Help litter training?

[Pat]

I have a new bunny whose only 2 months old and I’m looking to start litter training her. I want her to have a good amount of free roam but she will most likely end up living in a cage. I give her a good amount of time each day to run around the room I am in while I supervise her. Today as I was letting her run, she did a small pee on the carpet. I got her cage and coaxed her back into it but it took her a minute or two to wander in and I fear that it didn’t really get any message across that I didn’t approve of her behavior. 

Is it possible to litter train a rabbit when they aren’t going to have complete free roam of the house? I’m hoping to set up her cage in my bedroom (with ample space for her, of course) and allow her to run around when I am watching her but I worry that she’s going to get confused and not really understand where she should be doing her business when I’m allowing her to run around the room. Is there a way I can teach her that when she has to go, she should run back to her cage or is it too confusing/asking too much to get that specific with her when I’m allowing her out of the cage???

Thanks for any help

[jerseygirl]

Welcome !

Is it possible to litter train a rabbit when they aren’t going to have complete free roam of the house?

Definitely.

Rabbit can easily be “trained” and from early age too. I say “trained” as it’s really about setting their habitat up in a way that takes advantage of their natural habits.

Can you describe her current cage set up? ie. position and size of litter box, type of litter, if you use litter or bedding on cage floor also, or blankets/fleece, towels there etc. Does she have hay in the cage and where is it placed.

Some things that help a rabbit consistently use a litter box are:

-Give them a good size box. If they tend to use box as a bed, provide another to be used as the toilet.

– Place litter/bedding material in the litterbox only. Avoid using bedding products to line the whole cage. Otherwise a rabbit will more then likely use the whole cage as a litterbox.

-Put hay in the litterbox on in a rack over the litterbox. Rabbits will do most of their poop where they eat their hay. 

For her time out of the cage, I would definitely place a 2nd litterbox out in that area. More boxes will give her a chance of getting it right. Also, when a rabbit enters puberty, the litter habits can head south, but don’t be discouraged. Once hormones naturally settle, it can improve again. And spaying/neutering helps of course.

[Pat]

I literally just brought her in to stay the other day (my sister’s bunny had babies and I decided to keep one), so I don’t have an official cage setup for her inside yet at the moment. Some other members of my family are not keen on having the rabbit indoors at all, other than to run around for a certain amount of time, but I’m really pushing to set up a spot for her in my room where she will not intrude on my other family members very much. 

Ideally, I will set up her cage on the floor in my room and I will allow her to run around (I have a large bedroom that takes up about half of my upstairs, so plenty of room for her to roam and run about) when I’m up there to watch her and I was hoping to find some sort of pen or “fencing” that I can attach to her cage so she can move about somewhat freely instead of being stuck in her cage until I decide to let her out. The other option if my family isn’t willing to budge on having a rabbit indoors would be for me to set up her cage out in the garage (which is where my sister keeps her rabbit in a cage) and just take her inside to run around my room during her play/roam time, although I feel as if this will confuse her since her litter box (in this case her cage) wouldn’t be accessible to her when she is inside the house. I’m very new to having indoor rabbits (I’ve owned rabbits before but they were kept outside in a hutch) so I’m not sure how to set up her cage/litter box in a way that will be conducive to her actually using it and learning what it’s for. 

She has already pee’d on the carpet in my room twice (a very small amount of pee) and it was in the same spot both times, which I think is probably a good indicator that she’ll be receptive to the litter training I’m just unsure how to start it and set everything up properly. 

[sarahthegemini]

Don’t have much to add to what Jersey has said but I will say this:

Sending her back to her cage when she’s done something you don’t ‘aporove’ of isn’t an effective method of teaching her. Not to mention, she’s 2 months old. She’s a baby. She’s going to have accidents. You can’t punish her for that. That’s like punishing a baby for pooping it’s nappy lol.

[Pat]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 8/03/2017 1:48 PM

Don’t have much to add to what Jersey has said but I will say this:

Sending her back to her cage when she’s done something you don’t ‘aporove’ of isn’t an effective method of teaching her. Not to mention, she’s 2 months old. She’s a baby. She’s going to have accidents. You can’t punish her for that. That’s like punishing a baby for pooping it’s nappy lol.

