Revverress
Well-Known Member
Not long after Noel died, I was secretly on the look-out for a new friend for her cage mate, Pepper. I tried bonding her to my neutered English Spot, but there were some housing issues, and I decided that there was room for one more house bun.
Wednesday evening, I adopted a mini lop named Clover off Craigslist from a couple whose apartment was [illegally] making them give him up. He seemed absolutely perfect- He's a mini lop just like Pep, he's neutered, he's litterbox trained, he's a buck, and their brief meeting in the back of our van went smoothly; there was even a bit of cuddling.
Yesterday and today, I've been doing brief meetings between the two loppers and I've started trying to get him more comfortable with me. Suddenly, things are NOT perfect.
Unless you're petting his head [his most favorite thing in the world], he's outright scary. He will lunge and bite at anything that moves, which can include Pepper, my hand, my leg, and the jingle ball toy I bought for him. I have a deep gash in my finger that's been bleeding for the past 20 minutes, a bite mark on my leg, and scratches all up my hand... all from tonight. As soon as I take my hand away from petting his head, he's alert, worried, and ready to fight.
With Pepper, it's worse. If she comes up to sniff him or ask to be groomed, he growls, snorts, and chases after her, lunging at her. I'm worried that it will be impossible to bond him with Pep if that's the way he reacts to her. However, if she's laying down, I can pick him up, lay him next to her, and keep him still by petting his head; a kind of forced cuddle, I guess.
He's neutered, so that's not the issue, he's a year old and past the teenage stage, and I seriously doubt he was ever abused. His former family did say that they didn't handle him much because he doesn't like to be picked up.
So the big question is- Is Clover outright aggressive, or is he just incredibly stressed from the move and the new rabbit/people? I know he's not been here long at all, but this seriously concerns me. I do plan on keeping him here for at least two weeks to see if things improve, but I don't have the time, space, or energy to keep a rabbit that I'm actually scared of, PLUS have to still deal with the issue of Pep needing a buddy.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Please let me know if I'm just overreacting. :nerves1
[sorry so long!]
Holly
Wednesday evening, I adopted a mini lop named Clover off Craigslist from a couple whose apartment was [illegally] making them give him up. He seemed absolutely perfect- He's a mini lop just like Pep, he's neutered, he's litterbox trained, he's a buck, and their brief meeting in the back of our van went smoothly; there was even a bit of cuddling.
Yesterday and today, I've been doing brief meetings between the two loppers and I've started trying to get him more comfortable with me. Suddenly, things are NOT perfect.
Unless you're petting his head [his most favorite thing in the world], he's outright scary. He will lunge and bite at anything that moves, which can include Pepper, my hand, my leg, and the jingle ball toy I bought for him. I have a deep gash in my finger that's been bleeding for the past 20 minutes, a bite mark on my leg, and scratches all up my hand... all from tonight. As soon as I take my hand away from petting his head, he's alert, worried, and ready to fight.
With Pepper, it's worse. If she comes up to sniff him or ask to be groomed, he growls, snorts, and chases after her, lunging at her. I'm worried that it will be impossible to bond him with Pep if that's the way he reacts to her. However, if she's laying down, I can pick him up, lay him next to her, and keep him still by petting his head; a kind of forced cuddle, I guess.
He's neutered, so that's not the issue, he's a year old and past the teenage stage, and I seriously doubt he was ever abused. His former family did say that they didn't handle him much because he doesn't like to be picked up.
So the big question is- Is Clover outright aggressive, or is he just incredibly stressed from the move and the new rabbit/people? I know he's not been here long at all, but this seriously concerns me. I do plan on keeping him here for at least two weeks to see if things improve, but I don't have the time, space, or energy to keep a rabbit that I'm actually scared of, PLUS have to still deal with the issue of Pep needing a buddy.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Please let me know if I'm just overreacting. :nerves1
[sorry so long!]
Holly
