Pooping right beside the litter box

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This topic has 12sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 2 months ago by Moonlightbunny66.

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- 08/19/2020 at 6:36 PM
  Moonlightbunny66
  Participant
  694 posts
  Why is my bunny doing this? There’s poops lining in front of the box. He wasn’t pooping much outside the litter box before. He likes to go in corners more. Is it because I didn’t clean it today? I don’t think the box is that dirty. Or is it territorial? The other bun is in a pen right next to him (can’t see each other). Maybe I should get him a bigger litter box that covers that back wall? (Those sticks are from a toy he destroyed lol) I put the poops into the litter box too. I didn’t clean their x pens today either, they weren’t really dirty.
- 08/19/2020 at 6:38 PM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5813 posts
  Did you see him make these poops perchance? Some or all of them may be him actually being in the litterbox and his butt hanging off the edge (so not completely in it), and this they fall down.
  
  There may be an unwillingness to jump into the litter box as well, which can’t really be helped except making the lip lower, or putting the hay someplace where he can really only get it by being in the litterbox itself.
  
  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.
- 08/19/2020 at 6:53 PM
  Moonlightbunny66
  Participant
  694 posts
  @Wick Thanks! I didn’t see him do it. I think he might be missing the box too. I’ll try to watch and see what’s happening.
- 08/19/2020 at 10:07 PM
  Louiethebunny
  Participant
  604 posts
  Louie’s foster owner mentioned he would get poop and pee out of his box when we were in the process of adopting him, and when we went to pick him up we noticed how small it was. Some rabbits just need a bigger litter box, Louie and Lola both have large cat sized litter boxes and Louie’s litter habits are great, we’re working on Lola’s. Having high sides can also help, Louie’s has high sides and a lower entry point and it helps contain the mess.
- 08/20/2020 at 6:07 AM
  Moonlightbunny66
  Participant
  694 posts
  @Louiethebunny Thank you! I’ll look into getting bigger boxes!
- 08/20/2020 at 12:33 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  Also keep in mind they are new and newly neutered, so it might take a few weeks for the box habits to really get sorted out. 🙂
  
  Try to see if he is eating hay from his hay rack while not sitting in the box (it looks like he can access it from the side?). If so, that could be by he’s pooping there. If that’s the case, try to position it so he can only get to his hay while he is physically sitting 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.
- 08/20/2020 at 1:23 PM
  Moonlightbunny66
  Participant
  694 posts
  @DanaNM Thanks! Yes I see him do this sometimes. They still aren’t eating as much hay as they should be though. I’ve mixed Timothy hay and orchard grass and even sprinkled some dried dill and they still only eat a little bit. I put it in some cardboard tubes and they’ll eat it out of there but then they poop while they eat it. Should I try putting in more kinds of hay? Like oat hay or meadow hay? They also eat it from my hand so I don’t know.
- 08/20/2020 at 1:40 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  About how much are they eating now?
  
  If you break open a poop, it should look like it has chewed up pieces of hay in it. Just from that pic, his poops look healthy from far away.
  
  I’ve also noticed sometimes mine eat more if I feed smaller amounts of hay and then top it up more (so top up with small amounts twice a day, vs. stuffing the hay rack really full). They seem to like the “fresher” hay, even though it’s all from the same bag!
  
  . . . 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.
- 08/20/2020 at 2:06 PM
  Moonlightbunny66
  Participant
  694 posts
  @DanaNM I think Muffin’s poops (Muffins pen is in the photo) look like they have more hay. Which is weird because I see Pinky eating hay more often. I think they maybe eat a small handful or a little more a day. Maybe it’s just because I have a better view of Pinky right now since I have Muffin’s pen covered on one side, so they can’t see each other yet.
  
  I’ll try doing that. I’ll put some new hay at the bottom of the rack and see if they eat it then. Thank you!
- 09/02/2020 at 5:21 PM
  Danny
  Participant
  15 posts
  I had the same problem with my rabbit. Part of it was that she had decided that this one whole 3×3 foot area was her poop spot, which I solved by just closing off that area of the pen except for the box itself lol, and part of the problem was that she’s (understandably) really finicky about having a clean box. If there are more than two or three pellets on the top, she Will Not Use The Box. However, I found that if I put a little more litter on top of it then that was fine, which was nice because it saves me quite a bit of litter and also means I don’t have to clean the whole litterbox every other time she has to go.
  
  Has it been going better? I know I’m replying to this kinda late.
- 09/03/2020 at 8:45 AM
  Moonlightbunny66
  Participant
  694 posts
  @Danny Thanks! He’s still doing it but mostly on the corners now. I think it’s because his butt hangs off the side when he sits in it a certain way. He also stands halfway in sometimes. I wanna get him a bigger box when I can though, just haven’t been going out much because of covid. I can try the litter thing you mentioned with my other bunny because he decided a week or two ago to poop wherever he wants… Not sure why but I’m trying to change that!
- 09/03/2020 at 12:52 PM
  Louiethebunny
  Participant
  604 posts
  honestly, because you are going to bond them somewhat soon, I wouldn’t worry TOO much about litter training. Lola came to us with bad litter habits that got worse with cage swaps, so now that her and Louie are bonded I’ve really been pushing the litter training and she’s almost perfect!
- 09/03/2020 at 1:19 PM
  Moonlightbunny66
  Participant
  694 posts
  @Louiethebunny Oh wow!! Thanks for the tip. Muffin mostly gets it all in the box, or at least tries. Pinky was pooping more outside the box and sometimes peeing I think. But mostly in the box until I let them out for playtime separately and he smelled Muffin’s scent around the room. Or at least I think that’s why he poops so much outside the box now. His pen is such a pain to clean lol. Yeah, maybe it’ll get better once they’re bonded and they can share a territory. But for some reason neither of them have pooped outside of their pens yet during playtime. Weird bunny habits…
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