Bambi's Neuter and Bonding

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cassnessxox

cassnessxox

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So my little boy Bambi is booked in for a snip tomorrow! Much more relaxed than I was with Cleo's spay a few weeks ago, although I'm not sure I should be because of Bambi's much higher energy level! I'm sure he will be much harder to keep calm while he recovers.

Mostly I'm starting to think ahead to when the bonding process starts. I've heard it takes 6 to 8 weeks before his hormones will dissipate, yes?

So Cleo and Bambi have met before, when we got Bambi we were told he was a girl, so they spent 2 weeks around each other before we realised they needed to be seperated. They have been seperate ever since but occassionally see each other through the play pen bars and have had a run in or two when Bambi has broken out and surprised Cleo in her room. Since Bambi's hormones have started to rage Cleo seems quite scared of him. She doesn't mind him at all when she sees him behind bars and is quite happy to lay right near the pen while Bambi jumps back and forth trying to get her attention. But whenever they have had a run in she has high tailed it out of there!

I am concerned that this will have a negative effect on bonding. Do I need to start making them completly invisible to each other? So they forget anything bad and get to start with a clean slate? Is there any way to re-neutralise a territory? They have both been almost every where in the house at some stage or another. I'm not sure where to re-introduce them. Any other tips or suggestions? I'm desperate to get them back together!

cleoandbambi2.jpg
 
For a neutral space you could take them to a neighbor/friends house. Also you could maybe take them out into the yard in a pen.

Hope all goes well with his neuter. :)
 
Yes if she is truly that scared of him then it could have a negative effect. Was there a fight or scuffle at all when Bambi broke in her pen? A bond between rabbits does rely on them trusting one another. You know your rabbits best and if you feel like cleo doesn't trust Bambi at all, then a separation might be a good idea.

It can take 6-8 weeks for hormones to dissipate. But it will be different for each rabbit. When I bonded my two, I started less than 2 weeks after Archie had been neutered. Heck, their first date at the rescue was 2 days after his surgery. Everything went fine.

As far as keeping him confined, it is much less of an issue with males. Archie was back up for adoption with no restrictions 1 day after his surgery. I never noticed him in pain at all.

Good luck!
 
I thought of taking them out the front because neither go out there, but the pen doesn't have a roof. I was afraid that if it took a turn for the worst Cleo would find a way to jump out and in her fear I wouldn't be able to catch her.

I'm not sure if she is running out of fear exactly, or if it is just 'Go away I don't want to be your humping post' She doesn't seem afraid, just really annoyed. Bambi really is quite persistent and will do anything in his power to get to Cleo and when he sees her he will run at her like a wild animal. I have never seen them fight though, but I havn't really given them the chance to.

I'm off to bring Bambi home in about half an hour. I think I will keep them invisible to each other for the next week or two and then see how they react through bars. If Bambi is still going nuts when he sees her I'll give it a bit longer.
 
His scar is so small! Such a difference from Cleo! He seems to be doing quite well, almost acting as though nothing happened. I'm probably over cautious having gone through Cleo's spay first but it's better than not being careful enough if I did it the other way around!
 
Day 1 of pre-bonding!
So today it's been about a week and a half since Bambis neuter. He healed quickly and is back to his usual self. This afternoon we introduced Bambi and Cleo through bars in the pen outside, both with Cleo in the pen and Bambi outside of it and vice versa. Bambi is less interested than he used to be but still gets excited when he sees Cleo. They have shared a few kisses through the bars and Cleo seems pretty unbothered by him. She almost seems to be teasing him by lying down against the side of the cage so Bambi can put his nose through and sniff her! At times Bambi will just hop off or lay down himself which he would never do before.

I just love seeing them interact but I suppose I best leave it a bit longer before face to face introductions are made, yes?
 
It can take a month or more for hormones to completely dissipate. That being said, I adopted Archie less than a week after being neutered. I had him home for 5 or 6 days and I started face to face bonding. I never had a problem. He still humped Agnes but she didn't care in the least. So that is why I started the bonding because I knew my buns and felt confident that there wouldnt be a fight.
So you know your buns best and I think you should follow your gut. Since your female is fixed there is no pregnancy risk so it's fighting that you would need to be concerned about. Because obviously a fight can set you way back or taint bonding. Good luck and let us know!
 
Do females often disapprove of being humped? Thats mostly what Im worried about, that she won't like it and either be scared of him or attack him. She never attacked him when they first met so I think it's unlikely, I am just afraid that something will happen to stop them from EVER liking each other! I want to get them together before christmas though because I will have to leave them home for the day and if it is very hot here I will need them to both be downstairs to stay cool enough. Right now Cleo is upstairs and Bambi is in the laundry that is nice and cool. I'd much prefer for them both to stay downstairs in the laundry when it's hot.

So I had better get with the face to face intros soon!
 
my submissive bunny (Gaz) has randomly humped my dominant bunny (Nala) a couple times... Nala always sits there and takes it (both are girls), though I break it up right away 'cause Gaz likes to hump the wrong end and I don't want her getting her tummy/girl parts bitten.
 
Do you think it would be ok if I introduced them then? If he humps her should I break it up or should I only step in if they fight? I'd really like as much supervised time as I can get before I need to leave them together so the sooner the better, I just dont want to jeopardise their relationship
 
Day 1 of Bonding!
So I think that went well! My boyfriend and I took one bun each up to our ensuite. We do have 2 quite large bathmats so they were ok with the floor. At first they were both a little hesitant being in a new space but then Bambi realised that his true love was in the room ;) They were both surprisingly calm but there was a little bit of humping. Cleo just wiggled her tail and hopped away. He wasn't too persistent and she would just carry on grooming herself. She didn't seem all that bothered by him. After a few minutes they were both lying down, not next to each other but they were relaxed. Now and again Bambi would jump up and run over to Cleo, he would sniff at her a bit and if he tried to hump her she would get up, hop away and just lie down again. They weren't focussed on each other too much and at times they just did their own thing. After about 20 minutes or so I thought Bambi was getting a bit annoying so I seperated them again.

Not bad for a first try? We will try again tomorrow when Bambi has had some time to cool off ;)
 
I'd say that is a good first session!!! Agnes never minded the humping at all. She is such a sweetheart. I don't think much would upset her. She just sat there and took it :)

Just try and make sure to try and end on a good note every time. Dont wait until they are almost fighting. Stop when they are getting along the best.

Good luck with everything! And keep us updated!
 
I agree that you should end on a positive note. Sounds like it went well though :)
 
Day 2 of bonding!
Felt like we went a little backwards today :( put them together again this afternoon, Bambi just followed Cleo around trying to hump her. He would get close enough to put his nose on her back and she would just wiggle her tail and run off. They just went around in circles for a while, he would come up to her, try to mount and she would hop off. No aggression or anything but it didn't look like it was going anywhere so I took them outside and put them on either side of the pen again. At the moment they are just lying down on opposite sides of the bars but Bambi hops up now and again to stick his nose through.

Would his hormones calm down sooner if they spend less time together. As in, is Cleo stirring his hormones up? I feel like his hormones are coming back! He was much less humpy yesterday, but it's all he wants today!
 
I think I will have to give bonding a miss for a day, or maybe a few days! Now when I walk into Cleo's room she shakes her tail at me and hops away!! She will still let me give her a cuddle, but she clearly isn't happy about the boy bunny I keep introducing her to! Maybe in a few days they will calm down a bit and Ill try again?
 
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