Difficulties with Litter Training

[BunnyForest]

I recently got a new rabbit, his name is a little up in the air right now but he’s been going by Cedar for a bit. I brought him home and have been attempting to bond him to my older girl who I have had for years, I thought she would benefit from the extra bunny companionship as lately she is only really active at around 2 AM when I’m asleep. She’s a rescue and has always been pretty reserved, I assume she wasn’t socialized very much when she was younger so I thought this might bring her out of her shell a bit.

I started him off with a 4.5 ft by 3.5 ft area because I was told he was already litter trained and that it would be a pretty simple adjustment. I have no idea if I’m doing something wrong or if he’s just slow. He pees everywhere. I halved the area. He is still peeing everywhere. 

I tried a big litter box, I tried a small litter box, I tried a medium litter box. I tried switching to the litter they used at the shelter. I tried keeping it really clean. I tried keeping it pretty dirty. I tried keeping it a little dirty. I tried less litter, I tried more litter, I tried more hay, less hay. 

Recently he was primarily peeing next to the litterbox. I thought maybe he was backing up too far and peeing over the edge of the litter box. I moved the x-pen to form a wall on three sides of the litter box and making the space he is in generally a bit smaller. He started peeing in the opposite corner of his space. 

The reason I’m posting is because now I have put another litter box in his space and his space is honestly mostly litter boxes now. I don’t know if this even counts as litter training anymore? I’m at my wit’s end, he is a very sweet boy and I want to help him learn this but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong? I’ve been told litter training rabbits takes only a few weeks usually, I don’t remember my older girl taking this long. And apparently at the rescue he was doing fine? 

I’m sorry if this post is too long, I’m really just looking for guidance at this point or some kind of reassurance that I just need to give it time and he’ll figure it out eventually. I don’t like keeping him in such a small space. My other rabbit is free roam so it really hurts my heart to see him so confined, I want him to have more space as soon as possible. 

[Wick & Fable]

The new environment can throw off litter training, but the fundamental point is the rabbit needs to learn the connection between what you deem a litter box and what he seems is a place to go to the bathroom. Some rabbits make the connection fast, others do not. This isn’t a bad thing; it makes sense that a rabbit would not readily adopt a man-made plastic object as a place to jump in and go to the bathroom. Currently it seems your rabbit is perceiving you just putting random boxes in his space. By physically moving him or getting him to move into the box each time an accident occurs, immediately before, or during, this will reinforce the association. I suggest backing down to one box and staying in the area with him. Each time he extends his butt to pee, during a pee, or right after a pee, make a hiss sound and bring him to the box to either finish the pee or just to sit there for a bit. You can hold him there for a second so he doesn’t jump right out since you want the location to sink in.

The hiss sound helps associate the act of peeing outside with being “bad”, since you can’t physically get to him immediately every time, but you can make the sound immediately.

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.

[BunnyForest]

Okay, thank you I will try that. I’m wary of taking one of the litter boxes out of the area, I’m going to just make the area bigger? but I will sit with him. He doesn’t really seem to listen when I make sounds to mean no unless I thump my foot on the ground so I will do that instead of hissing. Thank you for your help! I will report back on how well he is doing later.

[Author]

Messages