Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Back after being gone forever!

Viewing 15 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • SmokeyBunnyRobinson
      Participant
      356 posts Send Private Message

        Hey everyone!

        I’m not sure if anyone remembers me or Smokey (a diva Netherland Dwarf bun who will be 3 in March) but we’re back after a long hiatus from the forums. I missed everyone’s stories about their bunnies, especially the attitude-filled one (ChaCha, I’m talking about you!). And I’m wondering something about Smokey.

        Every since around May of this year, Smokey likes to poop EVERYWHERE outside her litterbox in her cage. Even at home, in her giant condo cage! The only times he WON’T poop wherever she wants is when she’s out of her cage running around the house. But I have tried moving her litterbox, changing up her cage, cleaning it so that it’s spotless, and all she does is continue to poop on the same level as her litterbox.

        She hasn’t beena acting any differently than before. She’s gone to the vet plenty of times to get nail trims (where she kicks and embarasses me) and I’ve asked them and they tell me it’s normal because she’s “marking her territory”.  But her condo she’s had for a year now and her giant cage I have for her at the preschool I work with she’s had for about a year, too, so I’m just not understanding it.  She does NOT urinate outside of her litterbox EVER. Just poop. Everywhere. But she poops in her litterbox a LOT more than outside it. I just don’t get it!

        For those of you who don’t know about Smokey’s preschool life, she’s a pre-kindergarten’s class pet where a teacher and aide (who is my mother) that I’ve known for years watch over her. Smokey has been around preschool age children since she was 2 months old and absolutely adores the kids (more than me, I think sometimes ]= ).  The kids are never allowed to run up to the cage, yell at her, put their fingers in the cage etc and are constantly taught about the correct way to handle animals etc. So if you don’t remember me and you think I’m a terrible bun mom, please don’t !  Smokey gets grumpy when she’s not around her kids haha.  Like I said, I think she loves them more than she loves me!

        Other than that, I have been attending Post University online to get my preschool teaching degree plus working so my days are pretty filled. I’m on winter break right now so I thought I should defnitely stop in here to say hello to everyone again and see if anyone has any solutions to Smokey being a diva!


      • bunnyfriend
        Participant
        2368 posts Send Private Message

          Has she been spayed? I’m going through a similar problem with my rabbit Totoro, he has been neutered for a while but he still poops everywhere and until recently he would pee everywhere too. I have started clicker training and it seems to be helping, idk if that’s something you’d be up for trying or not lol


        • Monkeybun
          Participant
          10479 posts Send Private Message

            Welcome back!

            Have your tried 2 litter boxes, one beside the other? No options but the potties, hay in the corner she can only reach by hopping in? That helped my Smudge when I first brought her home and litter trained her.


          • LoveChaCha
            Participant
            6634 posts Send Private Message

              YAYYYYYY HI SMOKEY I MISSED YOU!!

              Chacha lives in an apartment with me now, and she has 2 litter boxes. One in her condo, and one in my room. More boxes may help!


            • Stickerbunny
              Participant
              4128 posts Send Private Message

                Ya know, I JUST found out a similar thing with my rabbits – they go out of the litter box if not outside their room. If they are outside, they are fine. If I leave the door open, they are fine. If you figure out how to get the “I WANT OUT NOW OR ELSE” fixed, let me know, I have tried EVERYTHING lol (was up to six litter boxes, tried confining, putting hay in the boxes, cleaning constantly, leaving them dirty, leaving the area dirty, etc etc etc) and nothing worked. Pam said it was protest poops and I tend to agree.  lol 


              • SmokeyBunnyRobinson
                Participant
                356 posts Send Private Message

                  Yeah she’s been spayed since she was 9 months old. And this is a very recent thing. You would think with her being almost 3 years old that she wouldn’t be doing this type of thing, but nope, she’s a diva. And if I put a litter box in the area that is pooping so much, it will be the exact corner across from her current litter box. And I change her litter at least 1x-2x a week, so it’s not like it piles up so she feels like she can’t use her litter box. I just don’t know what to do!


                • MimzMum
                  Participant
                  8029 posts Send Private Message

                    Hi Smokey! You’ve been missed here!
                    I wonder if she is having any mobility problems? Mimzy presented with early onset arthritis this year (he’s 3-4 years old) that started insidiously enough and has really progressed quickly. He has a lot of trouble motivating his creaky joints to get up and go in his box (although he does still from time to time) so he just drops the cocoa puffs any old where. >_< I need to get him lower profile litterboxes.
                    The only other thing that sparked me was that you said she really loves being around the kids…so how are her litter habits in class? I wonder if she wants you to bring a few home with you for her amusement? Lol….
                    Just a few ideas. I hope you’re able to find a solution.
                    *ahem* BTW…I don’t see any pictures accompanying this post….(gets out poking stick)


                  • RabbitPam
                    Moderator
                    11002 posts Send Private Message

                      Hi, SmokeyBR, welcome back! I think you are making the best out of having her with your students by teaching them the proper care and handling of bunnies, so no worries.

                      Since she has been spayed, I am wondering if she is kicking the poos out of the box when she jumps out. Are you seeing her do it outside the box, or just finding them there? Sometimes a foot flick on a jump will scatter them. How high are the sides? Maybe a slightly bigger box is needed now.

                      Another thing to check is, if you’re seeing her doing it, listen carefully. It may be there is a noise you are used to that disturbs her, or makes her want to mark again. (Like the bus engine starts and she starts.) Their hearing is 10x better than ours, so something outside or elsewhere in the building may be setting her off.


                    • jerseygirl
                      Moderator
                      22338 posts Send Private Message

                        Welcome again! Smokey is so cute with her dark ears and dark boots!

