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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 Litter Training Experience Tips?

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    • summer
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        My boyfriend rescued two bunnies and kept them for a month and now they’re with me.

        At my boyfriend’s place, as soon as they got a litter box, they knew to only pee there. There was one time where one angled himself so that he peed outside the cage while he was inside but besides that, no ‘accidents’. My boyfriend let them roam free in his small studio apartment and they never peed, only pooped.

        My boyfriend’s litter box was empty. He didn’t have any litter or hay in there. It’s a plastic tub with a wire metal cover so the bunnies can hop on and off.

        When they moved in, I had all of the bunnies’ belongings.

        But I did change some things.

        – I bought bunny-safe wood pellets and put it in the litter box

        – I bought a hay rack and hung it over the litter box. A LOOOOT of hay falls into the litter but there’s nothing I can do because it’s cut hay. I can’t find any rack with small holes… I looked at a bunch of DIY stuff but I still think the hay will fall through since it’s been pre-cut. Previously, my boyfriend just put a pile of hay in their cage. 

        Whenever I let them out they pee every where! I looked up a bunch of litter-training tips so i made a makeshift area for them to play in. Still pees everywhere. Added another litter box in the play area. Still pees everyone except the litter box. I make the space smaller again. More pee.

        My boyfriend suggested to take out the litter and have an empty litter box like how he did. So I did that. I came home and found that they pooped more in the litterbox than before, but then they peed inside their cage!!! My boyfriend says this didn’t happen in his home. He then suggests to lose the hay rack and leave it on the floor of their cage. Now I’m wondering if they really didn’t pee in their cage or if they peed and the hay just absorbed it… 

        I’m really struggling. I like these bunnies a lot but I work 8 hours and have a 3 hour commute a day (1.5 hours each way) and then I have a lot of work when I get home. Honestly, my boyfriend is just as busy but my situation is better because I live alone whereas he has a roommmate and the roommate didn’t like the rabbits. 

        I tried to watch them carefully and I heard that they lift their tail when they pee or poop but one of my bunnies don’t do that. Pee literally appears as he his binkying around. The other one kind of lift his back legs and front legs (like makes a tent with his tummy… hope this makes sense) and makes the most hilarious facial expression as he pees. But he pees too fast!

        I tried to pick him up and put him in the litter than soak up the pee with a tissue and put it in the litter to show him but it doesn’t work. Now he stares at me, pees, and quickly runs into the cage to avoid being picked up. He doesn’t like to be picked up. The other bunny doesn’t mind being picked up so when i do the same thing, he doesn’t care or see it as a punishment. 

        Sorry for the long post!


      • Sarita
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          How old are your rabbits and are they spayed/neutered?


        • summer
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            They were very small when he took them in. My boyfriend’s friend who owns rabbits estimated them to be about 2~2.5 months old right now, but we aren’t sure. They are definitely not ready to be altered. We don’t know if they’re male or female, our friend couldn’t tell yet.

            I think my post may be a bit confusing but the summary is that when they are inside their cage, they use their litter box very well (they always pee there and mostly poo there). When I let them out in a small play area, they pee there. They don’t go back in the cage to pee.

            By the way, they don’t hate their cage. When i snap my fingers they easily go back into their cage. Sometimes I let they out and they’d rather stay in. Sometimes when they’re out they like to hop in and out of the cage but they don’t hop in to pee =_=;


          • JackRabbit
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              If your boyfriend had them for a while and now you have them, I’d guess they’re older than that since they really should have still been with their mother (s) until at least 8 weeks old. So, assuming they are at least a little older (maybe 3+ months), then they may be hitting their “teenage” bunny period where litter habits tend to be a bit careless.

              If they are hitting that time then hormones would be kicking in and you need to first and foremost make sure you don’t have male and female bunnies or you risk having multiplying bunnies. Its always a good idea to have new bunnies checked over by a rabbit savvy vet. Not only will you get a definite determination of the buns’ sex, you’ll be able to catch any health issues early and have an opportinity to discuss spaying (a must for female buns — high risk of reproductive cancer) and/or neutering. If you are not already positive about the sex of the bunnies, best to separate them to prevent unwanted litters. Spayed/neutered bunnies are generally much better with litter babits too.

