Multiple bunnies toilet habits (not-neutered)

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 2sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 11 months ago by Sirius&Luna.

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- 04/05/2018 at 9:40 PM
  Michelle Emilia
  Participant
  1 posts
  We just recently got 2 bunnies, both female, not neutered, not litter-trained, and we were told they’re around 9 weeks old, they’re bonded pretty well without any effort. Their names are “Snowball” and “Izzy”
  
  We purchased a litter box and I put it in the left hand corner because that’s where I saw most of the poop and urine. There were stains in the right corner as well, but I figured (and hoped) it was from the water bottle placed above that spot. However, a few days ago I removed the water bottle and switched to a bowl and still found wet bedding there.
  So today I did the big weekly disinfectant clean with a vinegar solution and placed the litter box in the right corner thinking I was incorrect the first time around. But I just went in there and found pee stains and droppings in the left corner.
  So my question is, is it possible that each bunny has chosen a corner of their own instead of sharing the same one? I mean, logically it makes sense if rabbits are as possessive as I’ve been reading but I’m not excited about it since I’m apparently going to have to build a custom litter box if that’s the case
  
  Any help would be appreciated. We’re technically first-time bunny owners. Yes, they were purchased during Easter week, but it’s actually something we’ve been researching and thinking about for a while. The timing with Easter was just happenstance. And I say technically because I owned rabbits when I was like 10, but I see now how my parents let me do everything wrong .
- 04/06/2018 at 2:24 AM
  kurottabun
  Participant
  908 posts
  Welcome to Binkybunny! A few points:
  
  1) Bunnies will never truly bond if they are not spayed or neutered. Snowball and Izzy are still babies at 9 weeks old, which is why they seem alright with each other for now. But hormones will kick in when they are sexually mature and they will begin to mark territories – that’s when the fighting occurs. In serious cases, they may even draw blood. Because of this it is essential to separate them until they are old enough to be spayed. One day they may just decide to fight and you may not be around to stop it. It can all go downhill really fast and you really don’t want that to happen.
  
  2) Once they are spayed, you can then start to begin bonding them properly. Remember that they will have forgotten how “nice” they were to each other when they were babies, so it will have to be a new process. You can check out the Bonding section of this forum for more tips and methods to bond bunnies.
  
  3) It’s a bit harder to litter train bunnies this young since their hormones have not stabilised, but it is not impossible. I only have one bunny so I’m not able to tell you on whether multiple bunnies usually go to the same spot to pee or poop – but I would think not because they are able to recognise their own scent. Meaning if Snowball smells her scent in the left corner and Izzy smells hers in the right corner, then they will go to their respective corners to pee and poop. We’ll wait for the others to reply on this one.
- 04/06/2018 at 5:06 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  Hi and welcome to binky bunny
  
  Kurotta is correct – while it seems like they bonded super easily, it’s actually just because they’re babies, and babies love everyone! As they mature and their hormones kick in, it’s very likely that they’ll start fighting. Rabbit fights can be very vicious, so it’s best to prevent that from happening. The best thing to do would be to separate them now, until you can get them spayed, then you can work on bonding them once they’re spayed adults. It’s much easier to bond bunnies that haven’t had a fight!
  
  As for litter training – it’s entirely possible that they’ve chosen a corner of their own, and it’s good to have a litter tray per bunny anyway
  
  It’s also easiest to litter train if you don’t have bedding in the rest of the hutch, just litter in the litter tray, and maybe something like a fleece in the rest.
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