Bunny pooping in 4 places in his cage!

[cactuspancake]

I already have 3 litterboxes in his cage lol He was sleeping in the first one, he avoided the second one, success with the third one in the back center of the cage. Now he sleeps on his grass mat outside of his cage now that I trust him not to make a mess of things at night and now he poops in the one he was sleeping in as well as where his butt sits when he eats hay -.- I’m kind of confused at what to do. I think that I might just use the whole cage as a litterbox when I finish his giant condo. I want to cut out a side of it so he can use that as part of the condo as well. What do you guys make of this? 

[Beka27]

You have to remember, he’s a baby. Don’t expect 100% (or even 90% success) until after he’s neutered. I would just keep what you’re doing, always make sure he can reach hay while sitting in a litterbox.

[Deleted User]

wherever there is hay there is going to be bunny poop

[cactuspancake]

Yeah you’re right. He IS just a baby. When is he going to be a teenager? Adult?

[Otti]

Yeah, definitely make sure his hay is only where you want him to go potty, and also move all his poops whenever he produces them to where you want him to potty.

The multiple litter boxes might serve your purposes in terms of having to clean up after him less, but they might actually be counter-productive to his litter training, in the long run, in terms of him getting the right idea.

You should start reducing the litter boxes slowly and see how he reacts… Make sure you pick one that you decide is the one you want him to go in (the one he uses most reliably) and move all his droppings in its regularily. If he shows you that’s not his top choice litter box after all, then you’ll have to adjust to that and give preference to the one he ends up liking most.

After his neuter you might still have to re-train him anyways. I was lucky, my rabbit was 100% litter trained a week after I got him (2 months) and the good habits stuck post neuter. So maybe someone who had a harder time will also have better advice.

Good luck!

[aims]

i have 3 litterboxes as well, and my rabbits still manage to poo outside of the designated areas! i’m pretty sure the trouble maker is my un-neutered male and i’m hoping once he’s fixed he’ll get better. i didn’t realise rabbits will poo wherever there is hay, thanks for the tip! i’ll restrict the hay to the litterboxes from now on.

[bunnymum16]

that is true with bunnies pooping where there is hay.when i had a hayrack away from my buns litterbox,he started to forget his litterbox habits so i had to retrain him again and get rid of the hay rack.

[lashkay]

I had the same thing with Petie after I first got him. I had 3 litterboxes in 3 of the corners. I kept mopping up his accidents with paper towel and putting the soaked paper towel in the litterboxes until he seemed to choose one and pee in it himself. Then if he had any more accidents, I’d put the soaked paper towel in that litterbox and finally he caught on and used it exclusively as his toilet. I also put as many of his stray poops in his litterbox as I could manage to round up. When I set up his pen, I put his used litterbox in the corner and right away he went to it, urinating in it and leaving a large pile of poops. Now he sits and grooms himself in there while he poops to his little heart’s content. He has another litterbox with clean litter in it in the opposite corner that he only likes to sleep in. Although I put an old soft shirt of mine in there to give him padding and since then he doesn’t sleep in there from what I can tell. Okay, if he likes the hard surface, I’ll take the shirt out, okay with me. But he doesn’t use that one for his toilet, only the “established” one. Your’re doing all the right things. Keep up the good work. He’ll catch on…

[lashkay]

I had the same thing with Petie after I first got him. I had 3 litterboxes in 3 of the corners. I kept mopping up his accidents with paper towel and putting the soaked paper towel in the litterboxes until he seemed to choose one and pee in it himself. Then if he had any more accidents, I’d put the soaked paper towel in that litterbox and finally he caught on and used it exclusively as his toilet. I also put as many of his stray poops in his litterbox as I could manage to round up. When I set up his pen, I put his used litterbox in the corner and right away he went to it, urinating in it and leaving a large pile of poops. Now he sits and grooms himself in there while he poops to his little heart’s content. He has another litterbox with clean litter in it in the opposite corner that he only likes to sleep in. Although I put an old soft shirt of mine in there to give him padding and since then he doesn’t sleep in there from what I can tell. Okay, if he likes the hard surface, I’ll take the shirt out, okay with me. But he doesn’t use that one for his toilet, only the “established” one. Your’re doing all the right things. Keep up the good work. He’ll catch on…

[lashkay]

