I need to start again..

[kimberleyanddarren]

OK i really need to start again with hopscotchs litterbox training.
I am getting overly annoyed lately because well i wont bore you with it but basically i am going to have nowhere to live soon and i cant find an apartment and money stress and all this crap and then i am really trying with hopscotch and i just dont know what im doing wrong?!

The only litter i can get here.. stupid england.. is one variety of litter, i can order yesturdays news off the web but the postage is twice the cost of the item and at the minute i just cant afford it, anyway he doesnt like it, he wont even sit in the litter tray with this in it i dont know why so i am now using newspaper a thin layering of sawdust and straw with hay in the croner for him to chew on while sitting there and his food bowl next to the hay.

He will happily sit in there to eat but he just isnt weeing in there, not even an attempt to.. if he happens to want a wee whilst sitting there he will go but otherwise he wont bother, he has no specific corner to go in and he just goes wherever he is standing!
I am training to be a teacher so patients is probably my strongest point but even i am getting to the end of my teather, i have tried putting abit of mint in there and everything and i have watched him to see when he wees and when i direct him to his box he just pees by it not in it.

I am out of ideas and i really really need help, i have changed my bed sheets three times in the last 2 days because he is weeing on them, and i have had to take the covers off my sofa and wash them twice this week aswell, i am not cross or fustrated with hopscotch as i know its my fault that i cant teach him properly so its not like i am considering giving up on him – far from it i just am fed up of washing piss stains off everything! HELP?!

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[Beka27]

1, 2, 3… breathe.

i know you are frustrated.  i’m sorry it’s not going easier for you.  some folks have no problems with the baby bunnies, others seem to run into a roadblock at every turn.  when is he getting neutered?  you may need to just deal until that time.  i would suggest you do it ASAP.  i understand money is tight, it always is… but it needs to be done as soon as the vet says okay.  you’re going to need to make that top priority, and hopefully afterwards you can start again with the littertraining and get better results.

go back to the cage with a litterbox and strictly supervised running space in a small area (xpen or sectioned off part of the room).  you may need to continue to restrict the running space until after the neuter.  keep him out of your room, off the furniture… any place that triggers marking.

[KatnipCrzy]

Cotton is only allowed on the couch with us if I have a wee wee pad (washable kind) on the couch.  She is not old enough to be spayed yet- and I am hoping she gets more trustworthy after the spay- but until then she is either in her enclosure- that has plastic flooring and rugs (which she does not pee on as she seems to recognize this is HER stuff- the bathroom with linoleum floor, or the couch- but only with a pee pee pad underneath her is she is not on my lap.

You could always try a towel over plastic on the couch if you want him out to cuddle.

[kimberleyanddarren]

thanks beka, his neuter isnt for another month he was born december 17th and he has to wait until he is 4months old so about another month or so now, i have been putting money aside for his neuter since i had decided to get one so the money there isnt a problem, but paying 20 quid for a bag of litter that is usually only like 4/5 quid i cant afford really, i had considered just waiting till his neuter but then i thought well at least if he is litterbox trained now he will have some kind of idea and may get back into it quicker

[MarkBun]

It might seem cruel keeping them in an X-pen, and the sad looks you’ll get won’t help much either, but it is best for them.

This is coming from someone who has a bathroom just a little bit bigger than an X-pen and had to crawl over it and back while dodging two scurryin’ bunny bodies in order to take a shower.

[RabbitPam]

I just googled “rabbit litter UK” and this site came up. They seem to have a large selection of litters at what appears to be low prices. Have you heard of them? I have no idea if they are good, but you might check it out, or google what I did and see if any are familiar sources for you. It probably wouldn’t cost much if you found a kind he likes and then bought at a discounted large quantity to last a while. I always ended up using CareFresh.

My thought is that it currently doesn’t feel like litter, especially for his poops and wees, so he doesn’t care where he goes. Or maybe it isn’t comfortable for him and a change would be welcome. Maybe the pan is just not convincing enough that it’s the best place to wee. (Dainty bunny butt.)

http://www.petplanet.co.uk

[kimberleyanddarren]

thanks i will check that site out! as we speak i have sectioned the room off and he is in a small space now, he is sitting still giving me the stink eye lol

[charlie82]

Hi!

I will second what everyone else has said. To be fair you probably won’t manage to have him 100% litter trained until he is neutered..however he should really be using his tray to wee in. I think I have said this before but I really would change any bedding he has in his cage to a blanket. I use pet fleeces. Like others have said he needs to go back to being in his cage/pen and should not be allowed to free roam until he is using his cage. Might sound like you are being cruel but it’s only for a few weeks until he can identify a place of his own as at the moment he sees the whole house as his.
By replacing his bedding with a blanket and providing a tray with hay in he will get the idea eventually (try using a bigger tray as opposed to a litter box, they are just too small. I use under bed storage trays or small plastic dog beds and the rabbits love them. Don’t waste your money on expensive litters, it’s unnecessary. Line your tray with newspaper then put some wood based cat litter on top (pellets) then fill with hay. If you just put litter in he probably won’t use it. You can buy 30lt bags of litter or around seven pounds from a pet shop and it should last you a while. You can also buy easibed from a horse supply shop fro around 8 and it will last you well over a month! You don’t have to wait until he is four months old and can neuter him as soon as he is big enough providing that his testicles have descended. I’m pretty sure my lionhead is a similar age to yours and my vet has been willing to spay her for a couple of weeks now (a much bigger op and she is tiny) It always worries me when vets go off the text book age when it comes to neutering because it implies they aren’t that clued up!

