WeLuffOurHeffalump
Member
So after yesterday's debacle with bonding, we read up on other peoples' experiences and tried some new stuff today. First, we took them both into the kitchen, which is neutral ground. We put a blanket down to help with traction, and filled a squirt bottle. Jourdan held JuneBug and I held Heff. After a couple of minutes we let Heff hop around while Jourdan still held JuneBug. When they both seemed calm and fairly uninterested in each other, we put JuneBug down too. They both hopped around in their own directions - nobody was aggressive or even seemed to care about the other one. At one point their own business collided with the other, and there was some nipping - which a couple squirts with the bottle put to an end rather quickly. We each held one until they calmed down, and then set them down again. Heff will go up to her kind of quickly, but he only seems to want to sniff her, and she'll respond by biting him. At one point I was holding Heff and JuneBug hopped over and bit the top of his head. She doesn't seem to be doing it to be mean or hurt him, but, for obvious reasons, it makes him a little defensive.
They continued to hop around for about twenty more minutes, and only a few more skirmishes broke out. Although in the process Jourdan got bitten AGAIN...poor girl is getting the brunt of this experience on her forearms...
In the end, Heff was pretty submissive, JuneBug didn't really seem to care one way or the other about what was going on, Jourdan got another bite, and I got a scratch to the face. But overall I think progress was made today. They both seem to be more concerned with themselves. We realize that we may end up building a seperate NIC cage for JuneBug, which is sad because we really wanted them to bond well, but we're not giving up yet! However, we might need to stock up on Neosporin for us!!
They continued to hop around for about twenty more minutes, and only a few more skirmishes broke out. Although in the process Jourdan got bitten AGAIN...poor girl is getting the brunt of this experience on her forearms...
In the end, Heff was pretty submissive, JuneBug didn't really seem to care one way or the other about what was going on, Jourdan got another bite, and I got a scratch to the face. But overall I think progress was made today. They both seem to be more concerned with themselves. We realize that we may end up building a seperate NIC cage for JuneBug, which is sad because we really wanted them to bond well, but we're not giving up yet! However, we might need to stock up on Neosporin for us!!