Also, while he’s still a baby, when I put fresh litter in his box I leave a little soiled litter on top of the fresh to make sure he continues to associate his box with his toilet place. Eventually, this probably won’t be necessary as it isn’t for Dustor. I wipe down his emptied litterbox with 1/2 vinegar/half water solution I keep in a spray bottle and then wipe it with a water-dampened paper towel to take away the vinegar smell, then put all fresh litter in there and he knows to use it. But I figure little baby Petie can use a reminder~ lol

[cactuspancake]

I’ll take away the middle one and see what happens haha! I was just tryig to follow all the stuff that said to keep putting a litter box down and adjust for the bunny. He was already avoiding them lol at least he poops in them! He decided to use my kitchen mat as a litter box today so I just removed it. First time he did that thank god lol.

[cactuspancake]

Just updating on my topic: I now have his bed in there and only one litterbox. He is peeing only in his litterbox now and only leaves little cocopuffs here and there in the rest of his cage now. He’s in his bunnyroom now so in place of his cage in my bedroom, I put a hideybox, an a big litterbox with greens, pellets, and hay in it. I also put a small area rug I. My roo
So he doesn’t slip. STRANGE enough, he has gone in that litterbox perfectly, and hasn’t left me a SINGLE present in my room! Used to leave poops all over! He hangs out in there all the time too… About 5 hours today. Good bunny!

I still have a problem though… He stopped pooping all over the house but he pees/ poops near the sink and trash, and also on 1/2 his room! I’ve been keeping him in his cage most of te time as much as I want to let him out! I’m trying to get him to master te litterbox in his cage. I let him out too much prolly… Prolly 6+ hours today… But he lets off massive turd explosions in that room rofl. I’m putting his turds in the box while they’re still warm, and also soak up his pee with a paper towel and put it in the box then clean with vinegar + febreeze and sometimes resolve if it’s bad lol. I nudge him away and say “no poops!” when he looks like he’s gonna pee. Do I need to keep him in his cage almost full time to fix this? I pretty much let him run around day 1 and he’s mostly good in the rest of the house. Oh also I put litterboxes In the peeing corners in the room and he uses them also.

Also his pee looks milky like clarified butter and seems the same consistency. Looks like solid white chalk when it dries… Is that normal? It’s on brown packaging paper from amazon.

[Ashley&Bing]

The pee is normal. I think its calcium deposits. I know I read about it though a while back and its normal. And it can also be red, which I thought was random lol, Something to do with what they eat…

If he has mastered one area, like your room, for the litterbox, then give him a little more space to master. When i was going through this, I had a hard time watching him be couped up in his cage while he was learning, so I moved on to an exercise pen so he has room to run a little bit. Maybe you should set one up in the room you already have designated for him. Mr. Bingley has 24 sq. ft. in the corner of my bedroom and once he mastered that area, I tried letting him out for a few hours, supervised of course, and watched how his potty habbits were then. But full house range should probably be scaled back to help him learn faster. Bing still doesn’t get everything in the litter box, but its much improved to the turd explosions!

[cactuspancake]

problem with supervision is I REALLY can’t tell when he’s going to the bathroom. He’s soooo fluffy that I see no hints. He can poop when he binkies too -.- So far the only way I can tell is if he goes somewhere he’s previously peed and then stops for longer than 3 seconds. Is it ok to just say no and nudge him to move along? That’s really the only prediction I can make.

[cactuspancake]

Also… it’s kind of weird but just the area next to his cage is where he still goes pee…. so leaving him in there for a bit just makes it worse lol it was like hiroshima in there after an hour. He does it while I’m right there or not…. I don’t feel like I’m much help.

[Ashley&Bing]

I forgot to factor in the fluffiness of your bunny… Hmmm… If there are no preliminary signs, it is very difficult to tell… Bing gets a real focused look on his face and I know exactly what he’s about to do. But I would still advise getting him to master a small area and then moving on to a slightly larger one. Also, make sure that when he pees to clean it up with vinegar so it gets rid of his scent. Just wiping it up won’t do much if he still notices his scent there.

[cactuspancake]

I’ve been doing the vinegar but I think Franz can still pick up the scent. I was even using pure vinegar. lol

[Monkeybun]

I would stop with the febreeze for one. I know my bunnies do not liek it, and I think it can cause soem respiratory issues if they breathe it in.

