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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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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    • sealyah
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        Hello all:

        Thank you so much for the concern you had about Prince’s neuter.  It went perfectly fine and he was bouncing around as normal the next day when I brought him home! At first he was a little distant and wanted to be alone and clean himself all the time.  Now it has been like 3 weeks and he is doing fine! He is even more loving than ever now, because it is like he never wants to leave my side! I am so thankful because i was mainly worried about that! He still circles my feet, but no humping! 

        I have a couple of questions/concerns (of course, lol) :

        -He has lost the few potty training skills that he had. Like i mentioned in previous posts, he had always gone in his cage.  I wanted to train him to pee in a specific area of his cage after I got him neutered.  He would go right next to where I set up the box for him to pee in.  Also now he likes to do his business in the corner of the dining room.  This isn’t really an ideal place because we eat there.  He goes all over in that corner even after I have tried to stop him. Any advice on potty training?

        -He still chews the walls a lot.  Although spraying perfume, where he likes to chew, has helped. I noticed he also likes wires a lot more now.  But I thought the bad behavior would be stopped after neutering?

        -He is now 6 months old.  I read in a book that I bought that after 6 months you should only give them hay, greens, and veggies, NO MORE PELLETS.  This is because the pellets are just hay smashed up, but the smashing allows some of the nutrients to disappear.  Is this something that a lot of people do/heard of doing?  He really loves those pellets! LOL I give them as treats now instead of food.

        I think that is it for now! Any advice or answers are welcomed! Thanks everyone!!! 


      • Elrohwen
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          What is his cage set up like? Is the bottom of the cage bare or is there some type of bedding? Bunnies usually don’t like to pee on hard surfaces that won’t absorb, so if there is anything absorbent remove that and see how he does. As far as peeing in the corner of the dining room, I would put a box there or otherwise block off the space and hope he forgets about it after he’s recovered and his hormones have settled. Make sure you clean it really well with vinegar+water solution so he can’t smell that he peed there.

          Bunnies like to chew and get into stuff, some more than others, and especially when they’re young like he is. Neutering often doesn’t do much for chewing, unfortunately.

          Most members here continue to feed pellets throughout a bunny’s life, but in limited quantities. Mine get only 1/8 cup a day each (2 tablespoons). There are nutrients in pellets that are hard to replicate without feeding a large variety of veggies, so most of us continue to feed them for that reason.


        • sealyah
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            Elrohwen, thanks for the advice! His cage is set up to where the waste will fall to the bottom.  There is a small rug in there but he doesn’t go on there, just near his litter box.  I will keep working with him and probably block off the area where he likes to go in the dining room.


          • Deleted User
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              Hey Sealyah! SO happy to hear that Prince has recovered well and is still showing you the ‘good’ love, lol!

              I feed Henry unlimited hay, 1/4 cup of Oxbow pellets and about 2 cups of mixed veggies every day. Why I like the pellets, if I can’t give him a particular veg I know the pellets will offer any nutrients he is missing out on. And also, Henry does enjoy his pellets – eats them up every day. The only thing I HAD to do…. when the bowl was empty, sometimes the hubby refilled it before the next day. I put a stop to that! 1/4 daily (maybe less?), and NO more! Naughty hubby! ha ha ha! So maybe that could be a good guide for you too?

              And the dining room? Silly me – I actually set Henry’s house up IN the dining room, at the end of the dining table. His litter gets cleaned daily, the longest every second day, and we eat next to his litter tray (great – now you think I’m gross! Lol!), but his litter tray is inside his carrier, so it is not seen, and by cleaning it, it is not smelly and it doesn’t bother us at all. But I do get what your saying, so that’s maybe one to work on, and if you can block off that spot, I reckon that will be a winner (till he chooses another annoying spot, ha ha hah!).

              And chewing things he’s not allowed too???? If you read Megabunny’s forum “I’ll blame BB” and read my post, you’ll get why I am the worst for offering any suggestions to you on that one, LOL! Henry has chewed stuff that I haven’t even told my hubby about – yet? ha ha ha…. Cheers Sealyah.


            • sealyah
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                AndHenry, thanks for the advice (and the laughs!) I started giving him a 1/8 cup of pellets because he is a dwarf bunny and that seems to be just enough for him.  He really loves those pellets! 