              On the litterbox setup, you can try different types of bunny-safe litter to see which your bunnies prefer, but put some of their poops in there and wipe up some of their pee accidents with a paper towel and put that down in the litter so they can smell that the litterbox is the place for these things.


            • summer
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                They were being sold by an illegal seller selling rabbits at a subway station. She and the rabbits were taken away but two some how got left behind and the authorities already left so my boyfriend took them. I wouldn’t be surprised if the illegal seller weened them early or didn’t take care of them properly before going out to sell them. We only think they’re 2~2.5 months old because they are so tiny.

                Will they start mating at 3 months? Google says 6 for most breeds?

                They do perfectly well with peeing and pooing when they’re in their cage. But when I let them out they pee and poo in the play area. I need to find a way to train them to go back to the cage and pee.


              • JackRabbit
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                  Smaller breeds mature faster than large breeds. Depending on the breed and the individual bunny’s hormones, it is possible for them to breed extremely young.


                • JackRabbit
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                    Can you put a second litterbox in the play area?


                  • summer
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                      I already did that. They continued peeing in other areas but not in the box. I have already tried soaking up their urine with toilet paper and putting it in the play area litter box.

                      I’m going to try putting the play area litter box in their cage while I’m at work tomorrow so they’ll get their pee/poo in there and then switch it back when i get home. I hope that’ll work… and I hope they won’t pee in their cage due to the litter box change. The litter boxes are different colors and slightly different in size but I don’t think they’ll notice things like that.


                    • JackRabbit
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                        Hope that works for you.


                      • summer
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                          Ok, so I bought the same litter box two days ago and put the old one in the play area and the new one in their cage. Gave them dinner and made sure they pooed and peed in the new one and then let them out. No pee in the play area! They went back in to rest and about an hour later went back out and I saw one pee in the litter box!

                          From then to now, no accidents in the play area. I would say it worked =D

                          Maybe they didn’t like the litter box in the play area, so I guess I won’t use it anymore.


                        • summer
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                            I spoke too soon. I let them out yesterday and one of them peed right next to/on the side of the litter box. I am hoping it’s because the litter box was a little dirty, though. I decided to move the box to where she peed but it’s kind of in the middle of the play area and I thought rabbits preferred their peeing spaces in corners?

                            But also whenever she’s out she lets a SERIES of poo everywhere. She kind of sat for a while and I heard a weird noise that I thought was peeing so I quickly lured her to another side of the play area to find maybe 8~10 poops! She poops so much in the play area. Is she marking her territory? SHe does not poo that much in her cage. And the play area’s mat is a mat that I previously had to the cage for 3~5 days to get their scent in for the purpose of them NOT wanting to mark territory there. I guess that didn’t work????

                            My other bunny does not poo as much. Maybe just one or two when he’s on in the play area.


                          • summer
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                              They peed under their water dish and a slab of marble I put in for them to cool themselves since it’s getting hotter.

                              I looked it up online and found that if new items are introduced, it might trigger them to pee on it. So put the washed flooring back in, the cleaned litter box back in and put in the piece of of wood and a rock that they have always had in their cage back in (they didn’t pee on those).

                              I think I’ll keep things the way they are for 3 days and if there’s no pee accidents I will reintroduce the water dish.
                              Then another 3 days if there’s not pee accidents I’ll try and introduce the marble slab again.

                              Does that sound good?

                              They have a water bottle that they both drink from regularly so they won’t be without water, don’t worry!!

                              I need to try and make them feel like their cage/sleeping area is their home and prevent them from peeing outside the litterbox.
                              So I will stop rearranging anything when they are in their cage. But I will continue picking up any stray poops while they’re inside to show them where the poop goes, is that okay?

                              If I rearrange things while they’re outside the cage but looking, is that ok? Their cage is attached to the play area and I sometimes close the door to clean without them hopping in. But they would poke their heads through the bars and look. Should I cover the space between the cage and the play area with cardboard so they can’t see what’ I’m doing?

                              Sorry if I’m annoying… I just want to take care of my bunnies!

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                          Forum BEHAVIOR Litter Training Experience Tips?