Hay and Litter spreading

[2miniLops]

Hi bunny lovers! We have two mini lops, both litter trained, one 3 years old one approx 8 months old (female). Both desexed and living happily as indoor free-range buns in lounge/kitchen.

Our female 8 month old took a while to litter train but had the hang of it nicely. She has had three episodes of ‘floppy bunny’ syndrome but has recovered very well and quickly each time thank goodness. We welcomed our new baby 11 weeks ago, and it seems since then our girl bun, Fluff, has not been as diligent with her poo, and had been leaving lots outside of the ‘igloo’ litter tray in the lounge (their other one is in their hutch). We then noticed she was pulling hay out of the igloo and eating it on the floor instead of in the igloo, which has now progressed to her getting into the igloo, digging all the hay out (fresh or day-old), which unfortunately means she’s digging out the poo and litter onto the lounge room carpet. It’s extremely messy, happens 2-3 times a day and is really starting to p*** me off as Im not as easily able to clean it up as my hands are usually full of baby.

Litter is breeders choice – same brand since we brought her home in Dec when she was approx 5 months old.

We had to screen them out of the bedroom about 5 weeks ago as we started using an oil heater for the baby overnight and didn’t want the buns to chew the electrical cables, whereas previously they were allowed into the bedroom during the day – also until I discovered that she had dug a hole in the carpet behind the bedside cabinet (again no issues seemingly til we brought the baby home).

She is very active and adventurous – gets up on top of the hutch, TV cabinet, bookcase etc – I’m not sure if she is protesting the new baby, the decrease in attention, or is just being a ‘teenager’, but if anyone can help Id really appreciate it. I can handle the chewing of books from the bookshelf etc but the litter spreading is really really frustrating. 

Thanks!

[ThorBunny]

It could be that she was bored and has suddenly discovered the litterbox is a great place to dig in! My rabbit did this too all of a sudden, about 4 months after we got her she realized that the litterbox was the most fun plaything (augh! poop everywhere!).

You can try, but I dont think you can train this behavior away once she has started. I highly recommend the litter screen set that is sold here on BB, or some other form of a litter screen. It’s really simple and effective, and it also makes cleanup much easier

https://store.binkybunny.com/litter-box-screen-kit-bb-k200nscreen-maker-on-vacation-until-june-3rd-p181.aspx

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