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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum BEHAVIOR Rabbit losing litter habits ?

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    • Riley101
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        Hi everyone! How are you buns?

         Is it possible for a rabbit to lose litter habits???? My rabbit is CONSTANTLY pooping outside of his litterbox! He is also peeing in his food dish more than once a day  , so alot of his pellets are being wasted . I also now have to clean the dishes about 5 times a day rather than just once. I was just wondering if anyone elses’ buns have done this/do this often. I have tried alot of things , such as putting him in the litter box when i see him going to the bathroom. Lastly he has been litter trained his whole life { hes a year old } but all of a sudden hes giving me a hard time about using his litterbox. Any suggestions? Thankyou!


      • Sam and Lady's Human
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          Is he neutered?
          Is his litterbox xtra large?
          Is his food dish near his litterbox?


        • Stickerbunny
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            If he’s not neutered, that will help. If he is neutered, sometimes loss in litter habits can be a sign of a UTI. Or something changed that can sometimes cause marking – like my buns when they bonded lost their litter habits. Did any scents maybe change in his area that might cause him to feel the need to mark his territory?


          • Riley101
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              He is not neuterd because his Vet told me not to do it because i might lose him during the surgary, and i didnt do it because i don’t want to risk losing him. His litter box is big enough for him to lay in if he wants, and hes a pretty big bun so yes it is big, and lastly the food dish is right outside of his litter box because if i have it away from the litterbox then he just poops more outside of the litterbox. Umm i dont think any scents have changed….but he has been rubbing his chin against ALOT of his toys , my bed , and on his cage bars. My dog has been coming near his cage alot { theyre buddys} so im not sure if this could make him mark territory.


            • Mandyyy
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                I know when the rats are out and if they go through Nava’s pen, the next day she leaves pills everywhere. :/ But she doesnt do it when the cat goes in her pen or the dogs go near it, because she’s friends with them.


              • Riley101
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                  okay , so my dog being near him probaly isnt the cause of it …..


                • Stickerbunny
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                    Chin rubbing is another way to mark “this is mine” – sounds like he’s just getting a surge of hormones (normal at his age).

                    Does he have a medical condition that makes your vet not want to neuter him? Or was it just a general warning of “don’t need to neuter males and all surgery has a risk”?


                  • Sam and Lady's Human
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                      Ok well first, I’d find a new vet, one for exotic pets.
                      Second, he’s probably peeing in his box, but over the side into his food dish. My flemmie does this alot, she has to have a HUGE litter box in order to keep the poops and pees in.
                      And since he’s not neutered, he’s going to be really hard to litter train, simply because he’ll mark every little spot that he thinks is his.


                    • Riley101
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                        His vet told me he has a medical condition so if i were to get him neuterd than he will mostlikley die….The vet is a exotic pets , and i have talked to sevral vets : they all told me the same thing. I dont remember what his medical condition is called but i remember that my vet told me he is gonna be fine as long as i keep feeding him right. I am going to move the food/water dishes away from the litter box, and keep pushing him to use his litter box { not litterally push him, just needed to clairify } When i orignally trained him i used treats….should i basicly re-train him?


                      • Stickerbunny
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                          Ah, yeah if it’s a medical condition no reason to risk it. But you will likely have litter box issues the rest of his life, at least until he gets much older, due to hormones and marking. And yes you should retrain him. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work totally though, he’s entering the stage of his life where his hormones are going to be raging, so he might mark a bit. And it can be anything that sets him off – the dog (even if friends) could lean against something that your rabbit thinks of as his alone and cause him to mark, or even you using a different scent (lotion, cologne, perfume, whatever, anything that smells different), you having rat smell on your hands, etc. My two, even with being altered, mark my boyfriends area (which I find funny, but him not so much) because his smell is strongest there even though they don’t do it to me.


                        • Riley101
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                            Okay, i will start re-training today! thank you everyone for your help!!!


                          • jerseygirl
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                              Another thing to consider is if you’re on a new bag of litter or food pellets, or using a new brand or type. Those changes (even if same brand but new batch) can cause a bit of upset. Even a fussy rabbit might refuse the litter box after a while when it gets old and harbours smells.
                              Rabbits do sometimes use pee and poop to communicate. Who knows what sometimes!!

                              So also look at any new changes. If you’ve moved the position of the box or something in his habitat, changed something in the room he is in, had people in there that normally aren’t there etc.

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                          Forum BEHAVIOR Rabbit losing litter habits ?