What would your suggestion be than as to how to get across that she can’t go to the bathroom on the carpet?? That is what I have seen other members mention their response has been so I figured it was the best option for the moment.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Pat on 8/03/2017 2:38 PM

Posted By sarahthegemini on 8/03/2017 1:48 PM

Don’t have much to add to what Jersey has said but I will say this:

Sending her back to her cage when she’s done something you don’t ‘aporove’ of isn’t an effective method of teaching her. Not to mention, she’s 2 months old. She’s a baby. She’s going to have accidents. You can’t punish her for that. That’s like punishing a baby for pooping it’s nappy lol.

What would your suggestion be than as to how to get across that she can’t go to the bathroom on the carpet?? That is what I have seen other members mention their response has been so I figured it was the best option for the moment.

Soak up pee with a piece of kitchen roll and put it in the tray. Clean up carpet with white vinegar to remove scent. 

Putting her in a cage as punishment won’t work because she won’t make the connection, particularly as bunnies need to be made aware of their naughty behaviour instantly. But again, in this case you need to accept that she will have accidents. She’s as baby. You can’t expect her to do 100% of her pees in a box because she’s so young. Accidents are just that…..accidents.

[Pat]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 8/03/2017 2:46 PM

Posted By Pat on 8/03/2017 2:38 PM

Posted By sarahthegemini on 8/03/2017 1:48 PM

Don’t have much to add to what Jersey has said but I will say this:

Sending her back to her cage when she’s done something you don’t ‘aporove’ of isn’t an effective method of teaching her. Not to mention, she’s 2 months old. She’s a baby. She’s going to have accidents. You can’t punish her for that. That’s like punishing a baby for pooping it’s nappy lol.

What would your suggestion be than as to how to get across that she can’t go to the bathroom on the carpet?? That is what I have seen other members mention their response has been so I figured it was the best option for the moment.

Soak up pee with a piece of kitchen roll and put it in the tray. Clean up carpet with white vinegar to remove scent. 

Putting her in a cage as punishment won’t work because she won’t make the connection, particularly as bunnies need to be made aware of their naughty behaviour instantly. But again, in this case you need to accept that she will have accidents. She’s as baby. You can’t expect her to do 100% of her pees in a box because she’s so young. Accidents are just that…..accidents.

I’m not 100% sure the incidents were accidents. The first time it happened, she kind of checked the spot out to make sure it was to her liking but I wasn’t aware that’s what she was doing so I wasn’t able to prevent it from happening. I cleaned up the spot and then the next day I let her out to run again and, when she had to pee, I noticed that she was sniffing in that spot as if she was looking for it before she went again (again, I wasn’t aware she was about to pee, I’m very new to having house pets or pets in general so still learning what to look for) but I will try your suggestion and see how it works

Additionally, I’ve noticed that my bun doesn’t mind being held (although she is curious when I’m holding her and is always moving her head around and looking) but she doesn’t like actively being picked up if that makes sense and always runs away from me when she suspects that I’m trying to pick her up. Sadly, my rabbit is not going to be able to roam free as she pleases so I need to pick her up to get her out of her cage so she can run and I need to pick her up again to put her back in and of course, she never wants to go back in  is there something I can do to make this exchange more comfortable for her??? I will admit I’m not the best at picking the buns up still as I’m learning but I’m very gentle and I was taught to make sure her legs are secure. I know rabbits in general don’t LOVE being picked up, but since it will be a necessity for my bun and I, is there a way I can make her more comfortable/accustomed to it??

Thanks again

[Balli]

Just as Jersey said. If you don’t have one already, purchase a litterbox. I also adopted my bun at 8 weeks and here’s what I did:

 At first I used a small litterbox and exchanged it for a bigger size once she outgrew it. Whenever she goes outside of the box, I placed the droppings inside. I set the box in the corner of the cage, away from her bed, and next to food and hay. Whenever she is let out, the cage door remains open so she can go back in when she needs to do her business.

If she ends up living in the garage, bring the litterbox up with you when she’s let out. Hope you’re able to keep her in your room, it’s fun having a bunny roommate! As far as handling goes, walk slowly up to her and crouch down. If you have the time let her come to you. Give her some pets (this always distracts my bun) and then try to pick her up. This will become easier with time. Good luck!!

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