How to re-litter train?

[LuckyBunny]

I went out of town for a month and left my rabbit in the care of my friend. Boy I will never do that again. Let me start off by saying we’re not kids, I’m 25 and she’s 30. I have an intact lion head male who is about 5 months old. He litter trained in only a few days with the occasional drop in the floor of his crate which I would put in his box to remind him that’s where that goes. My previous bunny Lucky was also very quick to learn this.

This is my problem: his box is a corner box since he’s male and it’s messy so it’s kinda small and I clean it every day, every other day at the latest. Because it gets bad. I told her she just needs to do it every day or her house will smell horrible. When I got him back the other day he was completely unhousetrained. He goes all over his dog crate now except his pee. I can only assume she didn’t clean his box for so long he just went wherever a clean area was and got unhousetrained. I’ve been doing like I was before (moving his droppings into the box for him) but it’s not working.
How do I fix this problem??? I’m just so upset about it. He was perfect before ?

[Deleted User]

It’s unfortunate that your friend couldn’t take better care to make sure he was still doing his business in the box! That being said, you could have an issue because he is intact. He will probably not do every poop in the box, he may be trying to mark his territory, especially if he hasn’t been at home in a month. Do the poops have a kind of “slimy” feel on the outside? I know that territorial poops have this coating on the outside and I deal with them a lot because I have two bunnies that are not bonded and I have a poop war on my hands. My boy was very good with the litter box, but in the past few days he’s kinda pooping all over my room lol. Can you get him neutered?

[Wick & Fable]

In addition to moving the poos, you’ll need to move him as well, back to the litter box so he remakes the connection.

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.

[LuckyBunny]

Omigosh Wick I feel like an idiot now lol. Duh ? I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.
And BunNoob no they aren’t slimy or anything just like regular poop. He’s only had a few outside of his crate and had made a bed of them in his crate so IDK what that’s about. Like maybe he thinks the whole crate is a litter box?
Do you think he’d be better with a box he can lay in? My Flemish had a cat box she could lay in and she never ever ever had a mess outside her cage.

[Deleted User]

I think a bigger box would also help! I started out with a smaller box but switched to a cat litter tray and I can tell it’s much more comfortable! My bunnies never lay in their box, but the other one was quite small and I felt like they were always “hunched over” in it.

[LuckyBunny]

He’s just a terror in the house all the time but I love him anyways. I haven’t wanted to get him neutered because around here they say they’ll fix a rabbit at 8 weeks as long as they fit in your hand. I think that sounds crazy. The other places charge 200$ and that place charges 60. I also don’t really like to fix animals unless I have to. I have a dog and he doesn’t hump anyone or roam/try to escape so I just left him alone

[joea64]

If you ever decide to get a friend for your bun and bond them, you really will need to get both of them neutered (or spayed, if the potential bondmate is a female). It’s up to you otherwise, though you should really think about putting down the money – I think I would base my decision on which vet is most experienced with rabbit care rather than so much on costs – for neutering both for behavioral and health reasons, but if he’s 5 months old, he’s undoubtedly going through bunny adolescence which means he’s going to be spraying and marking territory like anything.

[Deleted User]

Oh hell no!! 8 weeks?! That is insane! They are obviously inexperienced! Are you in the U.S? I have a local rabbit rescue that issues vouchers for a free neuter/spay with a $65 donation to the rescue. Not sure if you have something similar in your area, but it’s worth looking into! I think the B.U.N.S. (bunnies united for neuter and spay) program was started by a University of Florida vet, so that may be why the two participating vet offices have agreed to perform free surgeries with the voucher and donation to the rescue.

[LuckyBunny]

Joea64, he hasn’t been spraying anywhere I guess except his box. It’s a poo issue I’m having and not really on my floors but in his crate…all over! And I didn’t really want more rabbits after my Flemish but there was a hoarder and I helped her out and took two, gave the female to my friend and kept the male. So I’m not really in a great financial position right now to spend 200$ on a rabbit. I focus on buying him veggies and high quality hay and let him run around my house and eat the walls and whatever else he does to make me pull my hair out lol ?

BunNoob, where in Florida??? I live in Brevard county!

[Deleted User]

Oh, well you just may be a lucky bunny!! If you google search Gainesville rabbit rescue and click on the link to B.U.N.S voucher, you can email Patti and she can probably help you get a hold of one! They offer the voucher at 3 participating vets, 2 in Alachua county (where I live) and 1 vet in Port Orange, which is in Volusia county. So you might have to travel from Brevard to Volusia to go to their vet in Port Orange. I’m not sure how long that commute would be for you, but you should look into it! You’ll just have to pay the $65 to the rescue and when you pick up your bunny you just pay for the pain meds.

This is the info for the vet in Port Orange, you could call and ask how much the metacam is.

Ravenwood Veterinary Clinic
Dr. Alicia Emerson
4540 S. Clyde Morris Blvd
Port Orange, FL 32129
386-788-1550

[LuckyBunny]

Thank you so much! Volusia would be an hour I think

[Deleted User]

The drive would suck a little, but it’s not too bad! You may want to look into getting him neutered, it may help your relationship some to have him calmed down without all those hormones bouncing around in him!

[Author]

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