Temporary hut removal

[~lupa~]

This morning when I woke up Eeyores cage was a MESS. To make sure his cage doesn’t smell too bad, I want to clean out under his hut, but he is in there the majority of the time and I respect that, as he is still new. Should I clean it when he is out, or now, when he is inside it?

[Deleted User]

It’s good to let him settle in and get comfortable, so I would say leave him be.

Are you having him use a litter box?

[joea64]

Depending on how long Eeyore has been living with you, you should let him settle in a while longer. I’ve read – and this is in fact what I’m planning to do when Panda and Fernando move in – that new bunnies should be given at least a couple of days to get accustomed to their new homes; stock the habitats up with everything they’ll need (food, water, litter, etc.) and leave them in peace without importuning them for pets and cuddles, but do talk to them regularly and check to see if anything needs refreshing.

[Wick & Fable]

A lot of posts here talk about how rabbits act generally, but it’s always important to think of each as individual too, so I’ll share how I navigated this with Wick.

Wick has a hutch and he too made a huge mess of it. My goodness, poo and pee everywhere! I had a pen set-up in another room, so I would move him there while I cleaned the hutch, so Wick had two “homes”: 1) Hutch and 2) Pen. While he wasn’t in one, I’d clean the other.

Cleaning it will remove some of his scent, so to help transfer the scent back into a clean hutch, I recommend putting a blanket or fabric down in the hutch that you can remove when cleaning, then replace afterwards, so the hutch doesn’t smell entirely Eeyore-free when he re-enters!

Now speaking generally, a lot of rabbits don’t like their place being cleaned while they’re in it, especially when I bond isn’t fully built yet. The rabbit can get defensive or scared, so I recommend relocating Eeyore while you clean (i.e. pen). The pen will also be helpful for litter box training! Training in a hutch is hard because you can’t observe all sides of the environment, and it’s difficult to move the rabbit into the litter box after an accident occurs. In a pen, you have that freedom of observation and motion so training sessions are more effective.

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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