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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.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR New bunny mum! Advice tips and guidance needed

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    • Scorpio Loz
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        Hi there, I love rabbits and have always wanted one… I got my wish granted last Saturday when my in laws gave me a 10 week old male English rabbit as an early Christmas present. He came with a large cage, water bottle, hay and food. I fell in love instantly. He is adorable! And I have named him domino (it took me a while to give him a name). Anyway, I have never cared for a rabbit before so it is all new to me and I really want to do my best by him. Instantly I went out and bought a rabbit house for him to sleep in, a litter box with litter pellets, toys, treats, bowls and brush. I also bought some nice wood shavings for bedding.

        He will be a house rabbit once he is litter trained. Each day since Saturday he has had at least 2 hours out on the floor of the living room under my watchful eye. On the first trip out he went for the wires which I have now blocked access with boxes. My main focus is litter training which doesn’t seem to be working yet. In the cage he poops everywhere BUT the box lol! I move the box to the place he poops the most… He poops where the box previously sat! In the living room he poops in one place which is on a particular cushion on the sofa! I moved the litter box there today and as soon as he was about to poop, I ushered him into the box and he went!!! Gave him a treat and lots of praise but hasn’t done it since :-/ today was first time ever..

        I’ve been reading a lot of tips online and one of the ones I will try in few days is take all bedding away except for his house area and leave his pee on the floor of the cage so he feels he will need to pee in the box because rabbits like being clean!? Is this right? 

        Domino is starting to trust me more and let’s me catch him to put him back in the cage. Basically today was a good day! Yesterday I chased him around the sofa for about 15 minutes because he wouldn’t let me catch him. Also he has water in a bowl now as it seems easier for him. I’ve found that he has a love for lettuce, carrots and swede. Hates peppers and cucumbers.

        Another issue I have is when he sits on me, he digs into me and then uses his teeth to readjust my clothing and sometimes nips me by accident. What is this behaviour? How do I stop it? 

        So main tips I need is litter training, preventing him from destroying my clothes and what his actions mean (digging, nudging, ear movements etc)


      • Lucky Star
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          Do you have his food near/in his litterbox? This has greatly helped litter train my buns. I got hanging bowls and hayracks so that all their food is near the litterbox, so they can sit in their litterbox while eating. Is he fixed? That will also help. Congrats, he looks like a cutie!


        • Scorpio Loz
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            I have put hay in his litter box to entice him but doesn’t work.
            He isn’t fixed but I am planning to. 10 weeks old is a little early isn’t it? X


          • Hazel
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              Welcome and congrats on your new bunny!

              Litter training may be a challenge since he’s not neutered. He might develop good litter box habits until he hits puberty though.

              Only put litter in his litter box, nowhere else in the cage, otherwise he will think the whole cage is one big litter box. Also, don’t leave the pee outside the box as you’ve read online, that will be confusing him too. If he has any accidents, clean it up and put the pee soaked paper towel in the box, so he knows where it’s supposed to go. Same with poop. As Lucky Star has said, they like to poo while they eat, so put all his hay and food with the litter box. How big is the litter box? If it’s too small he likely won’t use it.

              Don’t give him access to too much space right now. He needs to learn to go back to his box when he has to go, which will be easier if he’s in a smaller space. Once he’s got that down, you can slowly increase his access.

              What kind of cage do you have for him? What about the rabbit house you mentioned? Even the biggest pet store cage is too small for a rabbit, most people use x-pens or build a condo with NIC grids. Pictures of your set up would help. You said he will be a house rabbit once he’s litter trained, does that mean he’s outside right now?

              Are the wood shavings Aspen or Pine? Pine is harmful to their respiratory system, Aspen is okay. Shavings are generally quite dusty though, you would be better off using wood pellets. Much cheaper too.

              What kind of food are you feeding him?

              The biting is normal, young rabbits explore with their mouth.

              He can be neutered as soon as his bits drop, which will happen between 3-6 months of age.

              Sorry for all the questions. We’d love to see more pictures of him, too!

               


            • Scorpio Loz
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                Hi!

                I’ve no idea what the wood shavings are as I buy it from a farm shop in the country and they use it for stables sometimes. Informed me that it’s ok for small animals too. I didn’t want to buy the sawdust kind from pet shops.

