Brought new bun home today

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lily2521

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After a successful second date, we brought Nova home today. Right now we have the bunnies living in separate cages, separate rooms. We had grooming on both dates from Nova (Gizmo just sat there a bit nervous, while Nova groomed her).

Is it too soon to start bonding sessions tomorrow? I figured I'd give Nova the day today to at least get acclimated to her new surroundings. I don't want to rush things, but with the dates going okay I thought I could start the sessions?

Another question ...it sounds like Nova has been getting hay and pellets, but the family we adopted from said they didn't do much for greens. Because of this, should I move forward assuming all greens should be treated as new to her, and introduce them one at a time, slowly? Should I just stick with hay and pellets for a bit before introducing greens since I'm not sure of the pellet brand they were using? I'm not really sure what to do here with her diet. Gizmo gets greens 2x a day and pellets once daily, on top of her unlimited hay. I'd like to eventually get the bunnies on the same greens/pellets schedule once they're bonded.

Here's their pictures for extra cuteness :) Gizmo is the lop, Nova the lionhead

Thank you!

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New bun!!!

So glad you went for it! I'll never have just one bun again after seeing how mine are together. Your pictures are great, lionheads are so quirky and cute looking. Really gorgeous.

As for your questions, if they both seems relaxed, why not introduce them to each other in their respective cages? There's no real "right" way to introduce them, you sort of have to gauge yourself their comfort levels. Just take time to observe.

As for the greens, I introduced mine to both hay and greens when I adopted him and didn't have any trouble. I would feed the greens once a day for now though.

Also, what a nice bunny set up you have there! Did you put that together yourself?
 
New bun!!!

So glad you went for it! I'll never have just one bun again after seeing how mine are together. Your pictures are great, lionheads are so quirky and cute looking. Really gorgeous.

As for your questions, if they both seems relaxed, why not introduce them to each other in their respective cages? There's no real "right" way to introduce them, you sort of have to gauge yourself their comfort levels. Just take time to observe.

As for the greens, I introduced mine to both hay and greens when I adopted him and didn't have any trouble. I would feed the greens once a day for now though.

Also, what a nice bunny set up you have there! Did you put that together yourself?

The only reason we're housing them in separate rooms is because that's what the shelter recommended we do, to start with a more conservative approach. Then they said if bonding sessions go well, we'd move the cages into the same room. I've read lots of things too where people do the same room to start with, so I'm not sure which way is best?

Nova seemed very relaxed during both dates. Gizmo seems a little more overwhelmed and just sat there and let Nova do her thing, but wasn't aggressive in any way.

Nova is currently in the cage we bought for Gizmo when we first adopted her a year ago, and we ended up getting Gizmo a new one because we thought it was too small. It's really cute and we love it though! We bought it online.
 
I wouldn't introduce Nova in Gizmo's space, he's going to be much more comfortable at home and may react differently to how he did at the shelter.

In terms of bonding, I'd be inclined to wait a week, just to make sure she's well settled. The same with introducing greens as well, if you're feeding a different pellet you may still see a little bit of gut upset from her, you don't want to compound that effect by adding greens that she's never had before. Definitely when you do introduce them, start from scratch.
 
I wouldn't introduce Nova in Gizmo's space, he's going to be much more comfortable at home and may react differently to how he did at the shelter.

In terms of bonding, I'd be inclined to wait a week, just to make sure she's well settled. The same with introducing greens as well, if you're feeding a different pellet you may still see a little bit of gut upset from her, you don't want to compound that effect by adding greens that she's never had before. Definitely when you do introduce them, start from scratch.

Thanks for the advice. I think what I'll do is keep the bunnies in separate rooms for now, and start bonding sessions in a few days. Then depending on how sessions go I'll move them into the same room eventually (still separate cages though).

I'll also treat everything as a new food with her...including the pellets. Thanks again!
 

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