Litter Training Multiple Rabbits

[jasons]

Hello all! I bet you get a ton of rabbit litter box training Qs, but heres another. So a little bit of background. We got our first rabbit and were extremely fortunate that she literally litter trained her self to go exactly where we wanted her right from the start, she literally did all of her business right where we wanted her the moment we put her in the cage.  So we had her for about three weeks when we decided we’d like to get her a companion, and so we got her two. Another female and a male. Well during the bonding process there was your standard territorial marking and all of that fun stuff, but once everything calmed down and they were in the cage together permanently she completely lost her litter training. So we tried to get them to use a corner, any corner. But they refuse. We really can’t tell where they prefer to go if they have a preference at all. On top of that the litterbox we give them is the only place they don’t use because they like to sleep in it. They do pretty much just go in the cage now. We did what we are supposed to do, only give them more room to run when they consistently don’t have accidents in their space. And they now have run of almost the whole apartment. They do leave pills around sometimes (any suggestions on getting that to stop?) but they don’t urinate. So. They are currently in a 100gal long tank, and we very much want to upgrade them to a large dog cage which we already have and have made multi-level and is completely bunny ready. The problem is, since it is wired cage and not ditched like made for rabbit cages are, they have to be litter trained before we can let them have it. So PLEASE! How do I train multiple rabbits already living together to use the litter box. They are all under a year old, probably around 6 months plus or minus 1. Thanks so much all

[Beka27]

Welcome here!

First question, they are all spayed and neutered, right? Just have to make sure because if they’re not, we can be getting into some serious issues. Also, pregnancy aside, it’s not enough to just neuter the male, the females have to be spayed because of the high risk of uterine cancer.

I would move them into the new living space now and work on littertraining there. Tanks are not good for housing rabbits because of the reduced ventilation. Also, even if they pick up on the litterbox in the tank, when you move them, you would have to start all over.

As far as the dog crate, how big is it? Each rabbit needs to have a minimum of 2×4 feet, so any space they are confined in would need to be some variation of 4×6 feet or larger. If you’re doing multiple levels, you have some leeway on that, but you’d still want the base level to be 4×4 feet. In too small, or too large, of a space, littertraining is very difficult. There’s a fine line that will work for groups.

That being said, it’s impressive they are all getting along as such a young age.

[RabbitPam]

Beka, I couldn’t have said it better. You are so right about the immediate necessity of the speuters for all 3. Then having their individual living spaces will allow each one choice of their own litter pans, sleeping areas and territory. Even if you separate the good litter user from the other two to regain the lost ground, the other two will need to be trained individually as well. It’s a big undertaking you’ve set up for yourselves, but it’s commendable if they are getting along well so far. If not neutered, besides the immanent danger of pregnancy, they will lose much of their comradery once the hormones kick in. So don’t have your bonding work be for nothing. Speuter first, bond later.

[jasons]

The male is neutered. The females are not yet for one reason only and thats financial. Females are cost significantly more to get fixed so we are researching our local vets for the best quality and lowest cost. I am pretty sure that no pregnancies occurred, however it is still a possibility. Most days they have free roam of most of the apartment from the minute we wake up till we go to bed (now that they only use their cage). Does that effect how much space that they need? So for all three they need a total of 24square feet? Its the step below great dane sized. We want them out of the tank asap. But we need to have a clear cut plan of potty training before we do. They are truly house rabbits though. They sleep on the chair next to me when I watch TV.

As a funny aside the only room that they don’t have access to is the room where we keep the snakes. Most people are amazed when they hear that.

[Monkeybun]

If they have alot of out of cage time, a smaller space is good enough. But I would suggest an x-pen instead of a dog crate. You can get in and out of it easier for cleaning, and its just a bit more room for them

Hopefully you can get the girls spayed soon, uterine cancer is a high risk for them.

[Buddah_Love]

If the male is using his litter box properly and the females are not then it is probably just hormone related. Most of the time females who were good with their litter box go right back to being neat little girls after they’re spayed. Also females are very territorial which may have a lot to do with it since the 2 females are living together and trying to claim everything over one another (even though they are getting along)

[Author]

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