Have you had a chance to take him to a rabbit savvy vet yet? If not, that might be a good place to start. If his litter habits have changed in the last month, it could be something medical.

I think cutting back on his pellets to whatever is recommended by the House Rabbit Society would be good and might cut down on the poopy butt problem. Of course, the vet would be able to advise on this better than I can.

As for veggies, you might want to try romaine. That seems to be a consistent staple for the buns on this site. I know it sometimes takes a couple of exposures before one of my rabbits tries something new. You might need to leave some romaine out for a few days before he takes any.

You might also want to invest in an x-pen, which will allow him some more space to play but not give him access to your whole house while his litter habits are poor.

Also, if you’re limiting his pellets you could be strategic about when you put them out and use them to lure him back into his cage when he needs to be there.

I’m sure others will chime in with lots of good ideas for you. It’s great that you’re trying to give him a good, healthy home.

When a rabbit wants only pellets and not hay, you do have to practice tough love and really limit the pellets, which should force your rabbit to eat hay. But it’s possible that he has teeth or mouth problems.  Since this is an older rabbit, he should have his teeth checked.  If he has molar spurs or high spots on his teeth, that could be a reason for him not wanting to eat hay, and could also contribute to his messy bottom.  Dwarf rabbits are more likely to have teeth problems.  The vet could also check him out for any urinary problems.

If his teeth check out okay, make sure that you have a variety of hay, such as timothy, orchard grass, meadow hay, oat hay, botanical hay. Some varieties are more appealing than others and some brands are more appealing too. A lot of picky rabbits that aren’t good hay eaters will like American Pet Diner Timothy Gold hay. It’s a second cutting of hay and is soft and fragrant. It is sold here in the BB store and other places online such as Dr. Foster & Smith.

Here is the link to the good veggie and fruit list: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx. There is a lot of choice, but start out with one or two veggies like kale, romaine lettuce or cilantro. Those are some of the favorites of rabbits and are easily found in grocery stores.

When you first got him, did you let him have free range of the house straight away? It’s usually recommended that you confine them to a cage/pen for the first few weeks so that they can get used to you slowly. Maybe redo this – keep him in an xpen with his cage and things in it, sit next to the cage for a few hours a day. That might help him become less skittish

Has he been neutered? It can have a big effect on toilet behaviour, the stray poops and urine could be him marking his territory. Just from experience with my male adopted bun, neutering also made him slightly more affectionate – he started to come over for attention instead of staying on the other side of the room.

I have trouble catching my bun too! A few users on here suggested a great method, a variation on the ‘bunny burrito’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeRCMy9-voo
I found it really helpful. Because he’s completely wrapped up (including his head), he’s calmer and I can check his nails and teeth more easily.

For veggies, just keep trying. Leave things in his bowl overnight – when he starts getting peckish, he might give them a try and find he actually likes them! My boy especially likes spring greens, purple broccoli and basil.

Hope some of this helps! Good luck!

Yes, an x pen is a sort of fence. Here’s one example…

http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Black-E-Coat-Exercise-Pen/dp/B000H8YTJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385252430&sr=8-1&keywords=x+pen

I agree with Toby, teeth problems are definitely something to rule out first.

I gave my new bun too much space too quickly and he was not great with his litter box habits. I started over and slowly opened his space up and now he is almost 100% litter trained. He still does a stray poop here and there but most of the time those seems to be when he is excited about getting his pellets while he is running around my feet. I use the pellets to get him into his pen/cage. He has 2 different pens one for day and one for night. Since I have to get him into his space 2 times a day I cut his pellet intake in half (he gets 1/3 cup a day) so I feed him half in the morning and half at night. Actually it is a little less then half to account for the couple times I have to get him back into his pen during that day after a free roaming session. Usually I just rattle the cup which gets him all excited then he follows me to his pen and I throw his pellets in and he goes right for them. My bun is also not a very good hay eater. Since he was at the shelter I have no idea how or where he was kept. For all I know he may never have gotten hay and is just not used to it. Or maybe the kind he got was different so he does not like it as much He does love his veg though. I don’t give any treats besides the timothy based ones (occasionally 1 a day). He loves his pellets and veg so much I don’t really see the need for treats.

By the way the info in the resources tab above has been really helpful. I went through everything posted there. The videos (second link) were really great.

Glad the romaine was a hit! Just make sure not to give him too much of anything too quickly. It could upset his tummy.

Also, I believe the thinking on rabbit life spans has changed as more has been learned about rabbit diets and health care. Here’s a little video that talks more about this…

http://www.howcast.com/videos/514671-How-Long-Do-Rabbits-Live-Pet-Rabbits

So, with proper care, Emmit might be with you for quite awhile.

I’m glad that Emmit liked the romaine! Trying one new veggie a week is a good idea. You can find out what he really likes, and you are going slow which is a good idea since he is not used to veggies. After a while, you can make him some mixed salads with a variety of greens and some tiny pieces of carrot.

Years ago, the life span of a rabbit was normally listed as 6 or 7 years old. But now, it is listed as being 10 years old or more. As Dobby said, there are more rabbit savvy vets and much more is known about their proper diet and care, plus medicines are available to help with their various illnesses now. I had a rabbit who lived to be 12 years old. I have seen other members here speak of rabbits of that age or older.

Gee….. I was told that life expectancy was around 12 years????? Even heard of a rabbit living till 22 (my hubby was horrified, the thought of putting up with Henry for 22 years almost made him cry, ha ha hah!). Seriously, I hope it’s around the 12 years mark?

When I first adopted Gypsy she didn’t even want to eat her pellets (previous owner gave me a bag of ‘food’ which was a bag of treats). I was worried that she wouldn’t eat at all, but eventually she realized that treats are given sparingly and that hay and pellets are yummy! She is a glutton for fresh kale and baby carrots as treats.

Since Emmitt is running and jumping and seems generally excited about life, I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere soon

Most updated articles will say that an indoor house rabbit will average 10 – 15 years under good care so I think Emmit is in for the good life with you!

Also, based on my own and what I’ve read from other BB members, rabbits are pretty good with getting into a routine when it comes to getting their food

Just to share from my experience – as a baby on unlimited pellets and hay, my Simba didn’t eat a lot of hay. But now that I give him his pellets in the morning to last the hours I’m away at work, a salad of fresh veggies for dinner and a smaller portion “refill” of pellets before I go to bed (keeps him from making too much noise overnight), he’ll be very good with eating more hay during the hours before his evening serving of pellets. Being that Emmit is adult, limiting his pellets should bring up his hay intake (if teeth problems are ruled out of course). If he really won’t eat more hay, I’ve also found it effective to hide some treats in his hay box (I only give Oxbow baked veggie or timothy treats) to increase his interest in going into his hay box.

What worked really well for me in regards to added fresh veg, was buying the bag of mixed salads. The one he really seems to like is the mixed greens. Adds a variety and if there’s a specific green he doesn’t like you can tell buy what he’s eaten and what he’s left behind. He use to be picky but now he eats all of them.
I use the sound of the pellets bag to get him back into the cage. He’s actually learned the word “in” now.