                The cage is very rectangular. It is about 6x Domino’s size and he can stand up. I leave the top hatch open so he can peer through whilst I’m there. He is indoors but what I meant is once he’s litter trained he will become more of a house rabbit where his cage will only be used for sleeping and whilst I’m at work. His litter box is the biggest in the shop. It is a corner one but has a long bit too. Think it’s called a long john lol. In the summer, he will have a hutch in the garden and I will ease him into that but it’s too cold right now in England.

                I thought that rabbits DIDNT poop where they sleep, eat or drink? So I’ve put these other places in the remaining three corners in the hope he will use the last corner as a toilet.

                I don’t like the idea of not giving him too much space… Guide books say 4 hours exercise daily. So I let him roam to investigate, do binkies, play with toys and cuddle up to me. I do this at the same time each day. Luckily he only poops in same place so I don’t have to search for poop. But never wees on carpet.

                Regards to food… I was given Waggs dry food and was told that it’s not the best food but it’s what he was brought up on in the shop so I will buy better quality food when I am over halfway down the bag and wean him onto it so not to disrupt his diet. Every morning I give him a peeling of swede or carrot. I hide some under the wood in the cage so he can forage for it and when I come home, I use treats to bribe him to go toilet. He always has plenty of hay. I am still trying different fruit and veg to see what he does like/dislike.


              • Hazel
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                  Posted By Scorpio Loz on 12/06/2013 02:19 AM

                  I don’t like the idea of not giving him too much space… Guide books say 4 hours exercise daily. So I let him roam to investigate, do binkies, play with toys and cuddle up to me. I do this at the same time each day. Luckily he only poops in same place so I don’t have to search for poop. But never wees on carpet.

                  Don’t worry, he can still get his exercise in without having unlimited access. I’m not suggesting that you don’t let him out of his cage. A good starting point would be to keep him in the room his cage is in, or section off part of the room with an x-pen or baby gates. He will have plenty of room to run and won’t be overwhelmed with too much space. An x-pen would be a good idea anyway, since like I said before, those pet store cages are really too small. As you already have it (and I know they aren’t cheap), you could connect an x-pen to the cage and give him more space that way.

                  About the wood shavings, I would advise you to find out what exactly they are. They told you that it’s safe for small animals, but not all small critters have the same needs. If it’s pine it will be harmful to your bun. I wouldn’t trust any pet store employee to give me honest advice. The majority of what they sell you there is actually bad for rabbits, from treats to food to inadequate cages. Those people are there to get you to buy something, they aren’t interested in telling you that what they have for sale is not really what you want.

                  A very popular litter is wood stove pellets or horse stall pellets. With wood stove pellets you have to make sure they have no accelerant in them. You can get them at Home Depot and similar stores, they might be seasonal though. We get our horse stall pellets from Tractor Supply. You will pay $5-$7 for 40lbs, much cheaper than any litter you find at a pet store. Pine in pellet form is fine, just not the shavings.

                  The triangle litter boxes are usually too small, but I’ve never seen one like you described with a long part, so I’m not sure about that. Medium sized cat litter boxes are a good size, maybe yours is comparable to that.

                  And yes, they do poop while they eat! Little weirdos…


                • Deleted User
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                    Just wanted to through in – watch out with the access! The only rooms Henry wasn’t allowed access is my two kids (grown) bedrooms and the lounge. My house is open plan and plenty big enough for him to roam and exercise, but 9 months later (bugga!) he has made his way into the no no rooms. I now have large high sheets of thick cardboard and boards up to stop him from going in to those rooms – but now my son can’t get into his room either – DOH!!!! It’s ridiculous! (dam rabbit!).


                  • Lucky Star
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                      Oh, also, I have found that it helps if the litter box has high sides so that the bun has to jump into and out of the litter box. That way he knows when he is in the box and when he is not in the box. If you want a cheaper option than a cat litter box (some can be expensive), try getting a storage tub from somewhere like Walmart. I got one with high sides from there for $5, and it works much better than a kitty litter pan for my boys.

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                  Forum BEHAVIOR New bunny mum! Advice tips and guidance needed