Bonding with other pets

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DakotaSkye

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May 17, 2010
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Hello Everyone,

I just had a general question concerning bonding between my rabbit and my two rats. This is the first time I've had to introduce animals to one another who weren't already bonded, so I just want to make sure I'm going about it the right way.

Freya, my now 10-week-old lionhead/dwarf, has been housed in the same room with our two rats, Yen and Kai, for a couple weeks now. We didn't attempt to introduce them at all until last night. I knew Freya was comfortable in her surroundings almost immediately after we brought her home. She was munching on alfalfa and sprawling out in no time, despite the presence of other animals in the room. We thought, if we wanted the two to get along together (or, worst case, ignore each other), we should go slowly and let them both get acclimated to the sounds and smells of each other before we attempted to introduce them.

The first few days, the rats went nuts. Yen was chewing on the bars and would startle at every move the bunny made in her cage on the other side of the room. I had to cover their cage with a t-shirt to prevent her being in their sight, which they quickly chewed through. Freya, however, seemed unaffected by their antics.

Then I would let Freya out to explore her surroundings, leaving the rats in their cage. At first they followed her around as soon as she got close to the cage, intently interested. Freya wasn't stressed, just curious. A couple times, Freya startled when Yen reached a paw out to her, but I don't think she did it maliciously. That's just been Yen's first reaction when she encounters something new; she grabs it with her paw.

We did that for a while, letting Freya out to investigate the caged rats, and letting the rats out when Freya wasn't in the room. Last night, I thought we'd give the introductions a try.

At first, I thought one of us holding Freya and the other holding a rat was the best way to go to prevent any potential injuries, but both were incredibly squirmy and I didn't want to stress either out. So we set them down and let them go at their own pace (just Freya and the calmer rat, Kai). They sniffed each other once, then went and did their own thing, Kai climbing her cage and Freya chewing at some alfalfa on the floor. The reaction was so positive (or at least not negative), we thought we'd try it with Yen, the more dominant one.

Yen sniffed her, and the bunny sniffed back, very slowly. She got startled whenever Yen would try to put a paw out, which would in turn startle Yen. But they kept approaching each other. At one point, both rats approached her (which made me apprehensive, thinking they were going to gang up on her), but Kai just sniffed her while Yen grabbed one of her ears in her paws (which Freya, surprisingly, let her do). Then, I think, Yen tried grooming her ear, but Freya jumped, perhaps a little overwhelmed by their forwardness. We thought Yen may have bit her (based on Freya's reaction), but upon inspection, there were no marks or broken skin. We decided then, however, that that was enough for now. Though I really do think she was just trying to groom her, Freya's reaction was enough to bring out all the other worries I had, like if the rats claws scratched her eye. I didn't want to have to take poor baby Freya to the vet for a scratched cornea, like I had to for my last rabbit.

It made me incredibly nervous to let them interact, but the only way they were going to get used to each other was to encounter one another face-to-face.

Has anyone else had any experience with bonding their rabbit to another animal? Am I going about this the right way?
 
Thanks so much for the suggestion! I'll do that =) Who knows, maybe one day I'll have to bond a fully grown Freya to a puppy, haha =P
 
I have both rats (4) and a rabbit and I would never feel comfortable with them interacting. I really don't have any tips for you, I just wanted to offer my opinion.

The rats are just so much smaller.. my biggest male is about 1.25lbs and my bun is 7-8lbs. All it takes is a little hop/kick in the wrong direction to hurt or even kill one of the rats. It just isn't worth it to me. My rabbit has swiped me with her front paws before in fear/annoyance and that could also seriously injure the rats. It isn't worth the risk of vet bills.

Although I will never allow them to interact, I am planning on trying my rabbit with my boyfriend's cat who will be moving in with me in August. They are the same size and the dynamics between them would work much better than a rat/rabbit combo. I am not against all interspecies contact but rats and rabbits just do not work together.
 

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