Litter Training and just general help

[Griffinz]

Hi! I recently got 2 Holland Lops! They’re my first rabbits, but I took their purchase into long consideration, and made sure I was ready. I still have some questions though! Questions I’m pretty sure I know the answers to, but could always use some reassurance.

The biggest thing right now is litter training. I’ve read mixed things about how it’s much easier to litter train neutered bunnies. They’re only 10 weeks old at the moment so neutering isn’t currently an option. It’s still possible though right? If they still haven’t learned by the time they’re ready to be neutered, can it really make that much of a difference to where they suddenly will use it?

At the moment they poo and pee everywheres in their cage, and rarely when they’re out. Their hay feeder and water bottles are both in a position where they need to be in their litter box to use them, so a good amount of their waste goes there, but they still do their business evvvvverywheres. (Also I got two water bottles for them, one on each side of their hay in hopes they would both be able to drink at the same time, but they ignore one and patiently wait for each other to finish drinking. Not that it matters! Just a little weird.)

Anyways, my current plan is obviously just to wait, be patient and keep placing their droppings and bits of soiled bedding in the litter, but am I doing anything wrong? They eat a tiny amount of Hartz Bonanza Rabbit Food, always have fresh Timothy hay and water, and I line their litter with Newspaper, Kaytee Critter Litter, and sprinkle some hay on top. I give them each a tiny piece of fresh lettuce everyday for a treat.

They seem very happy so far! They play with their toys so much they woke me up the other day just from slapping around some toilet paper roll. One will flop over a little more than the other, whose a bit more timid, but I catch them both rolled onto their sides cuddled against each other sometimes. They’ll come out of their cage and nudge me all the time, but aren’t super big on getting head rubs yet.

Anyways, thanks for any help! I know these kinda questions must get asked constantly, and I’ve already read sooo many posts on this site in the past few months to prepare, but again, just a little reassurance I’m doing the right thing for my bunnies is all I ask for! Thanks guys!

[Hazel]

First of all, there shall be no advice given until you post pictures of your new bunnies! Just kidding. Do post pictures, though!

It’s certainly possible to litter train babies, often they are pretty good about using a litter box until they hit puberty. Do you have any bedding in their cage, or just in the litter box? Lots of rabbits like to “go” on anything soft.

I checked out the food you mentioned. You actually don’t want food that has all those colorful bits and pieces in it, those are kind of like junk food. You want a food consisting of just plain pellets. Since they are young, they should get an alfalfa based pellet, and once they are over 6 months old, you can switch them to a timothy based pellet. Oxbow is a good choice, they make food for babies and adults. Also, while they’re still growing they can be fed unlimited pellets. Now that doesn’t mean their bowl has to be full at all times, it’s fine for them to be without pellets for a couple of hours so they don’t forget to eat some hay, too.

Neutering will usually make a big difference, as far as hormonal behaviors are concerned. When our boy hit puberty, he was marking everywhere, and the day he got neutered, it stopped completely. Although usually it takes a few weeks for them to get over their hormones.

Do you know their gender? At 10 weeks old, they’re getting close to being able to reproduce, so if you aren’t 100% sure that they are the same gender, they should be separated now.

[tobyluv]

Besides changing to a healthier pellet, you may want to give them a water bowl instead of the bottles. Most rabbits prefer a bowl. You need to have a heavy crockery bowl so that they can’t tip it over.

Even if your rabbits are the same gender, you will probably have to separate them when they are about 3 months old. When the hormones come in, they can bring aggression and fighting. If rabbits fight, they can cause severe injuries.

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