Questions on litter training and chewing

[Floppybuns]

I have been trying to litter train my new buns for a week now and they don’t really seem to be getting it yet, i have put a litter tray in the cage they do get lots of poo in it but they also poo all over the cage and not one specific spot. Is there anything i can do to help them learn?

Also they are mainly indoor bunnies the room they are in is carpet and one of them is always chewing and digging at it, i have given them lots of other things to chew on and when she does it i try distracting her with something she is allowed to chew on like a cardboard box does anyone have any other suggestions to stop her because i dont want her to get sick from ingesting carpet bits.

Thanks

[CinnabunMom]

Well, I think your buns are very young and this take times. And even then, once the hormones kick them, they will probably go back to marking their territory, especially since there are two of them! Make sure the litter box is big enough for both (I can’t remember if you house them together or not…). Add some hay to the box, bunnies love to eat and poo at the same time. You might also try adding a fresh green veggie to entice them.

Ah yes carpet. There are a couple things you can try: 1) make a very loud noise when you see them digging/chewing it. It should startle them. Do NOT chase your bunny away. Bunnies, as prey animals, don’t like to be chased. It will make them fear you. I find the noise things works to varying degrees depending on the bun. 2) Water pistol. Most bun hate getting wet so sometimes one quick squirt across the back distracts them and they forget about the carpet and soon learn to stay away from that spot. However, sometimes the water pistol just annoys them. Again, varying degrees of success. 3) Put something heavy over top the one spot they seem most interested in. A box, a tunnel, a sleeping pad, anything else. 4) Spray the area with something bunnies hate. I used regular yellow Dial soap. Cinnabun hated the smell and the taste enough that she ran in the opposite direction. You can also try “no bite” spray typically found at pet stores.

[Floppybuns]

Thanks for your suggestions i will try the water pistol and the loud noise and see if that works if not ill try spraying the area with something they don’t like
Yeah they are both housed together and can both fit in the litter box. they often sleep in there together
they have hay in there already but ill try some veggies too
Thanks for your help! and your little Cinnabun is so adorable!

[tanlover14]

Thought I would chime in — my bunnies are TERRORS with the carpet. They have ruined a few patches of our carpet from constant digging and tearing at it. The thing we used to stop them was really simple — a bath towel! Or hand towel. Both work for our buns. Whenever they would start doing it we shoved the towel under them and they would tear non-stop at that. It really helped when nothing else would work.

The water pistol became a game with them, loud noises stopped scaring them, and they would still tear through vinegar and everything else! LOL. Since bunnies learn relatively quickly — they caught on within a few weeks that the towel was THERES to destroy and the carpet was off limits.

[Shmoo]

My buns would love to chew the carpet behind my couch, and I read somewhere online(it may have been this forum, but I’m not really sure) that someone put one of those huge cement tubes behind their couch to stop it. It has worked wonders for me. They love digging at the cardboard tube and not the carpet. i’ve also been putting down these newspaper ads I’ve been getting in the mail and they rip those to shreds.

Now my problem is my baseboards, which I’ve started using the vinegar trick on them. It seems to be working decently well so far. I also use the noise technique and spray bottle technique. They kind of work. At least momentarily. lol. I’m pretty sure I’m not getting my deposit back…lol.

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