                Potty training is just going to take time and patience.  Anyone have any advice as to what buns prefer to pee on? I think that Prince does not like his litter box! Sound crazy I know but it’s true! For example, today I put him in the litter box with pellets in front and he literally jumped out of the litter box to pee and then went right on to eating his pellets.  I know that that is the corner he likes to do his business in, but he does not like to actually go in the litter box! HELP!


              • Deleted User
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                  Oh gosh Sealyah, I’m not the best when it comes to litter. Because I didn’t know any better when Henry first came home – I used newspaper and shredded paper. I acknowledge that is not the best, but because it worked for ‘us’ I stuck with it. There are so many amazing products available that I have heard of on BB, and just recently on Samuel’s forum ‘which litter do you use?’, maybe have a sticky at that, a lot of BBer’s threw their litter types into the mix, it was great!
                  Also Henry was excellent with his toileting even before being neutered, ‘except’ for the territorial spraying and pooing on MY bed. The neutering (thankfully) solved that problem, but it did take up to 2 months – some bunnies take less time and some longer. So Prince may just need a bit more time to get those horrid hormones completely out of his system to get it right? Sorry I couldn’t be of more help Sealyah, but like you said – with encouragement, patience and time I’m sure Prince will work it out and get there. Cheers.

                  PS – Oh! something I just remembered – we DID let Henry pick his litter SPOT! I originally had it set up in a ‘private’ cabinet (part of his house), and he chose to use the carrier which is set up at the other end. It was disappointing, cause we went to a lot of trouble to set the cabinet up (cut an opening in the side .etc.), but we didn’t argue. For him to use the carrier and keep his mess contained, we were happy with that. But not happy that Henry got it his way AGAIN! Lol……


                • tanlover14
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                    Glad to hear buns neuter went well!

                    The pellets are also incorporated with nutrients and vitamins that are not in hay! Although the main component is hay, it’s also so much more! I would advise only doing a pellet free diet under the supervision of a vet who can help you come up we an adequate diet to replace the essential nutrients and vitamins in pellets, pellet free buns need a much larger variety! I prefer the use of pellets myself as it’s much more efficient to make sure they are reaching the adequate amounts with their pellets!

                    The easiest litter training method is to let the bun pick their spot they wanna use. I use CareFresh. I’ve never tried anything else so I’m pretty useless in that department. My Tans were terrors to litter train and still have their accidents while my Lionheads are PERFECT!


                  • Bam
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                      I use wood-stove pellets as litter. Before that I had Yesterday’s News. I think the cost is roughly the same for me, but the wood-stove pellets are easier to come by. Both can be composted if you’ve a garden.


                    • sealyah
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                        I will check out that forum! Thanks AndHenry! 

                        Tanlover14 how am I supposed to lay down the CareFresh litter? I don’t really get it. Won’t that be messy?

                        Thanks again everyone!


                      • tanlover14
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                          If your bun really furry? I only had a problem with messy with my Lionheads. It gets stuck in their fur and so I spread a layer of hay on top. However, with my Tans (they have short fur) and it never clung to them all all and was never messy.


                        • sealyah
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                            He isn’t really furry.  He is a Netherland Dwarf.  I will try the Care Fresh litter and see if it works.  What should I put it in?  I think he would get confused if I put hay over it.  I don’t know though!


                          • Dobby
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                              You want to put the Carefresh in his litter box and no where else. You don’t want him to be confused by having it anywhere else. After your guy has an accident outside the litter, you can clean up the accident and put the paper towel you used in the litter. That will help send the message that he needs to use the litter.

                              I had some trouble getting one of my guys to use the little regularly and another thing that really helped was leaving treats in the litter. I would mix a treat into the hay that was there and he would hop in to find it. I tried to use favorite veggies or dried willow leaves so I didn’t have to worry about him getting too much sugar.

                              Also, it sounds like you may have a cage with a wire floor. I’m not sure if I was reading that correctly or not so I apologize if I’m wrong. If that is the case, you’ll need to be vigilant about checking his feet to make sure he is not getting and sore spots on them and you need to make sure he has a place to hang out that isn’t a wire floor. Rabbits don’t have padding on their feet so the wires can cause pain, sores and infections. Ideally, his house wouldn’t have a wire floor.


                            • LopNessMonster
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                                I hate to say it about the dining room but it’s probably going to be way way easier to put a litter box there than it will be to convince him to go elsewhere. Maybe try putting a litter box there and then when he gets good at it, move the box a few inches every day until you get it to a more ideal spot

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                            Forum BEHAVIOR Update with questions!