Hi all, following hoppers neutering I'm wanting to adopt a bunny pal for him. I have been reading up on the bonding process and from what I can gather I am to neutralise hoppers living space ready for the bonding process. Hopper is an indoor bunny and his area covers half of my dining room which is fully carpeted. I have read that neutralising with white vinegar is good for "wipeable" things but what about the carpet ? I have no clue how to safely neutralise this. Thank you x
How to neutralise carpet ?
- Thread starter Heli
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The wiping of vinegar in the cage is just a weak (albeit necessary) attempt to somewhat neutralize the cage if they must eventually end up sharing that same cage. It isn't done until both bunnies are fully bonded and it is finally time to place them together in the cage. This DOES NOT happen right away. They can't share a cage until fully bonded.
But during the bonding process, the area of bonding must be some place that neither bunny has ever been before. Cleaning the floor in an area that your current rabbit resides is not going to make it neutral territory. You need to find a place your rabbit hasn't been for the bonding sessions -- like a bathroom.
But during the bonding process, the area of bonding must be some place that neither bunny has ever been before. Cleaning the floor in an area that your current rabbit resides is not going to make it neutral territory. You need to find a place your rabbit hasn't been for the bonding sessions -- like a bathroom.
Once hopper has bonded with his new lady friend in a neutral area, is it then OK to return hopper and his friend to hoppers original living space ? I have a permanently open cage attached to a huge carpeted indoor run that covers half of my dining room. Will the new bunny be OK with the carpet smelling of hopper as they will have bonded already ? Thank you x
It should be fine. The key is to not return them to Hopper's space until they are fully bonded. Also, avoid giving them too much space in Hopper's area too soon.
For example, my Sapphire had almost the whole downstairs before she was bonded with Mocha. I did the bonding process upstairs away from her usual space. Once they were ready to go back downstairs and to Sapphire's old cage (which was always left open all day - similar to what you have now for Hopper), I limited the area. The photo shows how I did this.
The reason for this is that too much space too soon could cause territorial issues. Also, this gave the new bunny a chance to get used to the new cage in a limited area (and know where that litter box is!). So I set up the x-pen around the cage. After I felt the new bunny was acclimated (several days I think), I could then remove the x-pen altogether.
For example, my Sapphire had almost the whole downstairs before she was bonded with Mocha. I did the bonding process upstairs away from her usual space. Once they were ready to go back downstairs and to Sapphire's old cage (which was always left open all day - similar to what you have now for Hopper), I limited the area. The photo shows how I did this.
The reason for this is that too much space too soon could cause territorial issues. Also, this gave the new bunny a chance to get used to the new cage in a limited area (and know where that litter box is!). So I set up the x-pen around the cage. After I felt the new bunny was acclimated (several days I think), I could then remove the x-pen altogether.
Just vacuum the carpet, it should suffice. Some people put perfume in the room to hide other scents (or even a drop on the rabbit so that they won't smell anything else - I never tried so I can't tell if it works, I would not bother unless the first attempts to bond are unsuccessful). I suggest bonding in the bathroom if you can - the best places are small, without any places where one of the rabbit could hide or get cornered, not a place where your rabbit goes usually, and the plus of the bathroom is that the floor is often made of tiles (most rabbits are not comfortable on a kinda cold / slippery floor and it will distract them from a potential fight). If you've read about it, you should know that some vegetables your rabbit really likes will help the date along (what's a date with no dinner? XD). Then, if the rabbits seem to go along well (sniffing / grooming each other), the best thing is to put them together in a pet carrier (or a cardboard box or something) and to release them at the same time in the space they will be living in so that they understand that it's a shared space. Once it's done, check there is no place where one of the rabbit can corner the other, keep an eye on them and that's all there is to it. Honestly, with a male / female neutered couple, the male being the host, your odds are pretty good (males tend to be pretty welcoming when their new roomate is female). Unless if one of your rabbits is a sociopath or a pathological loner who hates other rabbits, it shouldn't be too hard. Personally, I've done the bonding process twice and I thought the hardest part was staying relaxed and stopping myself from intervening when the fur was flying a bit. As long as there is no blood, a bit of a scuffle and some mounting is fine even if it can take more or less time depending on the rabbits. My current pair had trouble establishing the hierarchy and it took several weeks. The first time I bonded rabbits, I was petrified for my female who was a tiny nethie and she pummeled the male who was easily twice her size in 20 seconds - he submitted, signed for a lifetime of grooming her whenever she wanted, and it was over.
