Calypso desecrated his diggy box!

[Lara]

 I just redid the buns’ room and transformed their condo into a much larger pen (something I’ve been wanting to do forever!). Anyway, they’re thrilled with the extra space and that they can fit more of their boxes and toys inside. Their favourite toy is their diggy box that I gave them a couple of months ago when we moved into the new place. They love it and play with it daily, however, since I moved it into their new pen, Calypso has used it as a litter box!! (I’m blaming Calypso because, even though I have no proof that it was him, I know my buns. Echo has always been a litter box superstar and Calypso is a little iffy sometimes.)

So to recap… months of diggy fun OUTSIDE the cage. Then… one day inside the cage and the poor diggy box was toast.

This makes me sad because the buns ADORE the diggy box and I would love for them to have more access to it when I’m not home, but I’m not about to mess up litter habits for it…

What do I do?!! Any suggestions would be helpful. In the meantime, I need to make a new diggy box which is forbidden from entering the new pen.

 

 

[Beka27]

Tough situation. If you DON’T want them using it as a litterbox, it probably shouldn’t be in the cage if that is a trigger for them. My buns have successfully used a plastic pet carrier with the door removed, stuffed with newspaper, as a diggy box and never peed or pooped in it once. Are you using a cardboard box that can’t be cleaned, or is the issue that you don’t want them pottying in it at all? Some rabbits will always potty in a diggy box, it’s just too much like a litterbox to them.

[RabbitPam]

I would try the new diggy box outside again. Make sure they don’t use it as a litter pan either. They probably won’t but it’s a different problem if they do.
That’s too bad, but at least they love the new space.

[jerseygirl]

Yes, maybe go back to what worked before in only allowing access the diggy box occasionally. I find my rabbits get the pee-pees up at certain times. So things can be “safe” from pee all day then late at night or early morning it’s suddenly a target. eg. the sofa.

[Ahvo]

Ponyo did the same sort of thing. He loved milling around in his fluffbox, but one day he just started peeing and pooping in it. : <
There wasn’t any visible trigger, as it hadn’t moved or anything.
So fluffbox had to be replaced by “Big, deep empty box that sometimes has sultanas in it”. Not as catchy, really.

[Lara]

So, the new diggy box is outside the cage again and has not been peed in as of yet. Yay! They really do love it, so it’s a shame they can’t have it in the cage. Oh, well. At least I still get to watch them bury themselves under piles of paper and then pop out in a binky… just about the cutest thing in the whole world! lol

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