Hi everyone,
I’m feeling emotionally drained, so please be kind. This is a bit of an essay but I’ve tried to explain the issues as concisely as possible…
TL;DR - which of these setups would be best?? (see the final bullet points)
BACKGROUND STORY:
I’ve been bonding my bunnies - a male angora mini lop and female nethie. Both fixed. In short, it went like this:
Bathroom: they’re currently there in side by side enclosures. There’s no direct natural light (only from the hallway) and it’s the most isolated part of the house, so I feel bad. However, it’s neutral apart from some times Tokki ran around in there - neutralised with vinegar since.
Office: where Monkey used to live, and became very territorial. I have guinea pigs in there, at a height the bunnies can’t see so they never come into contact, but their scent is obviously there. It’s a great room because it’s square, has furniture and has air conditioning. It’s where I planned to have them free roam permanently, like Monkey used to.
Living room: We have a big open plan living room/kitchen. I have rearranged the furniture and triple vinegar washed an area that neither bunny spent much time in (there used to be furniture there) to make a new neutral area. I also have new blankets to use to hide the room. I’m open to make this there permanent base when we’re not around once we’ve expanded to 2m x 2m (or slightly more) and they’re fully bonded, if the office isn’t a good idea or doesn’t work. It’s away from the area where they were previously living side by side, which has also been neutralised with 9% undiluted vinegar.
Balcony: Essentially an extra room because it’s huge. They were using this for their exercise while living side by side in the living room. However, it’s getting too hot for them to go out most of the day now (I live in the Algarve).
So, given that the living room is the new bonding area, I’m trying to decide which of these would be the best option:
1 - Live in the bathroom / exercise in the office
2 - Live in the bathroom / exercise on the balcony for a limited time each day
3 - Live in the office and exercise in the office (with double walls to stop them touching - would also mean they’re never separated fully and would also introduce Tokki to the room so it’s not just Monkey’s)
4 - Live in the office / exercise on the balcony (again, for a limited time because of the heat)
I hope this all makes sense and I’m sorry it’s super long. But I’m at such a loss and have no idea which of these would be best. All I know is that I feel bad they’re back in cages again because they look so sad.
I’m feeling emotionally drained, so please be kind. This is a bit of an essay but I’ve tried to explain the issues as concisely as possible…
TL;DR - which of these setups would be best?? (see the final bullet points)
BACKGROUND STORY:
I’ve been bonding my bunnies - a male angora mini lop and female nethie. Both fixed. In short, it went like this:
- Monkey (female) used to be free roam, confined to the office when not supervised.
- Tokki used to live in the bedroom (where Monkey never went) until fixed
- Housed next to each other in the living for 1 week before bonding once Tokki was ready
- Started dates in the master bathroom - the only room neither of them had been in. Started with 15 minutes and built up to 2+ hours. We used the bathroom floor (1.2m x 1.8m) because Monkey freaks out too much in small spaces.
- Dates went well. Mutual grooming and flopping by date 5. Also sharing a litter tray and toys.
- Decided to try 24/7. For 70 hours, they seemed to get increasingly close. Non-stop snuggling, mutual grooming, playing together, sharing food and toys. To the point that they seemed inseparable.
- 70th hour: Monkey kicks Tokki in the face while binky-ing and it soon escalated into a mini tornado.
- Nobody was injured, so calmed them down and carried on. They were more on edge but started to snuggle and groom over the day. They barely left each other’s sides again, but were jumpier when the other moved.
- Another 11 hours later, a second fight broke out when Tokki tried to steal a toy from Monkey.
Bathroom: they’re currently there in side by side enclosures. There’s no direct natural light (only from the hallway) and it’s the most isolated part of the house, so I feel bad. However, it’s neutral apart from some times Tokki ran around in there - neutralised with vinegar since.
Office: where Monkey used to live, and became very territorial. I have guinea pigs in there, at a height the bunnies can’t see so they never come into contact, but their scent is obviously there. It’s a great room because it’s square, has furniture and has air conditioning. It’s where I planned to have them free roam permanently, like Monkey used to.
Living room: We have a big open plan living room/kitchen. I have rearranged the furniture and triple vinegar washed an area that neither bunny spent much time in (there used to be furniture there) to make a new neutral area. I also have new blankets to use to hide the room. I’m open to make this there permanent base when we’re not around once we’ve expanded to 2m x 2m (or slightly more) and they’re fully bonded, if the office isn’t a good idea or doesn’t work. It’s away from the area where they were previously living side by side, which has also been neutralised with 9% undiluted vinegar.
Balcony: Essentially an extra room because it’s huge. They were using this for their exercise while living side by side in the living room. However, it’s getting too hot for them to go out most of the day now (I live in the Algarve).
So, given that the living room is the new bonding area, I’m trying to decide which of these would be the best option:
1 - Live in the bathroom / exercise in the office
2 - Live in the bathroom / exercise on the balcony for a limited time each day
3 - Live in the office and exercise in the office (with double walls to stop them touching - would also mean they’re never separated fully and would also introduce Tokki to the room so it’s not just Monkey’s)
4 - Live in the office / exercise on the balcony (again, for a limited time because of the heat)
I hope this all makes sense and I’m sorry it’s super long. But I’m at such a loss and have no idea which of these would be best. All I know is that I feel bad they’re back in cages again because they look so sad.
