At a loss with the litterbox

[mcoral]

I have two Holland Lops, they are approximately 3 years old. They have never been 100% litter trained for the 1.5 years I have had them. I have tried several things.

I moved two and a half weeks ago, I have my bunnies in the pantry/storage area that is part of my kitchen (the door is always open, just a fence up), my plan is that once they master the storage area I can open them up into the rest of the kitchen along with the storage area. and then slowly give them more and more access until they are free-roaming. They have never been 100% though, they have been neutered for 4 months now which has helped. I wipe the floor with vinegar water which works pretty well, but is not super long term. I got them a better littler box about 1.5 weeks ago that they seem to like, I only put there hay in there (they ALWAYS pee in their hay anywhere I put it) so I try to make sure there is always plenty of hay in there for them and change the litterbox every day to every other day and then take a small amount of the wet pee soaked litter and mix it in with the new litter so that it smells like theirs and they are more inclined to use it. What else could I try? I am at a loss, I want them to be able to roam free   

[Asriel and Bombur]

I know in your last post they weren’t properly bonded and you were having issues with that. If they are still not properly bonded they’re still going to be marking their territory constantly, which is why they aren’t at 100%.

[Bunny House]

I agree with A&B. You got the neuter out of the way but they will still want to mark their territory if they aren’t properly bonded. You will need to go through prebonding for a month or so and then start bonding.

[sarahthegemini]

I just had a look at your previous thread regarding litter training and you were given very good advice from Dana about bonding the rabbits properly. Did you follow her advice and go through the bonding process? If not, their litter habits are unlikely to improve.

If you did bond them, how long have they been bonded now?

[mcoral]

After they were neutered, and about 2 weeks later, I would let them run around together on neutral territory and they were so happy to see each other. That was back in late May. Theyve been back together at all times for about 3 months now, they love to go to their litterbox together, sleep together, eat together, etc. They appear to be bonded to me. Do I need to separate them and re-introduce them? Or would that not be effective?
Do they do better when their litter box is always clean or kind of dirty?

[mcoral]

I am not sure how the notifications work on here, I didnt “reply” directly to you so thought I would to make sure you saw my previous comment/post

[Wick & Fable]

To throw in a note outside bonding (to which I have no experience), I will say, with a bit of sadness, that it’s possible one or both may never be 100% adherent, but you can do your best to achieve that day by day by being actively attentive and taking precautions (i.e. find tempting spots, distract them from it, block off areas, put pee pads certain places, be wary of how you arrange furniture).

I mention this because my lovely Wick has been cleaning an average 2 pees every day. 2 isn’t a lot, but every day is an absolute non-exaggerated frequency. There are days I can go without cleaning it up, but most days no. There’s pride in knowing Wick knows my preference and will go there most of the time, but when he’s head first in cecotropes eating and feels a pee, his wants trump mine, and that’s the dynamic.

I would not default immediately to giving up on 100% — I haven’t, but I would recommend continue to try and do what you can to see what works.

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.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Like Sarah said, Dana gave you really good advice on how to bond them, so I’m confused why you still put them back together. They need to be properly bonded or else honestly small things will end up affecting their bond later on. It really does seem like they’re still marking territory. You can’t just put bunnies back together and then call it quits cause they look good together. It really is a process.

[mcoral]

I understand that now. How do I go about correcting that? since they have been together for the past few months. 

[Asriel and Bombur]

It could be worth it to try from scratch because who really knows what goes on behind the scenes when the hooms are asleep! I’d go back to either finding neutral space and working into semi neutral territory or even try to cement with stress bonding in a car ride.

[mcoral]

That you so much for your insight! I will have to give it a whirl! What exactly is stress bonding? I’m assuming to let them go through stress together to bond them. They were in a car ride for an hour about 3 weeks ago, they cuddled the entire time.

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