Imbrium
Jennifer
I haven't started a blog before this for a couple reasons... one, "blog" has always been a bit of a dirty word in my mind and I've always mocked them. the internet doesn't care what you ate for breakfast or how good your nap was, people . I'm coming around on them as far as RO is concerned, though, since we're actually a tight little community where we all know each other and therefore have a reason to care what's going on with the day-to-day lives of our bunnies.
the other reason I never started one is that I never felt I had much to put in one - they eat, poop, sleep, groom, play and look cute every day; hardly anything news-worthy, lol. that seems to be changing, though, as I've had a drama-filled week with the bunnies and I'm sensing a fair amount more to come .
this week's drama is spread out across a variety of threads:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=76236&forum_id=1 - announcement that it was spay-day
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=76266&forum_id=16 - started a new topic in the infirmary for some quick answers to post-op questions... initially, how to safely get them out of their carrier when my common sense took a break (forgot that since it's a NIC carrier, I could just cut the side open) and then I hi-jacked my own thread when I realized they weren't really eating and that Nala was licking her incision a ton.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=76342&forum_id=48 - Nala started her first molt and has lost like half her mane in the last three days, which significantly added to my confusion as to whether or not a fight had taken place.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=76324&forum_id=48 - my "did they or didn't they" ordeal trying to figure out if they were fighting or rough-housing
to continue where I left off in that last thread, I've changed my mind yet again as to what the heck is going on with those two.
I had them out to play a little while ago in a small area outside their temp cages and witnessed yet another altercation. it started with Nala approaching Gazzles from the rear (kinda looked like a butt-sniffing move) - no nipping or lunging, just stepped up to her/gently touched her rear. Gaz freaked out like she was under attack and took off running, making a little bit of noise in the process and even running face-first into the NIC wall of her (closed) temp cage. I grabbed her as quickly as I could and held her for a few minutes, petting her and talking softly to calm her down (and asking her what was wrong, as I was baffled). she seemed genuinely afraid of Nala for a moment there :S. Nala just sat there looking confused.
it was the first time I'd witnessed a run/chase event where I wasn't on the opposite side of the room. seeing it up-close showed me that I was wrong on BOTH previous guesses (explains why I could never seem to figure it out) - they're not fighting AND they're not playing. Gaz was definitely upset and Nala was definitely NOT being aggressive.
after I had Gazzles calmed down, I set her on the floor nose-to-nose with Nala while petting her softly and started petting Nala at the same time so that Nala would stay put and not try to approach Gaz. they both sat totally still, just looking at each other while I pet them. Gaz seemed perfectly calm at this time. wanting to end things on a good note, I pet them for a few minutes and then ushered Nala back into her cage and locked the door.
Gaz, who normally shies away from attempts at petting her, proceeded to let me lie down next to her and pet her for a good 15 minutes or so.
I have NO idea what's upsetting my little girl so much or why she suddenly seems afraid of Nala. I've never seen humping behavior in rabbits, so I don't know if maybe Nala was about to try something and Gaz knew it but I didn't? or maybe when they weren't feeling great that second day and I'd just put them back together, Nala nipped her once and she's afraid of it happening again (though I can't find any spots where it seems like she's been bitten)?
I'm really at a loss here. I'm not even sure what to do about trying to re-bond them, as the articles I've read discuss aggression as a potential response... but not fear. they were SO snuggly and cuddly from 7-8 weeks old right up until spay day and now I can't give them access to each other for even a few minutes without Gazzles wigging out and running around in fear . I have one bunny that's terrified of the other getting close to her and another bunny that's baffled because she still thinks they're bonded... WTF?
my neighbor is out of town right now but will be back sometime today - I'm going to ask her if she'll drive us around for a little bit tonight or tomorrow so I can sit in the back seat with the bunnies in hopes of jump-starting the re-bonding process.
the other reason I never started one is that I never felt I had much to put in one - they eat, poop, sleep, groom, play and look cute every day; hardly anything news-worthy, lol. that seems to be changing, though, as I've had a drama-filled week with the bunnies and I'm sensing a fair amount more to come .
this week's drama is spread out across a variety of threads:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=76236&forum_id=1 - announcement that it was spay-day
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=76266&forum_id=16 - started a new topic in the infirmary for some quick answers to post-op questions... initially, how to safely get them out of their carrier when my common sense took a break (forgot that since it's a NIC carrier, I could just cut the side open) and then I hi-jacked my own thread when I realized they weren't really eating and that Nala was licking her incision a ton.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=76342&forum_id=48 - Nala started her first molt and has lost like half her mane in the last three days, which significantly added to my confusion as to whether or not a fight had taken place.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=76324&forum_id=48 - my "did they or didn't they" ordeal trying to figure out if they were fighting or rough-housing
to continue where I left off in that last thread, I've changed my mind yet again as to what the heck is going on with those two.
I had them out to play a little while ago in a small area outside their temp cages and witnessed yet another altercation. it started with Nala approaching Gazzles from the rear (kinda looked like a butt-sniffing move) - no nipping or lunging, just stepped up to her/gently touched her rear. Gaz freaked out like she was under attack and took off running, making a little bit of noise in the process and even running face-first into the NIC wall of her (closed) temp cage. I grabbed her as quickly as I could and held her for a few minutes, petting her and talking softly to calm her down (and asking her what was wrong, as I was baffled). she seemed genuinely afraid of Nala for a moment there :S. Nala just sat there looking confused.
it was the first time I'd witnessed a run/chase event where I wasn't on the opposite side of the room. seeing it up-close showed me that I was wrong on BOTH previous guesses (explains why I could never seem to figure it out) - they're not fighting AND they're not playing. Gaz was definitely upset and Nala was definitely NOT being aggressive.
after I had Gazzles calmed down, I set her on the floor nose-to-nose with Nala while petting her softly and started petting Nala at the same time so that Nala would stay put and not try to approach Gaz. they both sat totally still, just looking at each other while I pet them. Gaz seemed perfectly calm at this time. wanting to end things on a good note, I pet them for a few minutes and then ushered Nala back into her cage and locked the door.
Gaz, who normally shies away from attempts at petting her, proceeded to let me lie down next to her and pet her for a good 15 minutes or so.
I have NO idea what's upsetting my little girl so much or why she suddenly seems afraid of Nala. I've never seen humping behavior in rabbits, so I don't know if maybe Nala was about to try something and Gaz knew it but I didn't? or maybe when they weren't feeling great that second day and I'd just put them back together, Nala nipped her once and she's afraid of it happening again (though I can't find any spots where it seems like she's been bitten)?
I'm really at a loss here. I'm not even sure what to do about trying to re-bond them, as the articles I've read discuss aggression as a potential response... but not fear. they were SO snuggly and cuddly from 7-8 weeks old right up until spay day and now I can't give them access to each other for even a few minutes without Gazzles wigging out and running around in fear . I have one bunny that's terrified of the other getting close to her and another bunny that's baffled because she still thinks they're bonded... WTF?
my neighbor is out of town right now but will be back sometime today - I'm going to ask her if she'll drive us around for a little bit tonight or tomorrow so I can sit in the back seat with the bunnies in hopes of jump-starting the re-bonding process.