Some questions about bunny’s behavior… Please help!!

[J012]

Hi all! I have a few questions about my rabbits behavior and would appreciate any help. 

1) He has recently started digging in his litter box. It gets his dirty litter all over his cage and makes it smelly and messy. This happens usually at least once a day and has been happening for about a week or two. I’ve had my rabbit for 3 years and he has never dug in his litter box before… is he trying to tell me something? Or is it cause he just discovered it? It’s really frustrating because I have to clean his cage constantly and makes my room smell bad. Is there anything I can do to prevent this?! 

2) How can I make his litter box smell less? I’m currently using Yesterday’s News litter, but it still kind of smells. His cage is in my bedroom, right next to my bed so odorless as possible would be great! Are there any other products I can use for his litter/other to make it smell less? 

3) Bun bun doesn’t binky? He use to binky when he was let out into the backyard, but I recently moved and don’t have a backyard for ihm to run around in anymore. When he is around the house, he never binkies, even though there is plenty of space for him to run around in. He still flops all the time and is always just lounging somewhere so I think he’s pretty comfortable… Is there anything I can do to make him happier and binky again?! 

Thanks for reading! Here’s a picture of my bunny!!  

He’s not that fat! It’s just the angle and a lot of fluff :p 

[peppypoo]

1 & 2: If digging is a problem, I suggest looking into a litter screen. You can see an example of it in the BB store, or you can make one yourself. Mine is made out of a wire grid, with maybe 1.5cm spaces so that the poop falls through to the litter underneath, and the buns can’t dig in it. For the odor – is your bun neutered? A neutered bun using a good litter that is cleaned out regularly shouldn’t produce too much odor.

3: Many bunnies become somewhat less active when they get older, and are content to lounge in a comfortable spot (kind of like people getting older..haha). What kind of flooring do you have in your new place? Most bunnies are more cautious of hard flooring because they can’t get traction when they run.

[TH004]

I never got my first buns fixed for various reasons, so litterbox smell was horrible! I started using Carefresh litter. It is expensive, but it definitely helped. Having your buns fixed makes a WORLD of difference. My buns now is fixed and I never smell the litterbox.

As for the digging, if your buns will go on a screen, that would be perfect! Mine never would. My first buns would dig at her box and eventually dump it over. She wanted it cleaned EACH time she went to the potty. Umm… no. We compromised and I would toss in a handful of litter a few times a day to “refresh” it. She only started doing that after one of our moves. I don’t think it was the move so much as her age. She was probably 3 around that time too.

[LittlePuffyTail]

My lop went to through a faze where he would dig and throw all the litter out of the box. What a mess! He eventually stopped. He just thought it was fun, I think. If your bun is anything like my 3, he just enjoys making a mess!!!

I have 3 bunnies. Two are about 5 and one is 8. I rarely see binkies anymore. They used to be full of binkies but now I only get the occasional binky.

[LizzyBunn]

my lady bunn (parnip) LOVES to kick out all her litter. It used to be a combination of her crazy digging with her need for super fresh litter. Are you changing the litter box enough? I’ve had to start changing mine every 2-3 days to keep a happy bunn. However, she has recently started going crazy with digging fresh litter- so who knows. The thing that is the worst is my boy bunny will then pee on the littler thrown out of the box- so many messes!

I suggest getting something else for her to dig through- a box full of shredded paper with a tiny whole (like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-kSY1fkA4k).
I use crown royal bedding and the smell isn’t bad unless I wait like a week (bunny gasp) to clean the litter.
hope that helps!

[bullrider76543]

Baby our Mini Lop loves to dig in her litter box!! thats why I got a storage container for one instead to help stop the spread of the litter. as for litter itself I use Cozy N Fresh Wood pellet litter and it has controled the litter smell great and we have 8 rabbits in our home.

[Brandy]

My one female would dig and throw litter everywhere. I added a rabbit resting board on top of the litter and it has stopped. It is a slotted plastic piece that is to get bunny feet off wire floors, but works great in litter boxes as well. It has also helped keep my mini rex’s feet in tip top shape since now they are never on wet litter. I also added a dig box- a 10 galon aquarium with clean dirt. She digs in there but because the sides are so high nothing comes out and everyone is happy.

I use horse stall bedding, which is a kiln dried wood pellet, in the litter boxes. With 6 rabbits in the house there’s still no smell. The pellets fall apart when wet so the wet stuff can get scooped on a regular basis, then I dump the whole thing once a week. I agree about making sure they are fixed though. Until they are altered no amount of cleaning will totally get rid of the barn smell.

I have also found that as rabbits get older the binkies are more subtle. Does he do the head flick of happiness? It’s more of a half binky that I see more as they get older rather than the full on launching themselves. As long as there is still flopping it indicates a happy, content rabbit.

[Elrohwen]

Definitely get a screen. My female digs whenever I don’t put a screen in, but is fine when it’s in there. I usually cover it with hay so they’re not sitting on it anyway, but it deters her from getting to the litter underneath.

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