Potty Training

[Kayle]

I got a new bunny a few days ago and its a male dutch rabbit that’s 8 weeks old. He’s my first indoor bunny. I used to have a lop a few years ago that I kept outside in a large cage/enclosure. I really love to let him out of his cage in the play area I have inside, but he goes to the bathroom a lot He only pees in the corners of the area, but makes droppings all over. I really want to litter train him, but since he’s so young he just goes everywhere, even in his cage. 
I was wondering if anyone had tips to help me I really love to let my bunny run about freely in the house, but I cant have him making messes everywhere! 

[Sarita]

Hi Kayle, I am moving this to the Behavior Section.

[Deleted User]

The droppings are normal. It’s a way for the bun to mark his territory. My bun did this when I first brought her home. I have a little hand dust buster to pick up the droppings. Once your bun gets potty trained this will stop. I would get a litter box for when your bun is playing outside of his cage. I know it may seem impossible to litter train a young rabbit but I promise it isn’t. My Skipper took to the litter tray really well. You want to make sure first that the litter you have in the box isn’t going to be harmful for them (some type of wood shavings is not good for rabbits and clay cat litter is definitely bad) or pokey for their feet. I know it may sound odd but rabbits can be really particular. And I would place a litter box where you find that your bun likes to pee. What I had done at first was buy several disposable litter boxes. I put them in the areas that my bun liked to pee in. I would find that instead of going somewhere else to do her business, she decided to do it in the litter box. You may still have problems with the poo pellets in his cage and his play area. It may just be hi marking his territory or he’s a digger and accidentally kicks them out of his cage. How big is his home? I had my bun in a small cage before I was able to build her a big one and she made hugeeee messes in there. When we put her in her bigger cage her mess was drastically reduced. Hope this helped. =]

[LoveChaCha]

I would put a cat sized box into the side that he prefers to pee in. If the poos are still out of the box, I would just throw the poos into the box. It shows them “THIS is where you should go.” That method has helped litter train my bunny, and I can literally put a box anywhere and she’ll go in the box. Also, putting hay in the litter box helps. Bunnies like doing their business and eating at the same time

[Kayle]

He’s started to go in one spot… the bad thing is it’s not in his cage. He used to go in his cage when i had towel on the bottom (because it had a wire floor) but I replaced it with tile for easier clean up. Now hes going in one corner of his play area when I let him out. I’m worried hes holding in his pee D: he poos sometimes in his cage, but I havent seen him pee in there yet. I am going to be working again soon and I dont want him to hold in his pee all day while im at work before I can let him out. Is there any way I can get him to start going in one spot in his cage?

[bunnyfriend]

Hi

A key thing that has really helped me with both of my rabbits for litter training is having multiple litter boxes. Would it be possible to put an extra litter box in the spot that he is going to the bathroom outside of the cage? Sometimes when rabbits are running outside their cage they don’t always go all the way back to their cage to use the litter box. The more boxes you have the better chance you have of your rabbit using them 

A great way to make the litter box enticing and so that the bunny HAS to go in it is to make it so that in order to eat hay or pellets the rabbit has to go inside the litter box. This can be done by either simply putting hay inside the litter box or hanging a hay rack above it. When I was starting training for my rabbits I would put the bowl with pellets directly in the litter box. I know it’s gross, but rabbits love eating and using the bathroom at the same time. Also, as ChaCha said cleaning up messes as quick as possible is very helpful.

It sounds like he’s being a little stinker about where he pees. It may take some experimenting to figure out what type of litter and litter box placement works best for him. What type of litter and litter box are you currently using? Large cat litter pans work a lot better than the corner litter boxes sold for small mammals, most people find out. While he is being stubborn, I don’t think that he would hold in his pee to the point it would too uncomfortable or harmful. When you do find pee outside a litter box, soak a paper towel or tissue in the pee and put it in the litter box, this may also help bunny take the hint.

[ezza]

if she goes to the toilet in one area put the potty there and a tip put some poops in the litter box so she learns

[tanlover14]

All 3 of my buns took a few weeks to catch on (before neutering and spaying)… but we did it by using various litter boxes spread around the play area with hay in them. We would always try catching them pooping or peeing by watching them really closely. As soon as you see them lift their tail higher than usual, it usually means they’re going to go — so we would always pick him up and put him in the litter box. And any droppings he left behind we’d make him watch us put it in there. Hold the handful of poop in front of him and place it in the litter box. They all caught on really quickly. Half of it was I think they were getting sick of getting picked up and put in the litter box (they hate being picked up) so they started just going there themselves, haha.

Hope this helps! Congrats on your new bunny!

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