House Rabbit Community and Store
What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.
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.
- This topic has 1sd reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
-
So as I mentioned, I’m trying to litter train my rabbits. I’m starting with the oldest bunny first (he’s about 14 months old) and he’s a bit of a handful
Today was our first day with litter training, and he’s going box in the box and out of the box. I had some fleece blankets down, but after I read that some bunnies like to go to the bathroom on soft areas, I took them out to see if that would make him want to go more in his box. I’ve noticed that he seems to be peeing more in the box now that the blankets are out–there was only one pee accident outside of the box as opposed to the two or more I’ve encountered throughout the day today–though he’s still pooping everywhere.
When you guys clean up the poop, do you let your bunnies see you do it? And what do you do with it? I’ve just been moving it into his littler box so he knows that’s where I want him to go. I let him watch me do it, and he makes these happy little noises? He’s a very vocal–for a bunny at least, I’ve noticed–and I can’t tell if they’re a ‘you’re in my territory and you’re about to get bit’ (though, whenever I’ve been in his cage today, he’s done binkies and has zipped around his cage, so I think he was more or less HAPPY to see me? I don’t think a bunny who was annoyed by you being in their territory and cleaning up after them would binky o.O) or if they’re a ‘i’m so happy you’re here mom let’s play’ kind of noise.
He’s not neutered yet, which I know means he can be very territorial, which is my next question: could he being doing the business in/out of the box to “christen” the cage? It’s a new xl dog crate so maybe he’s just marking his territory and it’ll soon stop?
I’m kind of perplexed. I’ve been doing everything I was told to do, and while I know it’s not going to happen overnight, I feel like he’s just playing a bunny joke on me
And my back is killing me from constantly cleaning up his messes haha Thank you for any/all help
p.s. I’ll probably end up using this thread to document by litter training experiences with each bunny, so just a warning :3
-
Hi! I like your description of his noises. I would say that yes, he is marking his territory, but he is also pleased to have you tending to him and his space. You do want to continue to toss his poos back into his litter pan. That is exactly what will tell him that they belong in there, not outside, and he will learn that. You can even praise him every time you see him going in the litter pan so he is sure he’s doing it right.
Don’t wait to litter train the others. It’s actually easier for both you and the bunnies to catch them as young as possible and establish good litter habits. Do the same thing with the others, and while it hurts to stoop so often, definitely keep everyone’s poos in the litter and if you need to wipe some stray pee, use a paper towel and leave a bit of wet pee towel in the litter pan as well so they can learn that pee happens in there, too.
You can make separate posts if you’d like. We have loads of room on the site, and if you discuss each bunny separately, and post PICTURES, we are very happy to help.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.