So frustrating!

Do you think he could have any underlying medical issues? I ask because I had a young bun with terrible litter habits, and it turned out he was a very sick bunny. He had a ton of dental issues and ended up dying quite suddenly of unknown causes (I suspect something congenital or maybe bone cancer). Not trying to scare you, but I’m just wondering if he has any other symptoms of illness because pain can make rabbits lose all litter box habits.

What type of litter are you using in the box? As a rex his feet will be more sensitive to substrate, so if you’re using wood pellet litter it would be too hard on his feet, so if you’re using a pellet litter try something like carefresh instead. I would also suggest cleaning the litter box more often than twice a week. I do mine every other day, so 3.5 times a week. Additionally if you’re completely cleaning the box out when you change it, you might be better off just spot cleaning it, and adding a bit of fresh litter and only doing a full clean out and wipe down once every two weeks. It will help keep his scent in the litter box.

With his wee outside the box, if you’re not already soak it up with paper towel and put that paper towel in the litter box and then clean up the area of floor. Getting the wee smell etc into the box is an important part of making that association.

Is the litter box the only place you have hay? If you have hay in other locations take it away and just keep it in the box.

You mention a second rabbit — is this his bonded mate, or a separate single rabbit in the household? The presence of a second rabbit can absolutely facilitate territorial pooping and peeing.

A picture of his set-up would be helpful as well!

If you have a tray over the bedding, he might not really be wanting to pee there. I would try using just carefresh with no screen or tray on top. Something about the soft texture really encourages buns to pee on it! Adding lots of fluffy hay in the box helps too.

And yes, knowing the situation with the other rabbit would be helpful. Unbonded buns in the same space tend to have very poor litter habits!

Ok this is helpful! That screen (especially the white one in the gray box) looks like it could be painful on their feet. I would try using boxes with no screen for now, and just a layer of carefresh. Add a fluffy layer of hay directly on top. There is a bit of an art form to making a bun look enticing enough for the bun to jump in.

If you end up having issues with digging in the box, I would recommend using a screen that is softer on the feet and sits flush with the bedding, so there isn’t a gap. The ones sold in the BB store are great, or you can use knitting mesh. In either case, add a layer of hay on top of the screen.

I agree 100%, remove the screen, or at the very least put a healthy layer of hay or something over it. Rex rabbits have far less fur on their feet for padding and are much more prone to feet sore. I have litter trays with a sieve but they have much smaller holes so they are more of a flat surface with some holes in, rather than a grate, it means I can still use litter on top as well.

I agree too. That grate could very well be the culprit.

Unrelated, your habitat set-up is beautiful! Looks very easy to clean hehe.

Thats good to hear, keep us posted on how it goes. I feel your pain on the whole litter training. lol

I’m glad he is using the litterbox more now. It really does sound like it was a litterbox/litter issue.

I would put down large rugs. I understand you may not want that due to the pee/clean-up, but the traction will make movement easier and therefore doing things like jumping in the litterbox will then be much easier. Also, I’d try a bigger litterbox. Perhaps one that would fit that entire empty area to the left of that ziplock bag/container thing.

If you have a Ikea near you and money is tight i’d suggest getting Tiphede rug. Even if you have to cut it to fit at least its not a expensive rug

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tiphede-rug-flatwoven-natural-black-40456757/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_viWBhD8ARIsAH1mCd5vaRI2GOyio_s9v65A3Kt6mgVJWMvqjA6jz358IfDVBtHCd7paBAYaAn8PEALw_wcB

So, are you 100% sure he’s neutered? It’s also possible for there to be “incomplete neuters”, where just a few cells are left behind, and it’s enough to cause some hormonal marking. Just asking because the scattered pellets and pee all over look like hormonal behavior to me. But I’m glad to see it’s improved a bit!

I agree with the suggestion for a bigger, shallower sided litter box. It also might help to put down some washable pee-pads to make clean-up easier. I started using them with my senior who isn’t so great with his box habits these days and they help a lot.

For litter boxes, a good option for large sizes are those plastic bins that are meant to go under your bed. I’m currently using dish bussing trays because I had one bun that was chewing the plastic but the dish trays are super thick plastic he was less interested in chewing.

I would double check with your vet, could be they missed something. I know before Luna was spayed she was pooping every where when i let her out once i got home. Now i havent seen her do it once. I caught her peeing 1-2 times but still she’s been good with the whole pooping on the floor outside her playpen.