How long did it take to litterbox train your rabbit?

[bigbunnies]

So I am getting my rabbit this weekend. I believe she is 9-10 weeks old. I want her to be litter box trained and I have read up a lot about doing it the right way, having the right size of box etc. I would like to hear how long it took your bunnies to become litter box trained. My new bun is going to be a French Lop so she will be big! Anyone have other tips and tricks I should know about before I start this journey??

Thanks! 

[Gina.Jenny]

I’ve always provided multiple hay boxes, lined with puppy training pads, and all my buns, including one who can’t be altered, use them just fine, without any training needed. I use the under-bed storage boxes, which are a nice size for two bunnies at once if they feel like eating side by side.

[Bam]

My younger bunny litter-trained himself in like a day. He was quarantined outside (he was a stray) and I noticed how he used one corner of the run as a toilet, so I put a litter-box there. When he was transitioned to life indoors, he kept using the box. But he did spray pee high up on the wall behind the box – that stopped when he’d healed from his neuter though.

My other bun was an adult when i got him and I had to train him. It took several weeks and he kept peeing on soft stuff like throw rugs and the dog’s bed for a very long time, but that eventually stopped too.

It’s easier to liter train young buns than old, but prepare yourself for a re-lapse in bad litter box habits when puberty strikes. De-sexing generally puts a stop to that.

[mlim2222]

I never trained my bunny because she naturally started using it right away. Bunnies normally choose one spot to pee in because they inherently remain pretty clean. All I do is get a cardboard box, line it with some newspaper and hay, and boom. I get new boxes about monthly and change her newspaper 1-3 times a day depending on how dirty it is.

[jerseygirl]

Posted By mlim2222 on 5/10/2016 8:51 PM


I never trained my bunny because she naturally started using it right away. Bunnies normally choose one spot to pee in because they inherently remain pretty clean. All I do is get a cardboard box, line it with some newspaper and hay, and boom. I get new boxes about monthly and change her newspaper 1-3 times a day depending on how dirty it is.

This. ^

Provide a place to go, litter and hay in the box. No other absorbent materials lining cage or pen initially.  If bun chooses another spot to pee, move box there. 

[Q8bunny]

My bun picked a spot on his first day, I put his box in that corner, and he’s used the potty exclusively ever since, with the exception of spraying me out of love right before his neutering, and the odd raisin he leaves for me when he’s been startled or really relaxed (like after a long massage). But he will literally leave just one present. LOL

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Q8bunny on 5/11/2016 10:40 AM

My bun picked a spot on his first day, I put his box in that corner, and he’s used the potty exclusively ever since, with the exception of spraying me out of love right before his neutering, and the odd raisin he leaves for me when he’s been startled or really relaxed (like after a long massage). But he will literally leave just one present. LOL

The joys of having one rabbit.  Those were the days…  j/k. I don’t regret having more then one but it does mean more poop and less of it in the box! Though, my single boy is pretty great with litter habits.

[Q8bunny]

I would so love more stray poops if it meant that Mr It’s All About Me would tolerate a friend.

[NoMane]

Mine took to it immediately. She doesn’t like hay in her litter box(weird bun) but it was the only place with litter. She hops in, poops/pees and hops out. No fuss.

[narkut]

I’m so jealous to read your posts!
My two bunnies are 10/11 months old, I have had them for 8 months and they are still not 100% litter trained! Just when I think they’ve mastered it, they leave me a little wee patch somewhere in the room.

[Azerane]

Bandit litter trained himself, I didn’t need to do anything but provide the box, so that was easy.

Apollo and Luna were pretty good initially, though would pee in places they shouldn’t. Now, 99% of pee makes it in, still find one out of the box about once a week. And poop is an ongoing battle. Again 99% makes it in the box, but it also ends up EVERYWHERE!

[sarahthegemini]

Once I removed all straw from their cages and only put litter in the litter boxes, my bunnies peed exclusively in the trays right away. It was literally instant. Poop was another story. It took a few weeks of constantly picking up poops and putting them in their boxes before I saw an improvement. But I think it would have been quicker if I wasn’t changing their living area so much. I would say it got to about 60-70% of poops in the litter trays. Once they were neutered and spayed, within a few days to a week, I’d say about 95% of poops were in the trays They do drop a few when they’re just relaxing and don’t want to get up to go to their toilet lol but it doesn’t bother me. Oh and they do accidentally fling poops out of their trays when they jump out but that’s hardly their fault. I need higher trays!

[Vienna Blue in France]

I would so love more stray poops if it meant that Mr It’s All About Me would tolerate a friend

yeah, like Zou immediately opened her arms for Henry….

