I don’t know what’s wrong with my rabbit

[Violet Shining]

Hello
Please help my I’m so frustrated.
I’ve bought a new rabbit a few days ago. It’s a holland loop one and it’s 4 months old. Its former vet said that it knows where to pee. He told me that I just need to put a special place for the rabbit and it would only pee in there. He also told me that the rabbit is male and it’s very friendly it just needs some times to recognize me as its human.
BUT not only the rabbit it’s not friendly and it just keeps running away and scratching my skin with his paws, it doesn’t even know where to pee. You know it was ok if he would pee or piss from time to time, but it’s peeing and pissing all the time!!! I don’t know what to do with it anymore. Im confused. How can a rabbit pee all the time?!! I haven’t seen such a thing in my life. My mom is telling me that I have to give it to another person because we can’t keep a rabbit like this, but it makes me sad. I want my bunny to be like the other ones. I know rabbits don’t like to be held or pet, I don’t hold it anyway, but I can’t even let it play in my room.
What can I do? Is there any solution or… Should I give up on it and give it to someone else?

[jerseygirl]

Hi Violet

Thanks for posting and being open to learning.

I’d say there is nothing wrong with your rabbit…You just happen to gotten one that is hormonal. A 3-4 month old male rabbit is in puberty. This can be a really challenging time, even for those that are experienced with rabbits.
They mark with pee and poop during this period.

At 6 months of age you can get a rabbit desexed (some rabbit-savvy vets will do at 4 month old).  This helps lessen these behaviours a lot. It also reduces the smell of the pee. If your family chooses not to desex, then it’s just a matter of waiting out this phase until he matures more.

How have you set up his habitat? This can impact a lot on successful use of the litterbox.

Some tips are:
Don’t use anything to line the cage/hutch/pen. Having bedding material on the base may cause the rabbit to view it as a litter box.
Only have litter/absorbant material in the litter box.
Place the box where the rabbit has shown to pee the most.
Give them a good size litter box with room to turn around in.
Hang a rack of hay above the litterbox or pop some in one end on top of the litter.

Be sure to check out the BUNNY INFO tab at top of page to learn more. 

[sarahthegemini]

You’ve had him for just a few days and because it’s not immediately litter trained, your mum wants to give him up? Wow :-/

He needs to settle in and he needs to be taught where to go to the toilet. He is an animal. Using a litter box is a human thing. You can’t just expect him to go to a new home and immediately know where he ‘should’ go.

I’m terms of him not being friendly…again, you’ve had him for a few days. He’s likely absolutely terrified – he’s been taken from his home into a new environment.

Can’t believe you’re asking if you should give him up. Ugh.

[Bladesmith]

The Two T’s of rabbits. Time and Treats.

Rabbits don’t operate on the same system as dogs and cats. They take TIME to adjust to their new home and person. Give him time to adjust to his new territory, and get to know you. Don’t expect him to fall lovingly into your arms. As far as he knows, you’re a huge giant who snatched him from where he knew, carried him off to someplace he doesn’t, and is probably going to eat him. Sit or lay down on the floor, bring a treat or two, and let him get curious and come to you. It will happen if you can resist the urge to get all grabby. When he comes to you, give treats, so he learns to associate you with good things, not bad.

As for litter training, rabbits are fastidious in their bathroom habits, and prefer to go in the same place, when they know the place. Find out where he’s been going the most and put the litter box there. Scoop up his pooples, and put them in the box. He’ll get the hint pretty quick. Also, since he’s a male, you’ll want to get him fixed ASAP. Otherwise, spraying. Keep a spray bottle of diluted white vinegar near to hand to clean up any pee spots and de scent them.
Check out the FAQ on this board, it’s a wealth of information.

[kurottabun]

I think the vet may be telling the truth when they said the rabbit was litter trained. When a bunny is moved to a new place, they are exposed to a different kind of scent and will lose their litter habits. But this can be reestablished pretty quickly. Limit the bunny’s space to a pen in the beginning and find out where he likes to pee the most, then put the litter box in that corner. Scoop up poops and throw it in the box when you see them. Use paper towels to soak up pee, then toss it into the box too. Use vinegar and water to clean the spot that was peed on so it gets rid of the smell.

Just a heads up, rabbits don’t just pee a lot but also poop a lot (I think it’s a few hundred poops a day on average). Fortunately the poop doesn’t smell though. Peeing can also be a sign of territory marking, so if you’re seeing just a small puddle of pee, that might be marking. Right now it’s still new territory but when the bunny gets used to being in your home, he’s less likely to mark.

Bunny is understandably scared since everything is new, so spend some time with him without trying to touch or pet him. Read a book or something in his area, and just allow him to come and sniff you on his own. It can take weeks to months for a bunny to warm up.

