Peeing/Pooping right NEXT to litter box?

[Nala]

I recently adopted a 10 week old female lionhead rabbit about 2 weeks ago who we named Nala.  We have a large cage for her with the bottom made out of corrugated plastic and a rubber bath mat on top to prevent slipping.  We have 2 litter boxes.  One in her cage and one in the hallway where she goes to the bathroom a lot.  Both litter boxes look the same and have bedding in the bottom and alfalfa hay which I change daily.  

During the day while we are home we leave her cage open so she can roam around the apartment freely when she chooses to do so.  The strange thing is.. the cage is not the problem. In her cage she NEVER pees on the floor. She only pees in her litter box and for the most part she does poop in her litter box.. 

However, whenever she is running around the apartment she tends to poop and pee directly in front of her litter box. Sometimes this is the result of her only sticking her front half in the box to eat hay and leaving the rest of her body hanging out, other times she literally just sits right in front of the litter box and poops and pees.  I dont know if this is because she confuses the carpet for bedding or if its because shes just a young bunny who could care less where she poops/pees.  

Every piece of poop I find I put in her litter box and I have tried picking her up and putting her in her box when she starts to poop/pee however she likes her privacy and gets scared or runs away when I try to approach her while she goes potty.

Note: We placed the litter box in the hallway AFTER noticing it was one of her favorite bathroom spots. 

[LongEaredLions]

Sometimes bunnies can have issues with the box if they are given too much space too quickly. You could start with having her just in her cage, then slowly reintroducing the space, a few feet a day. If at any time she stops going in the box, stop expanding the space and wait until she consistently uses the box before expanding more. The goal of this is to have her more comfortable in the large area so she doesn’t feel the need to mark.
Even with this, she still may not have perfect habits, as she is still young and you have only had her two weeks. She will likely improve once she is older and spayed.

[JackRabbit]

What about cleaning the hall pee spot with vinegar/water and swapping the litterboxes? The one that’s been in her cage will smell like her pee to her so maybe when that one is in the hall she’ll pee where the smell is?

[Author]

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