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big fights :(

binkyCodie

Mama Doe
Luna and Orion keep fighting between one another :(

usually Luna was the top bun and was the one who was in charge, and she kept things "peaceful". she never bit Orion etc even if he got his treat first or was still eating. she mostly left him alone.

anyway, dynamics have changed and all hell as broken loose. Orion is now the top bun but he's very..bitey in his ways. he keeps biting and chasing Luna away from everything. this is litter trays, hay, pellet, any treats (even though he gets his first, he wants Luna's), even her hidey igloo that she loves. he doesn't even use it, yet he still bites her and forces her out of it. she might be laying down, and he bites her to move her. even their wooden house he forces her out of, when they both used to cuddle up in it together :(

even when I give Luna metacam, Orion would sniff and not care. but now he bites her when I try to give it to her. even if I take her out to give her it, then put her back in, Orion starts biting & attacking her.

Luna basically is chased away from anything. she's become rather frightened and refuses to go near him now, and won't eat if he is, nor go any toys. she just sits far away from him. she does still flop or sploof, but only if he is far away.

this afternoon we had one huge fight. it was horrible to see Luna running for her life, running into things and tripping over in panic being blind.

its very distressing to see although I'm trying not to put my emotions into it.

I'm just wondering..what is the best course of action here? go back to bonding sessions?

nothing has changed apart from me coming home, but this had started around 2 weeks ago my mom reckons, so I'm really unsure. it could be spring hormones, it possibly is, but with huge fights and Luna being unable to do anything, its quite difficult :(

they share my bedroom throughout the day which is quite large. they get put away for bed time, I know thats not ideal. they're put away into a 5ft x 2ft pen (ish?), which I know is not ideal or big enough. I hope to offer them more space soon, perhaps even their own entire room.

they've had this routine since they were bonded, last year in may time. so its not a sudden change and we've never had an issue before.

just feeling a bit lost. I'm trying not to put my emotions into it but its hard.
 
I'm sorry this is happening BC :( I haven't any ideas why this might have started apart from the obvious, such as spring fever, one rabbit being ill etc. Luna was actually ill while you were away wasn't she? Does your Mum think it started soon after that?

Whatever the cause is, I think I would go back to square one with bonding. Luna will be getting very upset by Orion's behaviour. She might start to lose weight because of restricted access to food. But worst of all they might have a really bad fight, when you are not there to step in and one of them could become badly injured.

I hope that you are able to get them back to how they were.
 
Luna was very unwell yes :( she was unwell around the 12th of december, and had to be kept in. they were together the entire time though, they were separated through the night one time at the vets as Luna was on a drip and Orion kept chewing through it! but they were side by side with metal bars between them. they had cuddled up together through the bars actually, so I don't think anything too bad had happened. there was no evident fighting once put back together, in fact Orion started grooming her fiercely and charged at a vet when they came to check on her. he seemed almost overprotective and "how dare you remove me from my friend!".

it started perhaps after christmas my mom guesses. so it was a few weeks after her being unwell that it started. but I'm not sure how bunnies are, perhaps it is a knock on affect.

I noticed the pet remedy was almost out so I changed that. hopefully it helps a little, I'm not sure.

not helpful either as building work is still going on next door. I want to say its been going on for a year but I think its longer. days are the same for me so I struggle to differentiate between time periods. its what caused Luna to probably have spurs back in October or so. she's frightened of all the drilling, hammering etc. its mostly just painting now but they're still knocking and drilling about randomly.

I do think your right. I'll go back to square one and start rebonding.

they're due their clean out tomorrow, I'll disinfect everything and wipe it with hot soapy water. I'll also get some vinegar, mix it with water and spritz the carpet and wipe the walls to try and neutralise my bedroom as much as possible. I don't sleep their anymore so that's not the issue of smell, I just can't remove everything of their smell but I'll do my best.

usually I just wipe the trays, floor and outside of their wooden house. but any toy that can be wiped will and everything will be left clean and hopefully not smelling of them so much.

