Hey! I am considering getting a second bunny. Right now, I have a neutered male holland lop (13 months) Pic above!
I haven’t made up my mind on whether now is the right time or not, but I wanted to ask y’all some questions:
1. Did getting a second bunny double the monthly costs you have for your bun? Or did it increase, just not to double the cost?
2. Are there any ways to tell whether or not your bunny will struggle with bonding to another, or is it a navigate-as-you-go situation?
by Rhetoricalmortician
10 Comments
1. In terms of everyday expenses (food, hay, enrichment) my costs only went up by a bit, since you can buy in bulk and after a bit of hunting around I was able to find some good deals. The only thing that really doubled was vet costs. If you get a second bun, I highly HIGHLY recommend getting insurance, along with putting aside some savings for vet bills (bunny insurance tends to be pretty stingy about what they cover and how much).
2. I definitely have heard people say that they have bunnies that are unbondable, but that’s pretty rare. I think most bunnies can be bonded, it’s all a matter of finding the right personality for your bun. A lot of rescues offer speed dating where an experienced volunteer will facilitate meetings between your rabbit and multiple other rabbits, which can be a great way to gage the feasibility of a bond. My boy is really annoying and also nippy, and that rubbed a lot of bunnies the wrong way. After multiple rescue visits and 6 tries, we finally found a bun that was chill enough that she wasn’t too bothered by his antics. In this case my bunny is not unbondable, we just had to find the right personality for him.
One other thing I would reflect on before you start a bonding process is whether or not you have the capacity for it. If there are any other stressors in your life right now, if you don’t have a close community who would be willing to comfort you when you’re feeling down (and I promise that will happen! It’s a really emotional process), or if you’re planning any kind of trip within the next several months, I would wait a bit to dive into the process. It’s emotional and time consuming and really really intense, so take time to really check in on yourself. It’s definitely worth it once you see how exponentially happier your bunny is, but your own self care and mental health are a priority!
For bonding: the rescue I was adopting from offered bonding services if you took a rabbit from them. Maybe ask if in your area such an option is available. It took so much stress away from the process.
When we got Foxwell they let us bring Willa in to the rescue to meet him, Foxwell loved her instantly and she was only her bratty self for a few minutes before she let him groom her. Think of yourself as a medieval parent trying to arrange a spouse for your child and you’ll be fine. I actually feel like my cost may have stayed the same because I stopped guilt buying Willa toys because I was worried she was lonely. I make all of their toys now (other than balls) and they are happy
Dats a burnt bun. In the oven a lil too long.
If you can afford vet costs for two buns I would go for it. I personally can’t afford it for two so I only have one bun even though it hurts me that my bun doesn’t have a partner in bnuyy form. Vet costs are really expensive where I live and I want to give my only bun the best care and food etc I possibly can.
Weird question, but where do you live? I am having a really difficult time bonding my bunnies, and I have considered the possibility of rehoming the new bun because the bonding process has caused them a lot of stress. Today they got into an absolute tornado of a fight, ripping clumps of fur out of each other and rolling around crazy. I have been trying really hard, but it seems like maybe these two buns just cannot connect. The new bunny is so so sweet. He enjoys pets and interaction with people even more than our resident bun. We haven’t been dead set on rehoming yet, but maybe if you live close enough, it may be better if you have had success in bonding bunnies.
https://preview.redd.it/70289z9zaold1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ced82fbc64c9cf2e2007270e4d4fe8232a434bde
Our expenses didn’t double, despite getting a second bun that’s twice as large as our original bunny. They share everything, so the litter has been the same and the hay has been slightly more. The pellets more than doubled because our girl is 9 lbs (our original boy bunny is 4 lbs) but she was the obvious choice for our boy. They are so, so in love. Like nothing I’ve ever seen. He’s the happiest we’ve ever seen him, and he follows his wife everywhere.
It was hard for us all to find a mate for our boy, Kiwi. We had a shelter push another boy bunny on our little guy. They met for maybe 10 minutes and the shelter insisted they were the perfect match. Given what happened when we brought him home, I suspect they were just trying to home this other boy bunny. We had them separated by a 4 ft fence, and the boy we got from the shelter to bond with Kiwi jumped that fence the first night and fought with Kiwi. Terrifying to wake up to fur and blood. Both bunnies were thankfully okay.
For this reason, I have doubts that male to male bonds are ever a good idea. We ended up waiting another 8 months to try again. We went on 5 bunny dates before finding our girl (white spotted lop in the picture). She was so obviously gentle enough for our very scared boy. My advice to you is to spend a good amount of time on each bunny date. The second go around, we spent about 30 minutes introducing Kiwi to each bunny. Sometimes about 20-25 minutes in, the female would lunge to bite and that would be it, no chance of bonding. It took us 3 weeks of daily work in neutral territory to get our two bunnies fully bonded, but it has been so worth it.
Good luck!
Your bunny seems to have melted
The best tip I’ve heard for bonding bunnies (all pets, really) is to plan on it not working out. If you don’t want two separate cages and two of everything, it might not be a good idea to get another bun. They most often do bond well, but it’s best to err on the side of caution with pets, always
Gorgeous looking bunny