Moving bonding to shared space?

[littl3red]

I've been using the bathroom as neutral territory for bonding and letting both buns alternate free run out in my bedroom. In-cage fighting has stopped completely and there has been not a single out-of-cage fight.

So here's the deal: Maya will NOT walk on tile floors. At all. It scares her half to death, so she spends the ENTIRE bonding time on the towel or floormat while Teddy hops leisurely out of Maya's reach. Ugh. So I was wondering if it would be a terrible idea to move them into the carpeted, shared space of my bedroom? I would put them in some other carpeted neutral space but my mom is terrified that they'll mark and she likes a pristine house. My room is the only room where any evidence that I have rabbits is allowed. My bedroom is bunny-proofed, and the underside of my bed is temporarily blocked off (Teddy HATES it, that's where she usually sleeps. It makes me pretty sad that she's not down there too. But I would hate for someone to mark down there and me not know until we move my bed in heaven knows how long.)

 

[agnesthelion]

I think you could try it. If there is an all out fight it will set you back and you might have to start from square one again, but you'll never know til you try.

When I moved Agnes and Archie to the shared space, nothing happened. Well, I should say archies humping increased again briefly, but that's it. So you might notice Maya start to mount quite frequently. Also, your bedroom will feel more like Teddys place than Mayas place for watch for Teddy to try and assert her dominance here when she hasn't before.

I think it's good you blocked off the bed. You wouldn't want them to get under there and start a scuffle and you can reach them.

As far as marking, I never had any issues with pee, only poop. And that subsided after about a week.

 

[littl3red]

Yeah, I don't THINK there will be a fight but it's a possibility. Plus, this will let me make their bonding sessions longer because I can use the computer, do homework, etc. and be a little more comfortable. I just felt like we weren't getting anywhere in the bathroom. I might try it later today after both have had their free-run time in the bedroom.

 

[littl3red]

Nope, it was a bad idea.

 

[agnesthelion]

Uh oh, what happened?

 

[littl3red]

They both tried to mount each other at the same time and ended up fighting. I broke it up quickly and nobody got hurt. Luckily, I don't think it set us back too far. They're still not fighting through the cage bars, so I feel okay. Right now they're sleeping next to each other (with the divider between them.)

 

[Blue eyes]

Shoot! I just saw this whole thread and would've suggested against putting them in Teddy's space. Girls CAN be so territorial.
Hopefully you were able to intervene quickly.
Might want to keep them apart for a day or two now, and then try the neutral area with a couple towels or a sheet down to give Maya more room.

 

[Blue eyes]

sorry, double post. My internet cut out and then re-posted when re-connected.

 

[agnesthelion]

That's good. I just saw your update on your blog and responded there

I think you will need to find something to lay on the bathroom floor (old blankets, rugs, maybe a sheet?) since they hate the tile and then re-date in the bathroom. I would say to work up to where they can be together an hour, or maybe two, before moving to shared space.

It can be boring and tedious at times sitting in a bathroom watching two rabbits,lol, but it will be worth it in the end

 

[Blue eyes]

:yeahthat:

 

[ldoerr]

Sorry that they had a fight Just a question, how long had they been spending in the bathroom together normally before you moved them to the bedroom?

 

[littl3red]

30 minutes. They could stay longer, I just get bored fast...

 

[JBun]

I second Lisa's idea to put an old blanket or something else down. They'll be more likely to hop around and explore, and may even start to have some fun Which would also be less boring for you.

 

[kkiddle]

When I was bonding mine, I put some shower liners down as they were marking with pee. They're cheap and easy to clean. Plus, you can just throw them away if they get really bad. Sorry about the fight, hope it works out =)

 

[lauratunes12]

Faith hates our wood floors(because she slips around) so when she has free run, we put a bunch of towels down for her to hop around on and she has a lot of fun. Blankets, towels, a rug, just put something with traction down to help maya.