[Beka27]

Charlie82 has a great point, several actually…   but what he said about cat litter.  the bag does not have to read :”rabbit” to be safe.  many of the cat litters are similar.  i *think* there is a yesterdays news and carefresh equivalent in cat litter, which should be much easier to find in a local store. if you’re not sure.  maybe Charlie82 or someone else in the UK knows the exact brand name over there. 

think about it this way.  you’re getting the stinkeye, but take this example… you wouldn’t let a five year old boy ride his new bike all over town.  he would have to stay in the driveway with mom or dad supervising.  as he gets older, demonstrates responsibility, and shows he knows how to ride safely, the area he is allowed to ride his bike in expands.  eventually, he will be allowed to ride his bike all the way across town to his friends house.  you must start small.  remember, Hopscotch is like that 5 year old boy right now.  he is still quite young.  he is going to be fine for you.  you’ll just need to be patient and find what works.

[charlie82]

Posted By Beka27 on 03/20/2008 6:57 AM

Charlie82 has a great point, several actually…   but what he said about cat litter.  the bag does not have to read :”rabbit” to be safe.  many of the cat litters are similar.  i *think* there is a yesterdays news and carefresh equivalent in cat litter, which should be much easier to find in a local store. if you’re not sure.  maybe Charlie82 or someone else in the UK knows the exact brand name over there. 

think about it this way.  you’re getting the stinkeye, but take this example… you wouldn’t let a five year old boy ride his new bike all over town.  he would have to stay in the driveway with mom or dad supervising.  as he gets older, demonstrates responsibility, and shows he knows how to ride safely, the area he is allowed to ride his bike in expands.  eventually, he will be allowed to ride his bike all the way across town to his friends house.  you must start small.  remember, Hopscotch is like that 5 year old boy right now.  he is still quite young.  he is going to be fine for you.  you’ll just need to be patient and find what works.

 

Nice analogy he he….

 

Yes I don’t use litter that is specified for rabbits, you can buy small bags of it that say it’s for small critters for not much cheaper than a bag of cat litter, but it is exactly the same stuff!! You can also buy a paper based cat litter..can’t recall the name of it. I use Beauticat litter and Asda did used to sell it but now I buy it from a local pet shop. They are 30lt bags and very heavy!! You can also use megazorb if you can find a supplier near you. I prefer the wood based pellets as they seem to soak up more urine and have less of an odour.

 

[kimberleyanddarren]

ok i spent my morning phoning different pet stores to find one that do carefresh or yesturdays news, i found one, its a 2hr drive (and i was going at like 10 so the traffic was good in rush hour its probably like 3 lol) i hope hopscotch appreciates it! i couldnt get yesturdays news only carefresh but i got like 5 bags, and then on the way home i bought some materials and my bf made our own Xpen.

I have pics if anyone wants to see them i can upload them

i am getting incredible stink eye now, like his eyes are actually going to come away from his head lol but i know its for his own good, i also bought a new litter tray and one bag of parsley just for him hehe

[kimberleyanddarren]

^^^^ oh and btw do you guys leave them in the pen all the time they are out or do you let them run around the house aswel? im worried if he will stretch his legs enough, i am starting small and then going to increase the pen size gradually

[RabbitPam]

pics! pics! pics!

[Beka27]

how dare you ask if we want pics…?!

OF COURSE WE WANT PICS!!!  DO YOU KNOW US AT ALL… LOL!!!

did you attach the xpen to the cage?  i would let him have access to the xpen during the day when you are home.  at night or when you are gone, put him back into his cage.  eventually you may be able to give him access to his xpen all the time, day and night, but for now you need to start very very small.  if you let him out for a quick run, make sure you are able to supervise him with undivided attention, b/c the moment he looks like he might pee you have to stop him and direct him to his litterbox.  he’s going to be mad for a bit but he will get over it.  it’s for his own good.

my rabbit has an xpen attached to her cage that she has continuous access to, but she has full run of the house between 8 and 12 hours a day.  we’ve even started leaving the house with her out and we have no problems.  Meadow is extremely well-behaved since her spay tho and she is pretty much past any kind of “bad bunny” adolescent behavior.  you’ll get there too, but you’re going to need to be patient.

 

[RabbitPam]

You THINK Meadow is “past any kind of “bad bunny” adolescent behavior.”

I got a text message saying “They’re at work. Party at my house. Bring Bananas. – Meadow”

[Beka27]

that does sound like Meadow.  i snuck around behind my parent’s backs, why should my bun be any different…?

[kimberleyanddarren]

no its not connected to his hutch because…. he can get out 😐 i had no idea he would be able to jump that high, it is literally up to my waist high and he can just hop right out lol

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[kimberleyanddarren]

oh and the towel on the corner is there to cover where the join is because i need to get proper wire cutters tomorrow as the ones ive got wouldnt cut it but it wont be there normally

[MarkBun]

You can put a sheet over the top of the pen and clip it to the wire to make a ceiling.

[kimberleyanddarren]

yes markusdark i did that but then the pen was really dark and i felt bad lol, im going to get some of that see through sheeting stuff today from the diy store. Hopefully this should stop him jumping out

[charlie82]

looks big enough! I would suggest you fill the tray entirely with hay so that you don’t see the litter. He wil be more inclined to sit in it if it is full of hay.

[kimberleyanddarren]

thanks for the tip charlie i will try that! anything that may help lol

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