Litter training question

[Lethalfire]

First let me introduce myself, My name is Angela and my family just adopted 2 bunnies from a craigslist add.  The family was moving and couldn’t take the bunnies with them.  I was told that both are males, (the white one seems to definitely be) and that they were only a couple months old.  I was also told that both are dwarfs, the white one a Lionhead however he got big for a dwarf and doesn’t look so much like a lionhead, the other one is definitely a dwarf, I think he is a Netherland dwarf.  These bunnies were an early b-day present for my daughter.  Yes I take FULL responsibility for the bunnies but my daughter has to “help” me with their care.  I am the type of person that when I get an animal I research and learn as much about them as possible, I want to know what I am getting into and the best way to take care of them.  (I  am also a hobby breeder of small parrots).  I go a little overboard (or atleast some people think I do) when it comes to learning as much as I can and providing the best diet and environment for our pets.

Now that you have a little insight, here is the deal………….  I have done a lot of reading here and just have not posted yet.  I have read that the buns can be litter trained, and the cage that they came with is one of those ridiculously small ones that they sell in the pet shops, so I thought I was smart and blocked off both entryways to my kitchen and put their “cage” in my kitchen with the door opened at all times and let them have the run of the kitchen,  while they were getting “litter box” trained in the kitchen I was working on building them a NIC cage with every intention of letting them have the run of the house…………………..  Here is my dilemma, they scattered litter EVERYWHERE in my kitchen, pellet droppings EVERYWHERE, for the most part they would pee in the litter box for the MOST part, mind you I am an OCD person when it comes to cleaning but I mean there were droppings EVERYWHERE, and I would sweep the kitchen about every hour and I just could not keep up with them. 

So I got the NIC cage done and got it set up in daughter’s bedroom, I put them in it yesterday because I could NOT handle the mess in my kitchen anymore, and climbing over safety gates constantly got old real quick, however they are STILL making a mess all over the floor of the NIC cage.  I don’t want to let them out in my house which is ALL carpet minus the kitchen and bathrooms until they are halfway clean in their own cage.  How in the world do I do this?

I did notice that on the shelfs/platforms that I made they keep those clean but the floor is just a disaster.  Please help.  Here are some pics of the NIC I made and them in it, notice how clean it is, this is after I JUST put them in there, and then also a pic of them and the cage they came in.

 

[Sarita]

Well, I think first I would make sure they are both males :~) You don’t want any accidental litters.

I can understand the frustration of litter training too (I cannot get those links to work though). Do you have hay in the litter box?

How long have you had them? Sometimes, especially with rabbits this young, it takes them a few weeks to get litter training.

You might need a few litter boxes to start with as well.

[Beka27]

welcome here.  first things first, if you are the least bit unsure about their sexes, they need to be sexed by a vet before being allowed to be together.  it’s a good idea to take them for an initial vet visit anyways so they can be looked at and you can get to know the vet.  the vet will also give you info about neutering (or possibly spaying.)

in your research, have you read about the littertraining process?

here are some links:

binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/LitterboxTraining/tabid/62/Default.aspx

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/litter.shtml

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/litter.html

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/training.html

 

your first step is to give them a small area to work with.  put hay in the litterbox.  be diligent about picking up poops and wiping up pee.  keep the floor of the cage immaculate, but let the litterbox get dirty so they will pick up the scent.  there is going to be a little bit of territorial marking when they are in a new area.  this is normal.  some buns don’t really get the littertraining until after they are altered (boys: 3-4 months, girls: 6 months).

 

[Sarita]

Oh goodness, now I see the pictures – what cuties.

I think you would be better off with a different litter – those look like aspen shavings (which are perfectly safe) but they have seem to be messier because they are easier to fling out the litter boxes in my opinion.

Perhaps even a larger litter box for 2 and put a handful of hay in there to encourage them to use it.

But definitely get them sexed and if they are ready to be spayed/neutered do that – the sooner the better.

[Beka27]

they are so cute! i didn’t see the pics before either! the white one is def not a dwarf, looks like a lionhead cross of some sort. i agree with Sarita, take the hay outta the ball and put it directly into the litterbox.

