My Bunny is Afraid of His Litter Box

[Chip]

     Hello everybun! So, I did get Chip and I’ve had him for a few days and he is settling in very well. He got comfortable very quickly, and his personality is coming out incredibly. Love him to pieces 

     For me, there have not been many issues whatsoever so far except for one thing; he will not enter his litter box! I am not expecting him to be litter trained yet, because he is not neutered yet(he will soon), but I want him to get used to the litter box and feel comfortable in it. I got him a low sided litter box because I knew it would be a new object for him to enter/exit, he would walk towards it and sniff it, but he would not jump; he looks like he wants to enter, though! I ended up cutting a dip in the front even lower than the rest, almost touching the bottom. So it is impossible for him to not be able to jump over…he can simply walk right in. I added some hay to encourage him to go in and munch, but he hasn’t yet. He actually does his business right next to the litter box, so I think he’s getting the idea. Again, I’m not looking for litter training advice because that is not my goal right now; I am looking for advice to get him to actually enter the pan; instead of, what it seems to be, being afraid of it. 

     I feel like this is an unusual as I couldn’t find a single article on it, so any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated! I need my bun to be able to enter his litter box for when I start training him! 

      Thank you  

[kurottabun]

Bunnies actually can be litter trained even if they are not neutered yet My bun isn’t neutered yet and he poops and pees in his box 90% of the time. Although when you get them neutered you will have to retrain them, some bunnies can actually be trained pretty easily and it will make your life easier while waiting for the neuter!

He probably feels wary of the litter box as it’s a new thing that’s being placed there and he doesn’t know what he should do with it. If you’ve not been actively putting his poops or soaking his pee up in a paper towel and tossing them into the box, he probably doesn’t know that it’s a “litter box”. Remember that this is something that humans invented and he wouldn’t magically know that he’s supposed to go there for his business. He’s most likely only doing it right next to the box because 1) His hay is there and bunnies usually eat and poop at the same time – he just happens to be facing the outside of the box while eating and not being in it; 2) He chose the spot randomly as his favourite corner to do his business.

Although you mentioned that you’re not asking for litter training advice, I think that’s actually the answer to your question! :p Apart from putting his hay there, try putting litter in the box, toss his poops and throw paper towels soaked with his pee inside it – you may actually see him going in since he will know then what’s the purpose of it.

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