Monday, June 1, 2009

Bonding Chronicles: Part Deux . . .

My new bunny has officially taken over my bedroom.

If you'll recall, originally, Sebastian had been living in a medium-sized cage, with plenty of room to hop in, but still rather confined and a little frustrating for him. I had massive guilt about this, but as long as Viola still wants to fight with him, in the cage he stays for both their protection.

Yesterday I had to stop at Petco to pick up more Timothy Hay, as Sebastian is like a little Hoover for bunny food , and I decided to look at the metal grating you usually see used for dog kennels and runs. Red Door uses them to do bunny introductions, and it is much more open than the cage. So, I found the tallest one they had and coughed up the extra money for it, then went home and set it up.

It's like he's moved to the Bunny Ritz-Carlton; this thing is bigger than my living space at the old apartment! He wasted no time exploring it and peeing on the fresh newspaper I put down; he is a very messy boy. I hope she can teach him some tidier litter habits, eventually. Maybe he can teach her to chew on the chew toys; he started using the toys I bought him righ away, whereas she disdains them in favor of an obliging table leg;)

As for the bonding process . . . well, not much new to report. She is possibly getting more used to his presence, but she's still not happy about it at all, very threatened and afraid. She charges at him and chases him, and while I always separate them and calm them down immediately, it does not seem to be getting better. I am not sending him back; we have all fallen in love with him now. I will just have to keep working at it until one day she accepts him. In the meantime, he lives in my room, and regularly decides that 4am is the time I should be getting up in the morning . . . .

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Not sure if you received the invite, but I am "Thumper's" former foster Mom (he hails from a family friend in WI), and I am hosting one of my regular rabbit playdates in coordination with my new website launch, and Red Door fundrasier. Please let me know if you have not yet received an invite as I will be happy to pass one along. If you happen to have a Facebook profile, even better as I have also created an invite for those on Red Door's profile. I hope to see the 3 of you there!

Ginger said...

I have not received an invite! My Facebook profile is under "Heather Breo", and I am friends with Red Door. I'm not sure if Viola and Sebastian (aka Thumper) are ready to go out anywhere; they're not really bonded yet. Still, send me the info, and I'll see how things go.
I just love Sebastian; he's messy, but he's such a love-bunny;)