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Forum BEHAVIOR My one year old STILL isn’t litter box trained! Keeping his cage clean is a smelly nightmare!

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    • The Last Outlaw
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        I let Gandalf out several times a day to run and play when I’m home and he’s gotten to the point where he won’t pee outside his cage, but he still poops, less than a completely non house broken bunny but consistently. I’d rather he didn’t, but I can deal with that, it’s easy enough to clean up. His cage however is a constant stressful ordeal! First of all, he has two litter boxes, and no idea what to do with them. He likes to sleep in one, but also poops in it which can’t be hygienic for him. His cage is a large dog kennel, big enough for a Great Dane, and he uses the entire thing as a litter box. It stinks to high heaven, smells up the entire house, has to constantly be cleaned, and it’s very difficult to clean.

        So for both Gandalf and I’s sakes, I need a better cage, something that is more suited for a bunny that is easier to keep clean (that I don’t have to crawl inside of) and I need to get him litter box trained. I’ve already tried all the usual solutions, so what do you suggest for a stubborn rabbit? And what type of cage would you recommend? (affordable but big enough to keep a 7 lb. bunny happy for days when I’ve got work or class all day)


      • The Last Outlaw
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          EDIT *** I just re read this and realized that “keep him happy for days” sounds like I leave him alone in his cage for days. I meant that sometimes I end up being gone from early morning to late at night, so it’s important he has a comfy cage for days like that. Just wanted to clear that up :p


        • Beka27
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            My recommendation would be a dog xpen. They have ones with walk through doors so you could just step inside to vacuum or sweep. You would need some type of flooring underneath, a remnant of linoleum would be easy to clean and water proof.


          • rayray
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              I have this same problem with my 2yo rabbit. He’ll pee (a lot!) in the litter box, but poop everywhere in the cage and a few times outside. I’m hoping once he’s neutered this will stop. I tried giving him bedding to lay on instead of the litter box, but he peed there. So I cleaned it out and switch to a simple towel and again he peed. So hard plastic is it! lol!


            • The Last Outlaw
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                Unfortunately I don’t have enough space for that right now. And I live in an apartment with white carpet, so I can’t risk it. I was thinking something more along the lines of a multi level condo, something on legs for easier access and so I won’t have that crusty buildup around the edges on the carpet from spillage.


              • RabbitPam
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                  Sometimes it’s as simple as finding the right litter, as in, the one they like best. I would go with the xpen suggestion, a floor without any bedding on it, and a very large litter pan. You can try pellet style litter, I love Aspen pellets, but things like Yesterday’s News or Feline Pine pellets are good too. Some bunnies prefer shavings, like Aspen shavings, or Care Fresh which is softer clumps of litter. Do NOT use Pine or cedar shavings, however. I had a bunny protest the litter pan until I switched, then never had a problem again.
                  Scoop up the poopies, and soak up the pee, and drop it with the paper towel into the litter pan so you really get his pee scent in there. Do that as soon as you see anything outside the litter pan.
                  You might try getting a little bunny bed (like in the BB store) or a soft piece of cotton fleece for him to lie on, but he may pee on it so that might not work, at least at first. Also, if you are feeding hay from a hanging trough, hang it directly over the litter pan, so he can munch and poop there. It’s OK for him to sleep in his litter, but it’s better for him to separate his sleeping spot and his litter spot.
                  Be sure to place the pan in a spot where he naturally goes to pee. He will pick a location in the xpen, then set it there. (Usually a protected corner.)
                  Praise him when he goes in the litter pan, and give a little reward at first, like a pellet or a raisin. Positive reinforcement works on bunnies.


                • The Last Outlaw
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                    I considered neutering him because he went through a stage where he was constantly spraying me and wreaking havoc, but now that he’s outgrown that I don’t want to put him through unnecessary surgery. I tried towels too but they got so grungy after a few days that I had to throw them out. Then I tried the hard plastic, but he likes to toss his food and water bowls around which resulted in a soggy mulch of poop, food, litter, etc. That dried like cement and had to be thoroughly scraped and scrubbed. Now we’re back to newspaper!


                  • Malp_15
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                      Truthfully, I don’t think you will have much luck with litter training if he’s not neutered. I have 2 boys and they were both disasters while intact. Tait was neutered at 6 months, so I got it before he got too out of control, but Nate I adopted as a 3 year old. Nate couldnt be neutered for over 6 months because of health problems and he was doing the exact same thing as Gandalf. It was like he just couldn’t care less about laying in his own filth and prefered to use the litterbox to sleep in (despite having bedding). Once I neutered him, and all his hormones calmed down, he immediately started using the litterbox, stopped peeing on his bed, and besides the occaisional poop he makes no mess. It’s something to think about…

                      I agree with Beka & RP in regards to xpens. I have one, and for flooring I use a piece of plywood with cheap peel & stick linoleum tiles on it, so it’s waterproof. It works great and I live in a tiny 1 bedroom basement suite and I really don’t find it takes up that much space.


                    • RabbitPam
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                        I didn’t realize he isn’t neutered. It definitely would help. It’s a much less risky procedure for males, and you can ask your vet how many they’ve performed. Most have done hundreds successfully if they are “exotics” vets. It’s good for his health, too.


                      • Monkeybun
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                          Neutering will drastically cut down on the stinky too. Unneutered male bunny urine is VERY smelly.


                        • KamOlaf
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                            Mmk, I just wanted to say that Gandalf is a freaking awesome name!!


                          • Stickerbunny
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                              Posted By The Last Outlaw on 11/13/2013 11:11 AM

                              I considered neutering him because he went through a stage where he was constantly spraying me and wreaking havoc, but now that he’s outgrown that I don’t want to put him through unnecessary surgery. I tried towels too but they got so grungy after a few days that I had to throw them out. Then I tried the hard plastic, but he likes to toss his food and water bowls around which resulted in a soggy mulch of poop, food, litter, etc. That dried like cement and had to be thoroughly scraped and scrubbed. Now we’re back to newspaper!

                              Newspaper where? Do you line the entire cage with newspaper? If so, that is certainly going to make him harder to litter train. Soft surface like litter? LITTER BOX! … it’s a pain in the neck to clean, but a surface that isn’t absorbent is needed in every area EXCEPT the litter box if you’re going to successfully train a bunny. To protect your carpet from the spillage, you can put one of those office chair carpet protector things (plastic mat with teeth) under his cage.

                               When I first got Stickers, she thought her litterbox was a bed because I had a soft litter (carefresh) in it and it was so soft and comfy to her she was like “oooh, bed!”  After I removed all bedding from the actual cage floor (the foster had her on pine shavings, ew) and left the litter JUST in the litterbox, she eventually figured it out. You kinda have to be vigilant though and scrub, scrub, scrub as accidents happen (not just once a day) with vinegar to keep the marking scent off the hard surface.

                               And yeah, neutering would cut down on the smell A LOT – unneutered bunny smell is pretty bad and kinda skunky. Would also make him less likely to mark.

                              Also, if you have any other pets, make sure they can’t access the cage to leave their scent on/around it for a bit. The fewer things he has to mark against, the better.

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                          Forum BEHAVIOR My one year old STILL isn’t litter box trained! Keeping his cage clean is a smelly nightmare!