Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Rabbits > Big Problems Bonding

Big Problems Bonding

22 10:07:44

Question
Dear Patricia, Please for the love that is good and holy help.  We have had a rabbit that we believe to be half rex have mini lop. We have had her for about 4 months.  Her name is Grace.  As you can assume, she is the ruler of the house.  But we just got a 9 week old mini lop, shes the size of a tea cup.  Her name is Lilo.  We cant get them anywhere close to each other without Grace trying to kill her.  We have put their cages side by side, but Grace just stalks the rabbit through the cage.  When we first got Lilo she was so happy to see us, she would let us hold her and play.  Now she wont let anything near her.  She sits in one corner of her cage and wont move.  And to make matters worse now Grace has become very hostile to me and my wife.  She literally just bit my wife hard enough to break the skin.  Please help us to try and solve this problem.

Answer
Hi Cody. I am sorry for not getting back to you sooner. My computer died a slow death and I had to replace it. Funds come slowly here and it took a few days longer than I had hoped. I am not the most informed person on bonding problems as each of my bunnies have their own cage to keep their fur, and body parts, in safe condition. However, you might try switching cages with the bunnies. Every other day for the next week trade pens between the two. That will give Grace the opportunity to smell Lilo's scent and get used to it. Another thing you might try is to move them to an area where Grace is not familiar with her surroundings. A garage, basement or attic maybe. Someplace Grace will be less likely to want to claim as her territory. If this works, do not move them back to soon. Let the bonding take time to complete, for when you do move them back, Grace will once again want to claim dominance. Hopefully ,she will be nicer about it though. Sadly , some rabbits never bond, so be prepared for this possibility. Also do be careful when interuppting their fights. As you have learned, they can bite. I had a doe bite my thumb clear to the bone, on the bottom, fleshy part no less. So a good pair of gloves is nessassary for these times. I wish you the best with this and will be thinking of you. Again, I am sorry for the delay. Pat