Litter problem and Hay Q

[Smudge]

Ok so this is a two-fold post.

1. Every time I have changed Smudge’s litter pans I have changed types of litter. I didn’t do this on purpose, but I can only go where people take me or I can walk to. He was not bothered at all with the first two kinds but this time I finally was able to get a big bag of yesterdays news thinking it would be just like the pellets he originally had in there. 

Now he’s not using any of his litter boxes (one in each of the three rooms in my apartment. He peed and pooped in his bedding instead (just a little bit of carefresh on the floor of his cage). And this morning, after he did his usual ridiculous antics across my bed and me, I got up, gave him his breakfast salad and crawled back into bed, sick. He came in here and was playing around and then he pooped on my bed. Not just a couple, but a whole little poop pile. I caught him, said no and dumped the poop in his litter pan. 5 mins later he did it again, so he got a bigger “no” and a time-out in his cage.

I’m guessing maybe that’s territorial pooping? Is he just un-amused at the litter change? I even got him a super big litter box for the main room so i could put a lot in there and he could dig. What has gone wrong here?

2. He won’t eat his hay. He DOES NOT like it to be in or near his litter pans. I have to try to make a DIY hay rack today and see if that helps, but it’s driving me bananas. I give him timothy hay with occasional alfalfa mixed in. It smells like fine hay to me, not moldy or anything.

He eats fine, just only his fresh greens/veggies and his food pellets. So much wasted hay. So much.

[Elrohwen]

First, I would definitely take the carefresh out of the cage. Rabbits can’t tell the difference between that type of bedding and litter. It’s like putting out a bunch of toilets and expecting him to pick the right one. Bunnies will pee on anything absorbent, so take out the bedding and have the litter box be the only absorbent area. If you really want you can use fleece blankets or something as bedding, because it’s distinctly different than litter, but some bunnies will pee on that as well.

For the bed, it’s super common for rabbits to pee or poop on beds, because they smell so much like us and the urge to mark it is strong. It’s also absorbent.

Have you tried different types of hay? He may like something else better. Also, what amount of pellets is he getting? Rabbits who get a lot of pellets fill up on those and sometimes don’t see the need to eat hay.

[Smudge]

ahhhhhh, brilliant. I always thought you were supposed to have fresh bedding all over the floor of the cage. and didn’t question it as a should have. Problem solved there.

Hay- I think I was just being paranoid. I put together a ridiculous imitation hay rack by attaching this coated wire basket “organizer” to his cage and putting the hay in that. Now I will get a better idea of how much he eats.

[Ellis's Mom]

We have one of the wire desk organized baskets hanging on the side of Ellis’s space, next to his litter box and he loves it. Keeps the hay off of the ground so it doesn’t get stale and he can sit in his box and eat and poop to his heart’s delight. Every night or two I sweep up his floor, which also gets any errant poops, and put it in his litter box to cover the poop. We dump and refresh the box every 2-4 days depending on how much he’s filled it.

He also really doesn’t like bedding much. He prefers to just stretch out on plain carpet. In fact I tried to put some flannel blankets and towels in his sleeping corner tonight when I cleaned the cage and he looked at me like I was nuts, while he very deliberately moved them away from the space so his floor would be clear.

We also had litter boxes in the two rooms he has access to, but after a month or so realized he only ever uses the one in his cage. Even when he’s playing with us in the living room, if he needs to poop he hops off to the box in his cage, does what he needs to, then comes back in with us.

 

[Author]

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