights and both of them came off as bad as the other, cuts to the body and real shift in their personalities (only temporary though).
We left the bonding process for a while once we'd decided we were moving...
Their cages have always been next to one another and Milo has always picked to lie next to Nala's cage in the hope she may show some affection I guess!

Nala is quite temperamental, even with us. Sometimes she will react to Milo's attempts for love, with lying next to him even a slight bit of grooming, very slight!!

We've recently moved and we think this is the perfect time to try the bonding.
We are keepin their cages in the livingroom, only because this is the only space where they will fit, but once they are bonding this will be their space. Will this have a detrimental affect on the bonding? When we let them out currently, we pick them out of their cages and take them to a separate bedroom.

The dates are currently being held in the small utility. Limited space and the floor covering means there's no way they can get rowdy! There have so far been three dates...
Nala put her head down for Milo and he proceeded to groom, he has tried to put his head down for Nala to groom but she is not a groomer.
There has been humping from both of them and this is where my worry is, Nala has never been tolerant of Milo's humping, this is where the fights starts in previous experience.

The question we have is how long is best to wait before we increase the space? And how gradual so we do it? The next space we thought was an area of the kitchen which would triple the current space they have in the utility?
What are the signs that they are becoming more tolerant of each other and even friends?!?!?!

I am desperate for them to bond but I don't want either of them to suffer any more injury, the past couple of times have not only hurt them but have broken my heart to see either of them get hurt.
The first fight they had I didn't think twice about using my bare hands to split them up and will always have a scar in the shape of Nala's teeth to remember that by!

Any help, thoughts and experiences would be so helpful to us....


Thanks
Melissa xxxx
 
Are you keeping them together 24/7 or separating them? We now think that constantly separating them doesn't give them chance to work out their hierarchy and can be disruptive in some cases. What I would suggest is decide on an area where they can stay for 1 or 2 weeks this will give them time to get to know one another. Only if things get nasty must you separate them. If you give them lots of boxes, tubes, hay etc they will feel more secure in that there are lots of hidey holes if one needs to get away. Lots to chew etc so as time goes by they are getting more used to the other one.

When you see them eating close to one another then you are winning. Good luck.
 
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