I'll also clean out their carrier and make that neutral, before putting them in there while I clean. first of all they get in the way :)roll:), and second of all might do them some good. I guess that would be stress bonding :? idk I feel conflicted but when I used the carrier for bonding (it was open) I had the most success. any larger spaces and fights ensured, likely due to Luna being blind. and when they went to the vets together, it seemed to help a lot. I don't want to stress them out or stress bond really, but it might remind them to get along with one another. we'll see. usually when I put them in the carrier for cleaning they eat, dig, and flop so they don't seem too stressed.
 
I hope they settle down for you, probably as you say the cause was Luna being unwell, then when she was getting back to normal the problems started. Fingers crossed for rebonding xx
 
thank you xx

ended up cleaned the room for 3 hours. the room stinks of disinfectant and vinegar now. can say I'm exhausted! anything that could be sprayed with disinfectant and vinegar has been. their entire pen, any toys, their igloo. then my entire carpet, walls, radiator, door and baby gate has been sprayed in vinegar too. some things haven't been, such as their cardboard boxes and toys made out of grass. I probably should throw them away but I'm probably looking at a large amount of money wasted. I'll just keep them stored away for now.

they were in the bathroom most of the time, an unfamiliar place, so hopefully that helped re bonding. I let my room air for a couple of hours after so they probably spent 5 hours together bonding in the bathroom. I hope it did them some good. both were flopped together so perhaps so, fingers crossed.

just need to keep an eye on Luna. she gets very stressed with cleaning out, often her poops turning small because of that. probably due to her smell being removed. I don't think theres much smell of her left anymore, so hopefully she isnt too freaked out.

the pet remedy is on and in with a fresh bottle now, so I hope that helps. although I haven't smelt its earthy smell you get when you plug it in :? perhaps I'm too used to the scent now? probably. although not sure it can be smelt for all the vinegar that is here :lol:

when I put them back in Orion gave some big stomps but I think that was him just generally being upset. he's a year now and I always call this age the terrible teens :lol: all three of them between 1-2 years have turned into right little sassy mares. stomping, digging, biting, chewing, being a little brat! its like the rebellious teen years.

I'll be doing a few bonding sessions in the bathroom later on I think. or perhaps the garage. I'll see whats easiest :)

hoping all of this helps.
 
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they look rather grumpy [emoji28]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
they've been okay thus far I think.. we've not had anymore fights, so I think the two bonding sessions yesterday and trying to remove the scent in my room has helped. plus with the pet remedy, I hope its doing something.

I didn't let them out in my room last night, I just kept them in their pen. I didn't want the big space to cause any issues.

we've not had any fights since then, and Orion seems to be leaving her in peace to eat, poop, chew, binky and cuddle down. I caught him grooming her earlier before flopping down near her, which he hasn't done in a while.

I've let them out of their pen today and they've had the room. I've been sat with them most of the time to check up on them. they seem to be ok, no fights, some stomping but I figured it out that Orion didn't like the gerbils making noise :lol: he's in a right little brat mode though. chewing everything he shouldn't, jumping where he shouldn't and so on. whenever I tell him off he binkies across the room :roll: :lol:

I've also had some binkies from Luna, along with Orion giving me some super huge zoomies and binkies all over the room. Luna seems a bit scared when he has his mad five (or thirty) minutes, but she usually does move out of his way.

I'm hoping to do another bonding session tonight and continue that for the next few weeks just to really ensure their bond. might be overkill but I don't want issues to arise!
 
more than likely yes :( I do feel awful for her but she seems rather unbothered about the whole situation.

theres been some progress.. I haven't had anymore fights, no more butt nipping, no more chasing her away. they've also been spending a lot of time together, cuddled up. before they sat across the pen from one another keeping their distance. I feel like I am taking on couples counselling :lol:

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now the only thing is is that Orion does not want to come out of his pen :( he just sits back. hes still happy to come and take treats, eating, and pooping. but he just sits in the pen :? really wish he could tell me what was up as I'm lost!

I'm going to try and force him out of the pen now as I want to see him moving. I hope he's just doing (yet more!) sulking and its nothing sinister.

perhaps he knows this week he's going to the vets for his jabs :lol:
 
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