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Forum BEHAVIOR Litter Box Training

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    • CocoVermont802
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        Question:

        I just got my rabbit a week ago and I would like to litter train her. She is 3 months old. I bought a litter box at the pet store and i have just been putting the wood shavings in it like i do the rest of the cage. Should i buy some of the fluffy shavings instead… so she can distinguish between them?

         

        Ive been placing her “coco pellets” in their along with some wet shavings.

         

        Thanks!


      • Stickerbunny
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          Welcome. Here are some tips on litter training:

          1) Wood SHAVINGS are bad for rabbits and can cause serious health problems due to the fumes (unless it is aspen). Yours look like pine shavings, which are very bad for them. Get rid of the wood shavings all together. If you like the absorbency of wood, use wood PELLETS like feline pine cat litter (wood stove pellets are cheaper if they are available, without accelerant). The pellet process removes the oils and makes it safe for the buns.

          2) Don’t put bedding in the cage bottom, rabbits can’t tell the difference in bedding and litter – to them it’s all the same. JUST put it in the litter box and clean the bottom of the cage as needed to keep the mess in the litter box. Rabbits don’t like walking in their own mess, so it is also incentive for them to be cleaner about it.

          3) It’s hard to train a rabbit who is not altered, so she might not get it completely until she’s spayed (female rabbits have about 80% chance of cancer by age 2 if left unaltered). So don’t get discouraged if she doesn’t quite get it.

          4) Adding hay to the litter box helps, since rabbits like to eat and go to the bathroom at the same time. If she does make a lot of mess around her water / food, you can also rig her pellets and water to be in the litter box.

          5) Make sure the litter box is BIG enough for her to comfortably flop out in if she so chooses. Rabbits like to have lots of room.


        • HippityHopMom
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            yes, what Stickerbunny said above is very good advise.   I wanted to also mention …. you should find something to put the hay in …. I found a white wire coated silverware rack  (has open squares for air circulation) …… I took this and mounted it on the side of my cage and it hangs just above the litter box, yet low enough that my bun can reach in it and get the hay ….. this helps keep the hay from spreading on the floor of the litter box and getting dirty …. because once the hay gets dirty … your bun will not eat it.      Binky Bunny also sells hay holders  that you can hang on the side of your cage to hold the hay.     

            I have a small Holland Dwarf … and I buy her a kitten litter pan and these are found at Walmart in the cat litter pan section.   They are about 2 to 3 inches deep.   

            I also have a big regular size rabbit and she has to have a deeper litter pan.   I go to the kitchen section at Walmart and buy a deep dish pan that you set down in a kitchen sink.   I find these to be much less expensive than buying a big cat litter pan in the pet section.    Same plastic … but it seems stores want to charge us more for pet products than kitchen products….. they know we love our pets and they are taking advantage of pet owners … so think outside the box …. to find ways to help save on supplies for your pets.  


          • CocoVermont802
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              I dont think they are pine…. this is the website of the brand                     http://www.supershavins.com/

              It says that they are hemlock spruce and fir, plus their is a rabbit on the bag…. is this ok? (if not tomorrow ill have to get something different)

              When you say just put shavings in the box not the whole cage, do i just leave it hard plastic? or should i put down a blanket or towel? maybe if you have a picture of your cage that would help me.

              THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!!!!!


            • Mandyyy
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                Just because there’s an animal on the bag doesn’t mean its safe for the animals. Pine and ceder is made for animals, but can be harmful. Most rat foods bought in pet stores are HIGHLY unhealthy (I make my furbutts their own food mix), and most rabbit treats are unhealthy too. :/

                It says it’s low n the chemicals that are in Pine and Ceder… so I don’t know if I’d trust it it… I never even heard of the brand before.

                My bunnies are in the process of litter training, well one is. Right now I don’t have an bedding on the bottom of their cage. It’s easier to clean up Domino’s mess. I use paper towels when she pees out of the box, soak up the urine, and then put it in the box. So for me it’s much easier. It it gets cold in my room (and it does sometimes) I throw in a blanket for them to cuddle with, but usually it’s just the plastic. Once she’s box trained I’ll be adding fleece to the bottom.


              • Stickerbunny
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                  Spruce and Fir are both softwoods, which according to house rabbit society any soft wood shaving should be avoided due to the phenols (pine / cedar are the most popular but any soft wood isn’t recommended), so I wouldn’t risk it personally. Hard woods are safe (like Aspen) http://www.rabbit.org/care/shavings.html and soft wood pellets are safe. You’ll find that a lot of the products marketed for rabbits are actually NOT SAFE (like most of the foods you find in pet stores, since rabbits shouldn’t have anything but plain old timothy based pellets no colored junk or seeds), there isn’t really much of a rule on what they can sell for small animals. :s

                  If she won’t pee on it you can put a fleece blanket down, but for training I just used the plain plastic cage bottom since rabbits tend to pee on anything absorbent when young. I don’t have a cage anymore for either of my rabbits (they have a room all to themselves), so can’t really give you a picture of mine, but if you look under habitats a lot of people have placed pictures of their cages.


                • CocoVermont802
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                    Thanks for your help! when I got them in the pet store they used the same shavings i bought. But  your paper towel idea sounds great! im gonna go buy some paper towels and a little blanket tomorrow.

                    Not sure what ill do with my giant bag of shavings now…. Lol oh well!

                    Thanks very helpful!


                  • Stickerbunny
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                      My pet store uses corn cob, but it has been known to cause impactions and in birds respiratory infections. *shrug* Pet stores aren’t that educated on “exotics”, sadly. You can use the shavings for your plants, they make great cover for the soil.


                    • Mandyyy
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                        I have been to a few pet stores that used Pine or ceder…. So I wouldn’t go by what they use either.


                      • CocoVermont802
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                          Do you know where you can buy the “yesterdays news” pellets? Im def going tomorrow to get some towels to put on the bottom and get those shavings out of there, there making me kinda nervous!


                        • Stickerbunny
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                            Yesterdays news can be bought at petsmart, petco etc (pretty much most pet stores). It’s just a cat litter. I use it for my buns. Exquiscat is the generic version of yesterdays news as well, which is still 100% recycled paper pellets.


                          • CocoVermont802
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                              Thanks for all your help everyone! Today i went out and bought a few towels and ditched the shavings, i also found yesterdays news! so i use the news in the litter box and that is the only place she has been peeing and pooing!!!!! its easy clean up for me!

                              Thanks again


                            • Stickerbunny
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                                Yay, glad she got the hint so easily.


                              • Beka27
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                                  The effects of wood shavings are cumulative too. So you don’t need to be afraid that she was on wood shavings for the first couple months of her life. She will be just fine and shouldn’t suffer any long-term effects. I used shavings with my other rabbit before, until I learned that they weren’t good for him. (Plus, they don’t absorb anything and do not mask odor.) The key is reading, doing your research, and along with input from your vet, making the best life for your new bun!

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                              Forum BEHAVIOR Litter Box Training