That said, he will likely not be fully litter trained until after he is neutered. You will want to keep his area small until then, so he doesn’t try to claim to much territory all the time.

[LoveChaCha]

How old is he?

When my bunny was a baby, I would let her have small amount of room out of her kennel, until I knew she was potty trained.

I can tell my bunny is peeing by her lifting her butt up a little bit, lol.

[cactuspancake]

He was born august 27th according to his bunny pedigree (I think) so I guess like 10 weeks? How do I know when he is going through bunny puberty? Are the testicles very obvious? He’s been sexed by the breeder so I know he’s male.

[cactuspancake]

Oh and I sent in a disapprove photo! Lol he absolutely hated Beethoven rofl he got so pissed off he was scowling at me with his ears flat!! Lol. I think the pic is too crappy though cause it was with my phone… I’ll post it later!

[Beka27]

Posted By cactuspancake on 10/29/2010 01:27 AM
He was born august 27th according to his bunny pedigree (I think) so I guess like 10 weeks? How do I know when he is going through bunny puberty? Are the testicles very obvious? He’s been sexed by the breeder so I know he’s male.

Testicles descend (and puberty hits) around 3-4 months… but on him you might not be able to see his bits. 

Have you found a rabbit vet yet?  Now is the time you want to get him in for a preliminary exam, ask any questions you might have, etc… and he’ll have a full check-up.  The vet will *officially* sex him (yes… even breeders can be wrong, we’ve seen it MANY times) and tell you when he will be ready for his neuter. 

If you don’t have a vet yet, I would call around and, in addition to the usual questions, ask if the vet has much experience with angora rabbits.  Not that they are different anatomically, but he/she may be able to provide additional guidance in terms of grooming, diet to prevent blockages, etc.  And at some point you may need a sani-shave, so you’ll want an office able to do this for you.

[cactuspancake]

Thanks for all the good advice! A sani-shave is a great idea; I hadn’t thought of it. I’m surprised his fur is pure white “down there” and he smells great allover. I’m wondering how he doesn’t already pee on himself! lol.

His appointment is on the second of November so two days. I found a rabbit specialist actually the best one in the region, is on my street! Vet open since 73′ and came up all over google when I was looking for a good rabbit vet. I don’t know if she specializes in angoras, but she just went on maternity leave! I had to go to the only other vet that had an opening, which is at the giant mspca hospital, angell medical center. Fortunately, they also have a 24 hour emergency room and they have a rabbit specialist also. I will be switching him to the one near my house as it will be less stressfull on bunny being a one minute drive and all.

Also my little baby had really soft poops but I ”made” him eat hay and he’s better now. His poops smell strangely of onions and garlic but he definitely hasn’t eaten either. I can hear his tummy grumbling pretty loudly also. He seems better now and his poops are better. He’s been super affectionate today following me around ALL day for pets. I’m still learning his personality though so I can’t tell either way if something’s wrong or he’s just affectionate. He started chattering his teeth today when I pet him haha it’s so adorable.

 

[Beka27]

I responded regarding the stools in your other thread.

But reading this post, I think puberty is coming on for him. The pungent droppings, following you around… I think he’s maturing.

[cactuspancake]

So he will have smelly poops when he is going through puberty? Does it go away when he gets neutered?

[Beka27]

Even neutered rabbits can have territorial droppings. It’s usually not a constant tho unless there is someone strange in the house (new bunny or other pet), new rugs, carpets just cleaned, etc… It won’t be all poops.

[Deleted User]

Neutering makes a tremendous difference in stench from your rabbit! I dread the intact rabbit scent, it is pungent and clingy but once neutered you will rarely notice it unless during unusual circumstances such as bonding or new territory etc

[Beka27]

Yes, unneutered male urine is stinky. Big time. Ick.

[jerseygirl]

Aw, Franz and I share the same birthday. That’s about all we share though as I’m not young, cute or fluffy.

Goodluck with his first vet visit!

[cactuspancake]

Aw birthday bunnies! Lol. Vet went ok I made a seperate post about it

[Deleted User]

LOL, Jerseygirl! I don’t think it’s desirable for a human to be fluffy… cute is subjective btw… and it is better to be mature and smart than young and stupid… so I’m sure you are perfect!

[jerseygirl]

haha Thanks…
Though being fluffy would have it’s advantages. Keep me warm in winter. Protect my skin all year round. My rabbits might even like me better. lol

[Author]

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