litter training and chewing, help please!

[Lani]

I just brought home my new bunny, Oreo, on Friday! Though I had bunnies growing up, it’s been several years and I’ve never cared for one on my own so any suggestions or help would be wonderful!!

We’re working on the litter training and so far she’s been pretty obstinante against using it. She loves to sleep, eat, groom, basically do everything else while sitting in her box except poop/pee. I’ve put pee soaked tissues and stray poops in there but she still wont do her business in there. What she really loves is to do her thing as soon as I let her out of her cage. Her cage is in a small extra bedroom in the house so when I let her out of her cage she gets to run around that room. I also have a litter box outside her cage for her to use while she’s out but she won’t use that one either. She poops all over the room and pees in whatever corner the box is NOT in If I catch her doing her thing and try to herd her into the box, she just stops going and hops away or runs back into her cage. She won’t let me pick her up yet so physically putting her into the box isn’t an option at this point.

Do you have any tips or “secrets” on helping my bun learn?

Also, she loves to chew the bars of her cage so any tips on how to get her to stop/distract her, would be great!

Thanks for any help you have!!

 

 

 

[mocha200]

is she spayed? rabbits before they are spayed are very hard to litter train and poo and pee every were.

[Lani]

Yes, she was spayed about 2 weeks ago

[mocha200]

It takes about a month for the hormones to die down so you might want to wait a little longer and keep doing what your doing and see if it gets better. Do you offer hay in her litter box? while litter training its a good idea to only offer hay in there litter box ( like don’t offer it some were else) until they are trained. Also make sure you put all there stray poos back in the box and when she pees out side of the box make sure you wipe it up with 50/50 vinegar and water mixture so she wont be able to smell were she went. it might seem like a lot of work but she should get the hang of it soon after her hormones die down.

Welcome to BInkybunny by the way

[Lani]

Thanks, I’ll definitely keep at it and hope she picks up on it as her hormones calm down. I do offer hay in both boxes and she loves to stand outside the box, eat the hay and poo on the carpet. Now if only she’d jump in and do her business heh.

I have noticed that she barely poops/pees inside her cage at all, even if she’s in there for several hours at a time while I’m at work. But once I let her out to have play time, she just goes everywhere! Is that typical for a bun who is still learning to use a box? I would think she’d go somewhere in her cage but it almost seems like she’s “holding” it until she gets out!

[Monkeybun]

She is new to the home, so she’s probably marking her territory as well. You may want to limit her space for now until she learns where the potty is.

[Lani]

Thanks for the tips guys!

[Lani]

Ok, so I know I’m probably being impatient but I admit I am a little frustrated. When I cleaned out Oreo’s cage yesterday I noticed that she was peeing in the corner opposite the litter box, right in front of her food bowl. So I moved the litter box to that corner and put the food where the litter box had been. Now when I went to check on her after getting home from work, she’s peeing in the corner opposite the box, which is where it was yesterday, right in front of her food again!

My question is should I keep moving the litter box to whatever corner she is peeing in, or should I leave it be and hope she stops peeing in front of her food?

[Monkeybun]

Bunnies do like to eat and go at the same time. Perhaps move the bowl into the box for the time being?

[Lani]

The bowl for her veggies is right near her litter box so she can sit in it and eat. The thing is, when she’s pooping in front of her pellet bowl she must be backing into the corner near the bowl because it’s literally RIGHT in front of the bowl

[Otti]

I keep my rabbit’s pellet bowl in a corner of his litter box that’s farthest from the corners he’d back into to go… so towards the front of the litter box.

What kind of litter are you using? Do you have litter only in the litter box or also elsewhere on the floor of the cage? which type of litter box are you using (rectangle or corner and how big)?

Again, once her hormones really die down it might be easier.

[Lani]

I’m using carefresh and it’s only in her litter box, the rest of her cage is covered with seagrass mats. I’m using a corner litter box and she really loves it, she’s pretty much always sitting or laying in it…just not using it as the potty

[Author]

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