I don’t know what I’m doing!

[Mrs. Belton]

Hi! So I’m new to all of this, I’ve had bunnies before but they were outside and pretty much took care of themselves. I just recently bought a Holland Lop on Oct. 19th he was 7 weeks old. He’s my only pet aside from a fish, and I want him to be an indoor bunny because I’d like to have a relationship with him. So, I think he’s pretty spoiled. I’ve bought him a normal size cage, he has his litter box, water/food bowls, and toys. I let him out of the cage all the time and I lay on the floor so he can get used to me. He doesn’t pee anywhere else except for his littler box, and the majority of his poops are in the litter box and he leaves some around his cage, but outside of his cage he leaves some here and there but not a lot. How do I train him to only go in his litter box? When I lay on the floor he’ll come up to me and lick me and then start to nibble on me it doesn’t hurt much but I’d like to get him to stop. He’ll climb on me and lick my clothes for a long time, and also lay beside me with his legs stretched out behind him and let me pet him I rub his ears, cheek, and nose and rub his back, does this mean he likes me? Just a couple days ago his poops have gotten mushier, and I don’t know what it is. I also let him run around outside in my backyard so he can stretch his legs, I constantly clean his cage and change his food and water when needed, his litter box is full of timothy hay and I give him half of a carrot every once in a while. I just want to know if I’m doing things right? And is there anything I can do better to make him as happy as he can be?

Thank you in advance for your help

[DethronedbyQueenB]

You have come to a great place here!
BB has helped me tons and tons.

I’m still a noob but from what I understand…100% litterbox trained with zero poops outside is likely not going to happen.
On the backyard thing, I am assuming you are watching him every second of that, be careful!

There are 2 kinds of poops…look up rabbit cecotropes and see if that is what you are seeing.
Mushy could also be something is off in the diet- maybe too much carrot which is a starch. They shouldn’t be mushy regular poops.

Read lots and lots and lots….congratulations on your wonderful addition!!!

[JackRabbit]

First, set up a checkup appointment with a rabbit savvy vet (always a good idea with a new bunny). Let the vet know about the mushy poop so they can check for coccidia (not uncommon in young bunnies but does require vet treatment — if the poop turns watery this is an emergency!). Next, nix the carrot. Carrots are high in sugar and should only be given as an occasion treat in very limited quantities. Pellets or even hand-feeding hay (hay that is hand-fed is “special” hay!). Take a look at all the info on this site (through the menu button above) — there’s tons of info and links that are very helpful.

Welcome to bunny parenthood! And, don’t feel bad, most of us started out just like you and that’s how we found this site which is the best place for new and experienced bunny slaves to learn and share! (Oh, and we LOVE bunny pictures!)

[BellaRabbit]

Sounds like you are taking good care! I am also very new but if you read though the site you will learn a lot. I just went through everything even old stuff and you wont believe how much everyone helps with advise ect.

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