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FORUM BEHAVIOR litter training

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    • Cheyann
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        Minnie and Maddie will mostly pee in their litter pans but they will also pee on my carpet. They are both spayed and have 4 litter pans. They are free range in my room. How can I get the to pee in their litter pan all the time?


      • Ophelia
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           Do they have a cage you could confine them to while you litter train them, so they learn to go only in the litterbox? 

          That’s what I did with Ivy, and she’s never had a problem, she even always poops in her litterbox 
           
          Are you placing the litter pans where they like to go? 
          Or are they just peeing wherever, which makes it impossible to do that?
          Have you been training them for a while now? 


        • Elrohwen
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            Have you tried containing them to just a cage area until they are better with their habits? Sometimes bunnies need to be confined for a week or so until they can remember exactly where they’re supposed to go. If you let them continue free roaming, I think they’ll continue to pee because they’ve learned that the carpet is fair game.

            Also, before you let them out again, make sure you clean the carpet very very well with a vinegar and water solution – if they can smell pee anywhere, they’ll continue to mark. I would even think about renting a carpet steamer and doing a really good clean.

            Sometimes soft absorbent things are just too tempting to bunnies, but you can’t exactly get rid of your carpet, so I’d try confinement for a while plus deep cleaning and see if it helps.


          • Cheyann
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              They do have a cage but it in only 14 inches tall (c&c cage) so I dont want to lock them in it. I do have a pen that I could set up if i needed to. I did put the litter pans where they like to pee. They like to pee right outside of the litter pans.


            • RabbitPam
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                Be sure to use large litter pans – it’s possible that they are too confined and they miss, or they don’t like sharing a soiled spot with each other and are peeing over the side to avoid it. It also could be a protest against a type of litter they don’t particularly like. Bunnies tend to misbehave to try to tell you something, and when you fix it and they approve, they behave better. Maybe get a large litter pan and a small amount of a different brand/type of litter, and add it. See how they respond. If you use wood stove pellets, try something soft like carefresh. If you use soft, like that already, try Aspen pellets or a small bag of Feline Pine.


              • Cheyann
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                  I have tried kiln dried pine and hardwood stove pellets. Minnies just digs it up so there is not much litter in them. Could that be why they pee outside of the litter pans? The ones she digs up are the ones they like to pee outside of. What can I do to stop her from digging them up? They have other palces to dig.


                • Elrohwen
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                    You can buy screens for the litter box (BB sells some) that will keep her from digging the litter out. If she’s only peeing outside of the ones she’s digging at, then that might be the connection.


                  • Cheyann
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                      I ordered some litter pan screens. Hopefully that will solve the problem.


                    • jerseygirl
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                        Hopefully the screens help solve the problem. Have you tried taking out the ones they llike to dig? Also, if those boxes are older, sometimes they can harbour the pee smell. So somebunny might be telling you this is not acceptable.


                      • Cheyann
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                          I have tried to take away some of their litter pans but they just pee where the litter pan was. I will try washing them out. They are not very old but I dont wash them very well each time I clean them. I just rinse them out. I will wash them with vinegar.


                        • Cheyann
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                            I got the litter pan screens and its nice not to have litter everywhere but they are still peeing on my carpet. Do I just need to put them in a pen for now?


                          • Beka27
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                              Can you put them in a pen with a solid floor, linoleum or tile? It’s possible that they don’t distinguish the carpet being different from litter.


                            • Cheyann
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                                No. I dont have any and I cant afford to get any.

                                 

                                I do have the floor to their c&c cage. Its coroplast wrapped in fleece and they dont pee on that. Its big enough and I could take it out of the c&c cage put a playpen around it. Would that work?


                              • Beka27
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                                  That should work. Just something that can be wiped down and disinfected should they pee on it.


                                • Cheyann
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                                    How small does the pen need to be? Just as big as the coroplast? The coro is about 30in by 60 inches. How long would I need to leave them in the pen?


                                  • Beka27
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                                      So that’s about 2.5 by 5 feet? That’s small for two rabbits, even short-term. Can you set a pen up in the kitchen or somewhere with solid flooring?


                                    • Cheyann
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                                        I can make it bigger but it would be partly on carpet. I can probably find some cardboard and cover up the carpet. I cannot bring them downstairs because I have a dog that would love to eat them.

                                        I could also put their litter pans on the carpet. Or just something top cover it up. How big should I make the pen?


                                      • Beka27
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                                          Yeah, maybe put down some cardboard. That should work. I wouldn’t go any smaller than 4×4 feet. Keep them confined for a couple weeks with limited supervised time out. You need to pretty much start over with the littertraining.


                                        • Cheyann
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                                            Would it be ok if I made it bigger? I hate confining them so I want to make it bigger but I dont want to make it so big that this doesnt work.


                                          • Cheyann
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                                              Would it be ok if I have their box house in the pen? They dont pee in it and I would make the open space at least 4×4 so it wouldnt take up floor space.


                                            • Cheyann
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                                                I tried to set up a pen but there is no good place to put it. Is putting them in a pen the only way to litter train them?


                                              • Cheyann
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                                                  I put litter pans where they like to pee and so far they have been using them. I guess they need 6 litter pans. Whatever works. Hopefully they will continue to use them.


                                                • jerseygirl
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                                                    The box house should be ok to add. Provided it doesn’t cause any fighting. Sometimes when rabbits are confined more than the norm they can have little tiffs over items or space.

                                                    You could use their c&c cage to confine them if a pen is not an option.

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                                                FORUM BEHAVIOR litter training