                         

                        Posted By Stickerbunny on 12/30/2011 11:03 PM

                        Ya know, I JUST found out a similar thing with my rabbits – they go out of the litter box if not outside their room. If they are outside, they are fine. If I leave the door open, they are fine. If you figure out how to get the “I WANT OUT NOW OR ELSE” fixed, let me know, I have tried EVERYTHING lol (was up to six litter boxes, tried confining, putting hay in the boxes, cleaning constantly, leaving them dirty, leaving the area dirty, etc etc etc) and nothing worked. Pam said it was protest poops and I tend to agree.  lol 

                        Ditto. Pretty much same thing going on at my house with my pair.  They don’t have cage or pen but the area designated as theirs is poop-bombed multiple times a day by Jersey (the female). Other zones in the house are not.  She’s backwards as she had good habits as a baby, teen, pre-spay and post spay. She’s now 4 and the habits are awful.

                        Has there been any changes in your house that Smokey would feel the need to define her space again?  New pets, new people? Even contract people doing some work.  Or have you moved the position of her condo or her cage at the school?  Put something on top of it even? 

                        Is there anything from May you can think of?  Did you go away at all or did she have a vet visit at that time that could have upset her? 

                        Has there been a period where she was “spoilt” in  having more time then usual out of the cage/condo? 
                         

                         


                      • SmokeyBunnyRobinson
                        Participant
                        356 posts Send Private Message

                          No she’s pretty able to jump up and down from her first to second level condo with ease. She’s still doing binkies and getting into places she shouldn’t be. So I doubt it’s a mobility issue. And since my room is in the basement, it’s very quiet downstairs, so it’s not noise-related. Her litter box is the biggest they offer and has really high sides and has a grate, so she’s note kicking poop out of her box. It’s more like she’s about 5 inches from her litter box and just decides to poop there. It’s not even where her hay is, so it’s not like she’s grazing. And yeah, I’ve seen her do it before. I don’t even think SHE knows why she does it. It’s just like she’ll be sitting there, do it, and hop away. Over a couple of hours/days it accumulates and I suck it up with an awesome dirt devil vacuum I use for such occasions. She does NOT like the vacuum though — she growls and attacks it! lmao

                          Maybe that’s why Smokey is being this way — she wants her students home with her! I mean, who knows anymore, I am completely at a loss as to why she’s doing this. She does the same thing at school, too, with her litter box there. Not AS much as at home, but it’s still there. Then again, her hay is not in a holder like at home, so I can understand her grazing and pooping at the same time. I’m not really worried about at school since she’s only there 8 hours 4x a week as opposed to how much she’s doing it at home.

                          I did go away in August for about 3 weeks, but she was doing that before then. All I take her to the vet for is to trim her nails, and I’ve recently begun doing that since I finally got sharp clippers. And I’ve always watched her while at the vet’s and she hasn’t had anything traumatic to her. She just gets very wide-eyed until we get home, where she kicks her feet at me when she gets back in her cage (tantrum!).

                          You know, now that I think of it, when I upgraded her cage back around that time to the giant one she has now, it WAS on the other side of the room than she is now, but it’s only a couple feet away from where she currently was. Do you think that could have triggered it? Even so much that it causes her to do it at home when her condo has never been moved, only slightly moved over clean up the hay mess she made (she ALWAYS makes a mess!).

                          She doesn’t get more than a couple hours of outside time since I work til 4:30pm and have been doing school, so I can’t have her out until after I’m done my work. I often will have her hopping around on the bed with me while I’m doing my online college. So it’s not like she has been getting days outside of her cage. Since we live in a basement, I don’t trust everything around and she LOVES chewing on things she shouldn’t be (wire, paper, books, etc).

                          And sorry, sorry! I’ll be back at my house on Monday and will be SURE to upload some more photos of her! I’m sure she’ll be disapproving, as always. And thanks for everyone’s advice. Hopefully we get to the bottom of this.


                        • SmokeyBunnyRobinson
                          Participant
                          356 posts Send Private Message

                             

                             

                             

                             


                          • MimzMum
                            Participant
                            8029 posts Send Private Message

                              Oh boo…only one piccy came in for me, but it’s a beaut! She is so lovely!
                              Sooo…when did you get the dirt devil? Have you always had it or is it new?

                              It’s entirely possible the new condo in a different spot did it. Any change to their routine can set them off. I dread the mess that will follow once I get a new hab for my three and (hopefully) get them bonded. ~_~ We just got a new puppy this month too and it set all three of mine into territorial mode again even though she’s kept in another part of the house.
                              Can you move the condo back to where the old one was?


                            • SmokeyBunnyRobinson
                              Participant
                              356 posts Send Private Message

                                I got the Dirt Devil about a year and a half ago, and she’s always been around vacuums since she was younger. She’s just a grumpy bun!

                                And unfortunately, due to spacial issues the new cage at school cannot be moved to where her previous one is. It’s only a couple of feet of difference, and she has the same view of the room pretty much, but slightly changed. And would a change in school make her react with needing to poop everywhere at her home, too?


                              • MimzMum
                                Participant
                                8029 posts Send Private Message

                                  Oh, my bad…I thought you’d said her HOME pen had changed. (is embarrassed)
                                  Well I suppose it might have some effect but…hm. Have to have a better think on this one.


                                • SmokeyBunnyRobinson
                                  Participant
                                  356 posts Send Private Message

                                    No, no it’s the school cage that has changed positions. The only moving her condo cage at home has done is rolling it slightly to one side to collect the hay she has thrown outside to spite me.


                                  • LoveChaCha
                                    Participant
                                    6634 posts Send Private Message

                                      DA BABY!!! *dies*

                                  Viewing 15 reply threads
                                  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                                  Forum BEHAVIOR Back after being gone forever!