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Rabbits are creatures of habit and like to go in the same area, therefore they are often easily litter trained. Some general info:

– Rabbit poo is relatively clean and odour-free, but rabbit pee is highly concentrated and smelly. It’s so concentrated that it can leave permanent stains on carpets, furniture or floors. Rabbit pee can be so dark orange that it almost looks like blood. Wipe away immediately and rub with white vinegar to eliminate the smell.
– Rabbits may pee/poo all around their territory for the first days to mark it. It’s best to keep them confined to a certain area for these first days, and to introduce them to the litter box immediately.
– Rabbits are stubborn, put the litterbox where they indicate they want to go. You won’t win this battle of wills.
– Rabbits like to pee on soft surfaces, make sure that the litter box is the only really soft thing in the area.
– Corner model litter boxes do not work for many rabbits, total waste of money.
– Wooden litter pellets for cats make good litter, top it with straw or hay.
– If they have access to multiple rooms in your house, have multiple litter boxes as well. Otherwise they may think the walk is too much of a hassle.

Our NL dwarf bun Breintje used to stay at my BFs house, where he was allowed to pee/poo anywhere in his cage. On the bottom of the cage he used straw and wood pellet kitty litter. This always worked, until we took Breintje to my place. I have a disability and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to lift an entire cage bottom filled with litter and hay.

Our mission was to teach Breintje to use a litter box, and that was quite a process. Many rabbits can’t use the corner model litter boxes properly, as we soon found out. What a waste of money, those things from the pet store. Things were very messy until we bought a simple rectangular plastic box of about 30×45 cms. Breintje has more than enough space in it now. We also found out that many rabbits prefer to pee on soft spots. This meant that we eventually had to clear out the entire cage: only the litter box is covered with hay. The whole re-training process took us nearly half a year, so it’s best to get it right the first time.

We still have the occasional spill if Breintje leans out over the edge a bit too far, but nothing a quick wipe won’t fix.

[Krista]

I got Bilbo when he was 8 weeks and 6 days old and he had never had a litter box since I bought him from a local breeder (there are no rabbit rescues near me and I’m not buying one from a farm store. There is a rabbit rescue I guess but it is close to 5 hours away and I don’t feel comfortable driving even an hour away) anyway, he was in a wire bottomed cage no litter box. When I brought him home he never peed once out of his litter box. Not a single time. I think it is because he never had something comfortable to go tinkle on and now he did. You might get lucky and have a rabbit like Bilbo. Now, Bilbo does pee and poop everywhere now. Especially if my dog is around or my boyfriend. That’s because he hit puberty back in January and I only have $100/$150 so far to neuter him. I suggest neutering asap .-. or spaying if it is a girl

[Melody and tigger <3]

It took my baby 1 day haha but it depends on ur rabbit it can sometimes take a month and sometimes they dont learn till there spayed or neutered

[Boymom4]

I’ve had multiple rabbits and about the same experience with each one. They pick their own corners and it’s up to you to provide the litter box where they choose to go. I’ve generally found that the cage is pretty easy to set up and there are about 7-10 little accidents throughout the house before you figure out where their roaming corner is going to be. Scrubbing with soap that overpowers their scent generally helps deter them from going there again. Once their place is fully established, occasionally they will still surprise you with a new spot but this is not usually a change of location so much as just marking a spot they felt needed to smell more like them. Spaying or neutering will eliminate this nearly 100% of the time.
Since you are new to rabbits there are a few other things to understand. 1. The older the rabbit, the longer it may take. 2. “Litter training” is about the peeing. While if their food dish/hay is provided to them in their litter box, they will put most of their poop there, until they are fixed they will probably continue to poop everywhere. Sometimes after a few hours free, our house looks like the rabbit was trying to map out the constellations on the carpet. Once their territorial hormones wear off, so does the bunny astronomy.
3. Be prepared to clean the sofas and chairs. It just happens unfortunately. We have resorted to blocking off the furniture from the unaltered ones until they have been fixed and had enough time to let those hormones wear off.
Good luck with your new bunny. For all that information, they are absolutely worth all the beginning hassles

[Boymom4]

I’ve had multiple rabbits and about the same experience with each one. They pick their own corners and it’s up to you to provide the litter box where they choose to go. I’ve generally found that the cage is pretty easy to set up and there are about 7-10 little accidents throughout the house before you figure out where their roaming corner is going to be. Scrubbing with soap that overpowers their scent generally helps deter them from going there again. Once their place is fully established, occasionally they will still surprise you with a new spot but this is not usually a change of location so much as just marking a spot they felt needed to smell more like them. Spaying or neutering will eliminate this nearly 100% of the time.
Since you are new to rabbits there are a few other things to understand. 1. The older the rabbit, the longer it may take. 2. “Litter training” is about the peeing. While if their food dish/hay is provided to them in their litter box, they will put most of their poop there, until they are fixed they will probably continue to poop everywhere. Sometimes after a few hours free, our house looks like the rabbit was trying to map out the constellations on the carpet. Once their territorial hormones wear off, so does the bunny astronomy.
3. Be prepared to clean the sofas and chairs. It just happens unfortunately. We have resorted to blocking off the furniture from the unaltered ones until they have been fixed and had enough time to let those hormones wear off.
Good luck with your new bunny. For all that information, they are absolutely worth all the beginning hassles

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