What to do..

so as many if you know, I lost my little Snoopy on the 12th.

while yes, it is very early, I want to start looking at options as Luna seems incredibly sad and lonely by herself. so I know leaving her as a single won't be an option. I can see her trying to ask toys for grooming, trying to play with them. she even brought food over to the seal I offered her. so really, she wants a friend it would seem.

the thing is, I would really quite like another Rex rabbit. I know what I'm getting into, a high energy, little stroppy toddler who will chew everything you love :lol: and Luna is quite high energy, yesterday she spent around 20 minutes doing bunny 500's across the living room and out into the garden. that way they would likely be a similar size, energy, food intake.

I'm not really interested in a lionhead or a lop. my vet has said here most lionheads have horrible teeth, and that isn't something I want to go through if its more likely to happen. I'd like to avoid it if possible. I want at least some peace of mind we won't have the same issues as we did with Snoopy.

thing is, rex's do seem really quite rare to come across here. no shelters have any, and there is very few breeders. not only that but a shelter wouldn't accept me to take home a rabbit as their living space wouldn't be big enough. they either want an entire room (that is almost as big as the room I sleep in!) dedicated to a rabbit, or a 6ft hutch (I can only offer 5.6ft). the fact that they would be out with free run of downstairs for 12 hours a day doesn't mean anything sadly and I do understand why to an extent.

bonding could be an option, but a lot of those I saw wanted home checks too, and a space I couldn't offer. and also, I don't know how I would cope sending her off for bonding.. Luna really helps my mental health. when I'm having a panic attack or a horrible day, I can cuddle her and pet her, she calms me down and keeps me sane somewhat. I don't know what I would do without her for a few days or even a week. it would be really hard on me and I don't think I would cope... I know I should put bunny first but I don't know.

so I'm a bit stuck for options. I can either head to a breeder, or a pet store (no thanks). I do believe the breeder I received Snoopy from (and Luna came from him too) still breeds rex's. so its a possibility to head to him.

but i do have questions in general:
- Luna is two, and I would be trying to bond her with a bunny who would be so much younger than her. the breeder sells the babies from about ten weeks old. would this even work?
- should I stick with a boy? Luna and Snoopy's bond broke down when he started to be in pain, other than that after fighting for 5 months to bond them, they took to one another.
- should I wait until the new one has been fixed to even try bonding? Luna is spayed and has been for a while, so I run the risk of no babies if I got a boy, so that is not a concern.
- what do I even do if she hates the new one? :?

I have a fair idea how to bond them. last time I tried
- swap their blankets every week, so with their scent on
- cage swap (S in L's, L's in S) for a few weeks
- meet in the bathroom - the buns never go there and its a small space.
- after positive bathroom, move to the kitchen - bigger space but still neutral. S & L fought if I moved them into a much much larger space too quickly.
- kitchen to bedroom (or bunnies room, its mostly full of their stuff now :lol: )
- and then finally I do a big cage clean and try placing them together in there.
this worked for Snoop and Lunatic, I just prefer to take it slow and at their pace. if course if they're best friends in the bathroom then i'd skip the kitchen and try the bedroom, if all went well head to caging together.

I don't know, I feel so lost and I'm not sure what to do. help? :?

Hi, sorry again about Snoopy, I know that must have been really hard on you.

I completely understand why you are thinking about this, it's natural, but as you have said it is quite soon. Would it be an idea to wait a little longer? It sounds like Luna is quite active and darting around and has been exploring her larger enclosure (from your other thread).

I remember you describing the situation at home previously (I won't go into it on this thread, in case you would rather not). It could be stressful to jump straight back into bonding etc and perhaps if space could be an issue.

Hope this is not taken the wrong way, you sound like a lovely caring owner. I guess im just saying perhaps enjoy the closeness and stability you have with Luna for a bit, before introducing another x

I should have said, it wouldn't be until end of June for sure as we are leaving for a weekend break around the 16th of June! I wouldn't want to introduce a rabbit before then. but I suppose i like to have a plan of action or some sort of idea rather than getting into issues and then beginning to panic. I'm a person who enjoys to know what I'm or what is going to happen.

she is darting around and happy, but I also know she is unhappy too and I can not provide a bunny company. she likes to run but also to play, and she's been doing less of that. yesterday was the first time of actually bouncing around. most days she's sat under the table looking quite unhappy when I let her out. so its an improvement for sure. she even refused to go outside until yesterday :shock: I was concerned she was sick. usually she's sat looking at the door handle!

thing is, I can't always be there for her.. or let her out.
Mondays I'm out from 9am-2pm.
some point during the week I'm out from 10am-1pm.
then I always have various other appointments. while she can be out for 12 hours most days, she will also be alone sometimes. and I've secretly watched when she is alone, she shows signs of stress or sadness. just sat in a tiny ball until I come back again and she gets so excited. otherwise, she hardly moves.

space also becomes an issue when they won't get along. I can just split the cages for a month or two for bonding and then re-allow the larger space. its when I'm struggling to balance a sick rabbit, and having them in tiny cages. we really do think snoop's "aggression" was pain and he was trying to push Luna away as he felt ill.

one thing I can do is invest in a double hutch to allow 200cm of space per rabbit, so if they don't get along I have a larger space, but also a larger space for however it takes for bonding.