[RabbitPam]

Sarah, a new bunny owner has come to the right place to ask for help. I’m the one who can’t believe your attitude after all the advice and requests to be helpful and patient with new members. Watch your tone, please.
Jerseygirl is right that your bunny is fine. Training to use a litter box can be accomplished quickly. Follow the steps se laid out and the pee everywhere should stop. There’s also a bit of marking going on as the bunny wants to claim the house as their own.
If your bunny needs to be established with a new, local vet, you can always go for an initial exam to make sure all is well. You can even schedule an appointment for a neuter in 2-3 months.
When you go to pet your bunny, don’t spread your fingers and come down from above – it looks like a claw to him. Approach palm up, at nose level, and let bunny sniff you. Gently turn your hand to pet the top of his head only. He’ll get to know you.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By RabbitPam on 6/24/2018 6:36 AM
Sarah, a new bunny owner has come to the right place to ask for help. I’m the one who can’t believe your attitude after all the advice and requests to be helpful and patient with new members. Watch your tone, please.
Jerseygirl is right that your bunny is fine. Training to use a litter box can be accomplished quickly. Follow the steps se laid out and the pee everywhere should stop. There’s also a bit of marking going on as the bunny wants to claim the house as their own.
If your bunny needs to be established with a new, local vet, you can always go for an initial exam to make sure all is well. You can even schedule an appointment for a neuter in 2-3 months.
When you go to pet your bunny, don’t spread your fingers and come down from above – it looks like a claw to him. Approach palm up, at nose level, and let bunny sniff you. Gently turn your hand to pet the top of his head only. He’ll get to know you.

So, thinking about giving up a rabbit because he isn’t litter trained after a few days is okay but simply saying ‘i can’t believe you’re thinking of giving him up’ is wrong? No wonder so many people have left

[RabbitPam]

When someone gets a new pet, as hard as it is, that is the most common and appropriate time to consider if you’ve made a mistake. Second thoughts happen to nearly all new pet owners of any type of animal. We can make the lifestyle transition easier with good information and feedback about how great it will be if you hang in there.
Saying “I can’t…” Is not wrong. It’s an obvious, nasty, unnecessary remark that helps no one and drives people away. If asking members to curb the sniping drove members away, so be it.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By RabbitPam on 6/24/2018 7:05 AM
When someone gets a new pet, as hard as it is, that is the most common and appropriate time to consider if you’ve made a mistake. Second thoughts happen to nearly all new pet owners of any type of animal. We can make the lifestyle transition easier with good information and feedback about how great it will be if you hang in there.
Saying “I can’t…” Is not wrong. It’s an obvious, nasty, unnecessary remark that helps no one and drives people away. If asking members to curb the sniping drove members away, so be it.

I’ve already PM-ed you about this so there’s no need to continue on here.

[RabbitPam]

Violet, if you scroll to the top you will see the words Bunny Info. It’s a menu of really helpful starter information for having a bunny. One of the topics there is litter box training.
Here is a link to that info page: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/Default.aspx

[Violet Shining]

Posted By Violet Shining on 6/23/2018 3:13 AM
Hello
Please help my I’m so frustrated.
I’ve bought a new rabbit a few days ago. It’s a holland loop one and it’s 4 months old. Its former vet said that it knows where to pee. He told me that I just need to put a special place for the rabbit and it would only pee in there. He also told me that the rabbit is male and it’s very friendly it just needs some times to recognize me as its human.
BUT not only the rabbit it’s not friendly and it just keeps running away and scratching my skin with his paws, it doesn’t even know where to pee. You know it was ok if he would pee or piss from time to time, but it’s peeing and pissing all the time!!! I don’t know what to do with it anymore. Im confused. How can a rabbit pee all the time?!! I haven’t seen such a thing in my life. My mom is telling me that I have to give it to another person because we can’t keep a rabbit like this, but it makes me sad. I want my bunny to be like the other ones. I know rabbits don’t like to be hold or pet, I don’t hold it either anyway, but I can’t even let it play in my room.
What can I do? Is there any solution or… Should I give up on it and give it to someone else?

Thank you so much for the information but luckily I trained my bunny where to poop in 2 days!! I’m so happy. Now he’s playing in the house all the time and goes to his litter box to poop and eat. I wish I knew how to delete this post because it’s not correct anymore haha

[jerseygirl]

That’s great. It’s a big relief when they use their box. He must be settling in now.

It’s good your original post stays up as there will be others finding themselves in similar situation. They might read your thread here and see that things can change for the better.

[BB Administrator]

Locking this thread as it looks like main issue was resolved.  

I encourage you to continue to research and learn about rabbit behavior so you can create a bond: Here are some great links about bonding with your rabbit. 

https://rabbit.org/bonding-with-your-rabbit/

https://rabbit.org/faq-shy-rabbits/

https://rabbit.org/faq-aggression/

Based on what I know about your location due to your IP address/location, I would imagine you may have challenges finding a rabbit-savvy vet but it looks like you already may have one– so that’s good. But just in case – here is also a link that helps with finding rabbit-savvy vets. https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/ (you may have to dig a little deeper into the international listing), but they also have questions to ask vets which can be helpful in finding one that may not be on the list.  Also, if your vet is rabbit-savvy, it might be a good idea to encourage him/her to add to himself/herself to the HRS list, as some are definitely needed to be listed from your area. 

Helloworld!!

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