Neutered male refusing to use his litter box lately

[Chunk's Mommy]

Hi everyone, I have a few questions. I have had my bunny, Chunk for 3 years. He is a male and was recently neutered (June 1ish). We brought home another rabbit on May 5th, who was 5 weeks old. They told us he was a boy rabbit. It was not. So we got Chunk fixed. His recovery was a little slow but overall fine. We have kept the bunnies separated at all times up until just a few weeks ago. (They could still see and be near each other, just separated by a pen wall) so we started letting them see each other. Everything seems fine, Chunk licks her and she lets him, they lay next to each other and everything. They still get separated when we cannot keep an eye on them. Here’s where the question comes in. Chunk has always been litter box trained, except for the occasional accidental poop in the pen rather than the litter. Ever since we opened the cages and let them play together, Chunk will go in the other buns cage and use her litter box, and eat some hay, etc. The girl bun goes into his cage and eats hay\drinks water too. But now Chunk has started digging all the contents of his litter box out and is flinging it all over his cage. He tries ripping the litter box off the hinges. I put more litter in everyday, but by the end of the day it’s gone. He also will run out into his pen and poop all over.Why is he doing this? Is he okay? Can I do anything to fix it?? I was thinking it may be territorial but I’m not sure. Thank you in advance!!

[DanaNM]

Sorry I’m a little confused, are you currently working on bonding them? And is the girl spayed?

Any new bun in the house can trigger crazy behaviors from your current bunny. Digging can be a territorial thing, so that could very well be it. If they girl is unspayed, that would make matters even more crazy.

If you are bonding them, they should only be allowed to interact in neutral territory, and should not be able to touch each other through the fence (they can nip unexpectedly and start developing grudges). First step is to make sure the girl is spayed, then start with pre-bonding, which means 3-4 weeks of cage swaps. This will help them loose track of their territory. Then you can start “dating” them in neutral territory. When you are bonding, litter box habits go out the window, but should return once they are bonded.

If you aren’t planning to bond them, you shouldn’t be letting them play together at all, and they should not be allowed into each other’s cages. They know there is an intruder, so it will make them more territorial.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Chunk's Mommy]

The female is not old enough to spay yet. We are currently in the process of bonding them. We kept them separate up until a few weeks ago and we started bonding them and letting them play together. They get along just fine when we put them together and watch them, we don’t leave them unsupervised. They don’t nibble each other or fight. We are getting the female spayed in a month when she is old enough. They have started swapping cages on their own, and neither one seems to have a problem with that,but when Chunk goes in his cage I notice that he digs all the litter out of his box. Only when I put new litter in though. Like when I put new stuff in after he digs it out, he just digs it out again. And I’ve noticed instead of his usual playing he just flings his hay and bedding all around the cage. But when the buns are together they groom each other, they lay together all relaxed and with ears back and they run around together. Sorry for the confusion, I hope this helps!! Thank you for the response!!

[Bunny House]

Hi,
It is strongly advised to not let a unspayed female and a neutered male be in the same area as eachother until both are fixed. One could start a fight and could cause a huge grudge to be held that might prohibit bonding. They might show loving signs towards eachother but you can’t start the bonding process until she is spayed. It will be a different ball game when she is spayed because right now, she is acting loving towards him because she is reaching that age of having babies.
My male will dig in his litter box when he sees one of my other buns (not in his bonded relationship) which indicated territorial behavior and anger. You can let the two see eachother through the bars and far enough away from eachother to prevent nipping because they have razor sharp teeth. After she is spayed for a month you can start prebonding. Prebonding is always recommended so you can ensure a strong bond will be made. I suggest reading about bonding in the bunny info section of this website

[DanaNM]

If she is not old enough to bond yet (and she isn’t, since she’s a baby), then don’t let them interact. Babies generally get along with adults, but once hormones kick in fights can break out out of nowhere. Any sorts of aggression can really set things back, so it’s not worth the risk.

The pre-bonding (cage swaps) is great, and should continue, but no more play dates until you start actually bonding them. And then all interaction needs to be in neutral space.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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