considering getting my bun a girlfriend...

[girlzilla]

my bun is neutered and has had a girlfriend before called lola, but she had to be putto sleepdue to hind limb paralysis. i only had her a week but ludo adored her and they bonded very well. about a month after lola passed, i got him another girlfriend called mouse. this bonding didn't go so well. this time around he went INSANE and the bonding didn't go so well at all. mouse went back to her original home and my bun has been a bachelor ever since. he doesn't even like the cat being around him and attacks her at every chance lol.

anyway, i'm consideringgetting him a girl because i feel sorry for him being alone all day when i'm at work, and i worry he gets lonely. apparently he digs on my bedroom door when i am out, but obviously i don't know because i'm not there to witness it.

the reasons i am not sure about getting him a girl are:

1) it would break my heart to see him fall in love again if something were to happen to his new girlfriend and he winds up alone again. in a way, having him solo protects him from having to experience losing a mate again.

2) i'm worried he doesn't actually want a mate and getting him a girl might upset him more than if he were a solo bun.

3) i personally don't want to face having to fall in love with a second bun and have to face the fact that one day they will both be gone. accepting my ludo won't always be around is hard enough, let alone having to face TWO buns that i adore not being around forever! so in a way, i'm kind of protecting myself.

4) he's 2 years old and i'm concerned he might be too "set in his ways" to be able to adapt to having another bunny in his life.

does anyone have any advice on this? i want to do what's right for my bun but i'm nervous of making the wrong decision. i wouldn't want to get him a girl, only to take her back because the bonding just didn't work out. i would think that psychologically, that would be very hard and confusing on him. i just want whatever makes him happiest.

thanks for any advice

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

1. Rabbits are mortal, eventually they will die. All we can do is pray they live a long happy life. I don't think keeping him as a solo bun just because something might happen is nota good reason if you think he wants the company of another bunny.

2. Most all rabbits enjoy the company of another rabbit. Some are just harder to find a mate than others. I have a buck that I thought was unbondable. I lucked out and found a great match for him and he is now happily bonded to a girl. To this day, he still attacks every other rabbit that comes near him, but he fell head over heals for his current mate. It might just take time and patience to find the right mate for your guy.

3. Your guy is 2, hopefully he has another 8+ years left to live. You can't protect yourself from the fact that animals, and people, do eventually die. I wouldn't let that fact stop you if you think he needs a mate.

4.I just bonded a pair of rabbits that were 4 and 4.5 years of age. The doe has never been bonded to another rabbit before (she was a breeding doe) and the buck has not been with another rabbit since 11 months of age. I don't believe that having a lone bunny for a while will change the matter of wanting company of their own kind.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

You can take your bun to a rescue or shelter to meet potential partners. See who he likes. This way you won't have to be sad and have to take the bun back to the shelter if it doesn't work out. Call ahead and see if the rescue or shelter will allow this, some do some don't. You can take him a few different times and have some bunny dates (with the bun he seems to like) and see how it goes.

Also, by taking him to a rescue or shelter, most likely, the bun he chooses will already be spayed, which will help you with cost.

I think it's a great idea to get your bun a friend, and like MBB said, he's got quite a few years left to live a great life!

 

[HoneyPot]

I agree with AngelnSnuffy. Take ludo to a shelter and have dates with other bunnies - that way he will let you know who HE likes and will take away the anxiety of bringing a bun home that he absolutely hates.

I try not to think about the fact that one day I will be without my buns. They are the first pets i have ever had, and it is hard to think about - I figure I will give them the best life they have now and deal with things as they come - like with all other things in life.

I have 2 (soon to be 3) bonded bunnies and they are such social creatures. I will never have just one bun again after I have seen the difference a mate makes.


Nadia

 

[girlzilla]

my sister is evil. i just asked her opinion and she said, "if you really want to do ludo a favour you should let him go so he can live free in the wild" and then she cracked up laughing :shock:

even the thought of it sent shivers down my spine and made me go all watery eyed lol.

ludo + being set free in the wild =bunny inside a dog's tum tum.

no way dude.

 

[stargazerLily]

I agree with AngelnSnuffy too. Actually, this is what I'm in the process of doing, trying to find my boy, Orion, a friend. To the best of my knowledge he had never been bonded before. I found a humane society with a few rabbits (who also spays/neuters their rabbits before adopting them out), and today Orion went and met some potential girlfriends, and even another neutered boy. He did great with them, showing me that he really would benefit from a friend, and we found two girls that got along with him pretty well. Now it's time to make decisions.

I would definatly do the "bunny date" thing with a rescue group or humane society.

 

[iluvmybuns]

Sorry bout your baby girl, that's so sad

Yep the shelter I volunteer at let me bring Pepsi in to find a friend. I came home with Ozzy and they are inseperable (Literally sometimes:shock

But yeah, then you'll be able to see the ones that will be a really tough time bonding. And be able to see who he gets along with/at least is indifferent to. Maybe the last time you tried was too soon and he wasn't over losing Lola. I'd give it another shot.

 

[girlzilla]

he's had no problem bonding himself to my furry slippers and his flying piggy blankie lol. if i do get him a girl, i will definitely be getting her from the SPCA animal shelter as opposed to a pet store.