Litter training

[gkb]

Hi everyone,

I have a five month old holland lop bunny, and I just adopted him in March. This is my first bunny (I’ve had other pets before), so I’ve been relying heavily on information from the breeder, vet and anything online.  He is not neutered yet because I was told to wait till 6 months.  I’ve been trying my best to litter train him, I have a corner litter box with compressed paper pellets and a hay bag hanging directly above it so he sits in it and eats. He uses the litter box but he also poops and pees all over his playpen area, as well as on his bed. Everyday he has tons of poops and pee on the bed and way less inside the litter box. I’ve tried washing the bed and moving it and cleaning the litter box everyday but he just moves to the bed all over again.  Is there anything else I can do? Please help! Thank you in advance 🙂

[Wick & Fable]

I recommend not allowing him on the bed. A big part of litterbox adherence is being neutered, as the hormonally-driven urge to mark territory is drastically reduced. That being said, even among spayed/neutered rabbits, the bed is a very common place for rabbits to mark. It is soft and is full of scents to mark over and claim, and rabbits love marking that type of stuff!

You can also have a shower curtain or some sort of cover you place over your bed to make it easier to clean/less attractive for your rabbit to hop on and mark. Since this is a very natural behavior for rabbits, I don’t recommend taking measures to “train it out” of the rabbit, as those attempts often fail with rabbit behaviors owners don’t like, like chewing and digging, haha.

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.

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