Litter training a baby bunny

Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS. SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED. We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best.

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

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.

What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 7sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 5 months ago by Wick & Fable.

Viewing 7 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 06/09/2020 at 9:02 AM
  Bun-chan
  Participant
  29 posts
  We have a 2 month old baby bunny who pees outside her cage.
  
  We limited her space to just a little part of the house but she still likes to pee outside instead of going back in. We’ve tried putting her on her toilet every ten minutes but she would jump back out and pee on the floor. We’ve tried closing her within her cage for a longer time so she’d have to use the bathroom in there, but once we opened the door she’d come out and pee again.
  
  She seems to be peeing in random places too and when we’re not looking so it’s very hard to predict where and when she will pee. We’ve caught her mid-pee several times and immediately picked her up and put her in her litter box. We do try to put the soiled tissues in the litter box to let her know where the toilet is.
  
  We’d like to ask for any tips or advice on potty training such a young and excitable rabbit.
- 06/09/2020 at 10:09 AM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  For a bunny that young it might not be possible, just like baby humans! Things might improve as she gets older, then get worse again when she hits puberty, but once you get her spayed things should improve a lot for good.
  
  Are you treating her whole cage as a litter box? Some bunnies find that confusing, so potentially having a separate litter pan (maybe one outside the cage as well), will help. Carefresh litter is really great for litter training. Something about how fluffy it is really encourages buns to pee on it.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 06/09/2020 at 12:18 PM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5813 posts
  @DanaNM touched on everything I would have!
  
  I will also add that bringing her to the litter area every 10min may confuse her. Typically, you want to bring the rabbit there immediately after or right before an accident, so the association is made. Bringing her there without a pattern may make it a place of frustration for her.
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 06/09/2020 at 1:03 PM
  Louiethebunny
  Participant
  604 posts
  Sounds like you’re doing the best you can, and like the others stated, bunnies that young may have trouble learning how to use the litter box.
- 06/09/2020 at 7:28 PM
  Bun-chan
  Participant
  29 posts
  I used to put her hay on one end, and the litter box on the other end and she would be peeing and poking over the whole cage. Last night I put the hay over to the side of the litter box and the litter box was completely soaked with pee and poo this morning!
- 06/09/2020 at 7:32 PM
  Bun-chan
  Participant
  29 posts
  Thanks! That’s a good point. I’d like to try bringing her to the litter box before she has an accident, but besides from the tail lift I have no other cues. She pees so quickly too. Is there a way she would stand right before she pees that could tell me she’s about to go?
- 06/10/2020 at 5:49 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  Ah yes, some bunnies can ONLY have hay in the litter box, or they see anywhere with hay as the litter box. I have also seen set-ups where the food bowl and water dish are only accessible from inside the box which can help as well.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 06/10/2020 at 7:31 PM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5813 posts
  Unfortunately the tail is really the only signal. What I did with my wick is make a really loud hiss sound immediately when I saw it, that way the unpleasant sound is immediately associated with peeing and in my mind it made me feel like it let him know “what u did to cause that hiss sound is why I am now bringing you to the litter box”. Full disclsure: Wick habitually pees in certain areas outside his litterbox despite this, but he definitely learned that when I’m staring at him, he needs to pee in the box.
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
Author

Messages

Viewing 7 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.