[Lethalfire]

The littlest one looks male also it’s just harder to tell because well he’s so tiny lol. When I had them in the kitchen I had 3 different litter boxes for them and they still left droppings EVERYWHERE! That is Aspen that you see in the purple cage, that is the picture the family sent me before I got them, however I have been using shredded paper with just a little Aspen sprinkled on top since that is what they are use to, I also have their hay ball thing hung over their litter box. I’ve had them since Sept. 12th so 2 1/2 weeks, wow it actually seemed longer than that.

Any recomendations on a CHEAP litter would be great, I change their boxes every day so they go through litter substances like crazy. If I used hay it would cost me a fortune since a bag of it is $7 at the pet stores. Also I really need to try to find a good source of CHEAP hay around here, I live in Illinois so you wouldn’t think it would be that hard with all the farms around here lol. I would love to get them altered however money is tight right now and I can’t believe they charge SOOO much. I understand that the medicine costs money but if they made it cheaper to get pets altered they would save money in the long run.

[Sarita]

http://www.hrschicago.org/index1.html

Here is a link to the Chicago House Rabbit Society – I would suggest you contact them about a local vet and ask them if they have spay/neuter prices, find out about hay locally and also the litter they suggest because I’m certain they are cost conscious too.

[Balefulregards]

As far as cheap litter – some folks here have sworn by the wood pellets used for wood stoves . You don’t have to fill their boxes to tippy top, either. I did – at first – and was running through the yesterdays news like, well, yesterdays news. Now I used YN on the bottom, and some of her “stale” hay for the top.

Are they climbing the NIC condo?

Also, I bought a bunch of 8 dollar carpets at Walmart for under the cage. This way I don’t care so much about if the rugs get ruined.

[Lethalfire]

They haven’t tried to climb the NIC cage, they use the ramp and will lay on the platforms but no climbing!

I’m not worried about the cage floor, I have a piece of linoleum that I am using for the floor of that, but I don’t want them

using the carpet in the rest of my house a their litter box, which is why I was hoping they would atleast halfway want to keep their cage floor clean.

I did get ahold of a local hay place that sells the small bales for $4 which is good.

[jerseygirl]

Hello and Welcome! The pair look very sweet. Is the lionhead X blue eyed?
Definately keep them contained in the condo until they get it. (Separate condos if sexes are undetermined).  Even when you increase their play area, they leave territory droppings at first but usually it’ll reduce. You’ve been given great advice already, it’ll take some time. By the way, bunnies are great for getting over those OCD tendencies – I know!

Also, good on you for learning as much as possible – you can NEVER learn too much in my opinion.

[Lethalfire]

Thanks for all the help everyone.  The “lionheads” eyes are actually pink, I have wondered if that means a specific breed or

albino in like other types of animals but I just wasn’t sure.  I am interested in figuring out just what breed he is.  We will see how this potty training thing goes, but for now thay are making a huge mess in their nic cube.

[KatnipCrzy]

I use wood stove pellets and they work great- they are really cheap and have excellent odor control.  I think I bought a 40lb bag for less than $5.  Check at homeimprovement stores such as Home Depot, Lowe’s and if you have no luck that way- try to see if you can find a place locally that sells the stoves and ask them.

Neutering will make a difference with housetraining- and it sounds as if they are at a hormonal teenager stage by what you are giving as their ages in months (as opposed to years). 

[Lethalfire]

KatnipCrzy thank you so much.  I did find the wood pellets today at Menards, unfortunately it was the type of deal where you pay for them inside and then drive through their outside lumber yard to pick them up, I thought the bag would of been bigger than it is so I only got 1 bag, next time I will know to grab a couple.  I have 2 buns and was curious as to how long a bag will last you?

 

I also picked up some Oxbow pellets today at my Petco.  And for All of you who are interested Petco is currently running a special that if you buy their 16oz brand of Timothy hay you get one free with a Petco pals card.  The buns seem to be doing better in their cage, still quite a bit of pellets outside of the litter box but not as bad as it was the first 2 days.  they have been getting out of cage time in my daughter’s room (where the cage is located) and since they have been doing so well I’m gonna let them have some family room time tonight and see how it goes.  I already have one of their litterboxes WITH their scent in it ready to go set near the family room.

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