Litter Training Baby Boys

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This topic has 7sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 8 months ago by jerseygirl.

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- 03/18/2009 at 2:35 PM
  Imma
  Participant
  3 posts
  Hi there, so I have two baby male rabbits. I custom built their huge cage, so they have plenty of room in there to run and play etc. They have their litter box complete with Yesterdays News litter, their food and water of course, some toys, a second small container which was originally meant for a bed, and a place for their hay. So they have everything they need in their little house at the moment. I say the smaller one was meant for a bed as I originally put a small blanket in there…….oh no. Bad idea. It was a stinky wet pee-soaked mess by morning, as was the second one that I replaced it with, so I figure that is best to wait till they are more used to the litter box idea. They spend every waking moment in that litter box. I know its normal per say, but they use it more as a bed than a litter box. Let me say firstly that I am not impatient at all, and if it takes them a year to learn to use the litter box, then so be it, I am just more asking about it so that I dont make mistakes than because I want it done quickly. The last thing I want to do is confuse the poor little guys! So, how do I entice them to use the litter box? Is there a trick to this that I dont know, or is it just a matter of time? They are using it, dont get me wrong, but I think more often they just go anywhere else in the cage. I clean this thoroughly every day and disinfect it with pet safe cage cleaner, which is meant to deter them from going there again. How long does it take on average for them to get the litter box thing? Will it take longer because there are two babies as apposed to one? At what age should they be neutered?
  
  Thanks in advance for the help!
- 03/18/2009 at 4:17 PM
  KatnipCrzy
  Participant
  2981 posts
  what is the bottom of the cage made out of? it is solid or grated?
  
  It is not uncommon for some bunnies to confuse other “boxes” with their litterbox. One of my bunnies I can not give her a cardboard box in her cage- as she uses it as a litterbox also. But my other 2 bunnies do not make that mistake. I figure it is an honest mistake- and I can see how she would misunderstand- especially since I got her from a situation that she never had a litterbox before I got her. But she and my other bunnies are fine with their fleece blankets (cheap fleece blankets or lengths of bulk fleece in their cage)- they do not pee on those unless something instigates it- a stage in the bonding process/new bunny in household, etc.
  
  Male bunnies can usually be neutered around 4-6 months, and usually both testicles need to have dropped from the abdomen and be accessible for surgery. Do you have a vet yet? It would be a good idea to call your bunny vet to find out when they will do the neuter- it depends on the vet and what they are comfortable with.
  
  Are you sure they are both boys? (bunnies are commonly mis-sexed, even by experts- including vets and breeders).
  
  Welcome to Binky Bunny and I look forward to hearing more about your bunnies. And we love pics too!
  
  Julie
- 03/18/2009 at 5:37 PM
  Imma
  Participant
  3 posts
  Hi Julie,
  Thanks for the quick response! That was awesome Well, the cage floor is solid, and I am almost positive they are both boys. The girl who I got them from breeds rabbits quite often and assured me that they were both male, and I checked myself when I got them home, and I am also pretty sure they are boys. I guess we will just have to wait and see what the vet says. I hope they are as I dont want any super young pregnancies!!! I am going to have to do some research and find myself a closer bunny vet. The vet that I use for my other pets dont take rabbits, and the only one that I know of is quite far from my home which is okay, but I would prefer something closer incase of emergency. I called around a few today, but no one around here seems to take them. I am sure I will find one, it will just take some time. I have been trying for the past few days to get some nice pics of the boys, but they always seem to move just when I click lol. Guess they are camera shy, ah well, soon enough I will have some to post! Thanks again, if there is any other advice on litter training you can give, by all means, I would love to hear it!
  Take care
- 03/18/2009 at 6:29 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22345 posts
  Have you had a look at the litter training advice from this site? It’s under the “Bunny Info” heading. Also the House Rabbit Society is a good resource for litter info plus you can source a recommended rabbit vet through their list. http://www.rabbit.org
  
  Cleaning the base out daily is a good start. My thoughts with cleaners are if they have a really strong fragrance, the rabbits may feel they need to mark the area with pee and poop to reclaim it.
  
  You can soak up pee on bit of paper towel and place that in the box. Sweep up poop and also put it in box. Clean floor as usual. Then hopefully they’ll associate pee&poop with the box as the smell is strongest there. Good luck!
- 03/18/2009 at 7:29 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Welcome here! Definitely check out that link Jersey gave you for rabbit vets in your area. Or you can email myself, Katnip, or any of the leaders listed at the top of the page for assistance in locating a rabbit savvy vet in your area.
  
  Keep at the littertraining, be very diligent to clean up any pee accidents and throw poops in the litterbox often. This is a good article from rabbit expert, Dana Krempels: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/training.html
  
  But don’t be surprised if they are off and on with their litterbox habits until after they are neutered and healed up. Are both of them missing the box or is it one is worse than the other?
  
  Oh, and just a word of caution… if your plan is to keep them bonded and living together, you will want to try and neuter sooner rather than later. Once the hormones kick in, they will have to be seprated, and it’s much harder to get them back together afterwards. We just had that happen to another member, her boys had to be split up, and then they were neutered and they want nothing to do with each other now.
- 03/19/2009 at 1:57 AM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  I got here too late-all the good advice is taken
  
  Welcome to Binkybunny!!!
- 03/19/2009 at 6:20 AM
  Imma
  Participant
  3 posts
  Hi everyone! Thank you for all the great advice! I can see that I chose the right forum to join
  
  Thanks for the idea on how to find a vet. It is funny, as I have read that site front to back over and over again and always skip over the vet link as I assumed that it would only show me US vets (I am in Canada) but no! It gave me a list of vets right on my doorstep! That is wonderful, I will definately be making some calls today!
  
  Good thought on the cleaners with a stronger scent, mine as I said is made for pets but it does have a strong lemony scent which might be an issue. I will try another cleaner.
  
  As for who is being naughty in the house, from what I have seen they are pretty much on par with each other.
  
  Also I will see which vet will neuter them sooner, as that was one of my concerns was if they started fighting, and I would be so upset if they did and wouldnt be friends
  
  Thanks again!!
- 03/19/2009 at 6:31 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22345 posts
  You can always take them in for a once over, get them officially sexed and also get a feel for the vet, ask questions about the op and so on. Plenty of Canadian members here that may help recommend a vet also. Kokanee&Kahlua, a forum leader is in Alberta, I’m sure she’d have plenty of resources to find a good vet.
  
  On the cleaner, you could try diluting it more, or rinse after applying it. Or just using vinegar and water, a very cheap and safe cleaner . I don’t know if the lemon scent would affect their behaviour or not – just a guess. Actually, one of the tips to deter buns from peeing in certain areas is to spray perfume there, but that’s for around the house, not within their own cage.
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