Weird pooping habits

[Angela93]

 I’ve decided to tackle one of Harry’s habits since he’s been neutered a month today and he’s been litter trained since he was 9 weeks old (picked it up real quick). When he was potty trained he was then allowed to have free roam of the house. One of the things we noticed was he would sit in “his corner” of the house for about 10 min and constantly pull poop from himself and pile them up on the floor. He will leave about 20 at a time and then throughout the day he will come back and do it some more leaving us with a HUGE pile to clean up. We have a litter pan there along with the one in his cage and has been there since he made it “his corner” at 9 weeks old. I thought maybe he was getting his cecals but now I’m not so sure. I want to try and tackle is problem if there is a solution and see if anyone else had this problem. 

[101BunnyLover101]

i have and let me ask u something does he use the corner when his litter box is full???

[Angela93]

He will pee in it always no matter if its full or freshly changed but he will still pick his poop out one by one no matter what. I scoop his poop back into the litter pan but he will come back and do it again.

[101BunnyLover101]

Try putting the litter box in the corner where he poops

[Angela93]

Since he made that his corner in the house outside of his cage there has always been a litter pan there. It’s the exact same one as the pan in his cage.

[101BunnyLover101]

I’m sorry I have nothing else I’d just put a litter box on his cage and one in the corner that’s what helped my bun and if it doesn’t help yours then I’m sorry I have nothing else

[Angela93]

It’s okay, thanks though.

[LBJ10]

Okay, so he is pooping in that corner where you put a litter box but not actually pooping inside said litter box? I guess I’m confused as to what the issue is. If he prefers that corner and you have furnished him with a litter box that he uses there, then what is the problem?

[MoveDiagonally]

Posted By LBJ10 on 06/29/2013 04:48 PM
Okay, so he is pooping in that corner where you put a litter box but not actually pooping inside said litter box? I guess I’m confused as to what the issue is. If he prefers that corner and you have furnished him with a litter box that he uses there, then what is the problem?

I’m confused as well. What is the issue?

[Angela93]

He has a litter pan in his corner of the house along with one in his cage. When he is outside of the cage he will use the one in his corner of the house. He uses the one in his cage for everything but when he is outside the cage he will only pee in his litter pan that is in his corner. He will sit outside of the pan and pull poop from himself and pile them OUTSIDE the pan and never poop in the pan. He will only use it to pee whereas the pan in the cage he will do both. The problem is how to stop him from doing this since I know it is possible for him to stop since he does it in the cage.

I’ve tried to clean up after him, telling him to stop, and cleaning up every one he pulls out and put in straight into the pan but he just doesn’t quite get it I guess. I’ve been pretty patient with this for 5 months and thought fixing him would stop the marking they do with their poop if that was what it was. But I don’t think it’s marking since he will ONLY do it in that one spot in the whole house, right outside the litter pan. I could attach a picture if this is still confusing.

Thanks!

[LBJ10]

Okay, I see what you’re saying. Honestly, what you describe seems territorial to me. Neutering doesn’t always stop marking, especially if there is something in the environment that is making him feel the need to claim what is his. Obviously this litter box is “his” and he is feeling insecure about it. Have you tried blocking the sides off so he can’t sit next to it?

[Angela93]

It’s one of the corner ones so I’m not sure how I would go about that effectively. Should I just scratch it and start over with a different one maybe a cat one or a bigger corner one and see if he feels like it could be his? He sleeps in that area the most (beside it or to the side) and sleeps in front of it on his poop, I’m not sure if that could be a sign of him not feeling very secure about it. When I move the pan to accommodate where he poops the most he just keeps following it and doing his routine again so moving it hasn’t helped either so not sure if that would help with this situation.

[LBJ10]

A larger one might help. Try a cat one that is deeper. What you’re describing really sounds like a territorial issue. Have there been any other changes to his environment? New people, pets, things? Has anything moved? Changes to his routine?

[TamarizRabbit]

Definitely get a bigger box. Our bun likes to mark outside the box, especially in the evening. But now she has bigger box she only leaves a few outside the box in her cage. I think that’s to tell me to keep the dust pan out! She likes to bite that!

Oh ps. Don’t buy expensive cat litter pans first. My Bun like the £1.20 washing up bowls from the local corner shop!

[Angela93]

He’s the only pet I have and has been since I’ve brought him home. There hasn’t been a change in routine other than him being allowed out longer during the day since I finished my summer classes. I mean he’s been doing this since he was litter trained in his cage. When he peed and pooped in his corner of the house for the first time I bought a litter pan immediately. He understood to pee in it but still insists on sitting outside of it and pull poop from himself and pile it up right outside of it.

I’m wondering if he thinks he doesn’t have as much room so it’s easier doing it outside of it because its a bigger area than in his cage. He does it in his litter pan that’s in the cage which is the same size. Maybe since his cage is smaller than his corner of the house he just does it in the pan in his cage and when he comes out he wants more room since its available…?

[MoveDiagonally]

Most rabbits like to be able to hang out and lounge in their litter boxes. The corner ones are generally too small for any rabbit to do that.

A larger box might help with the issue because he’s hanging out near it but might not feel like he has enough room to really relax in there. If it were me, I would get a larger box for him in his cage too.

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