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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Newbie bunny owner questions.

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    • Carrie
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        I’m a new bunny owner of a holland lop named Beatrice! I have a few different questions and figured it’d be easier to discuss in one post rather than blowing up the boards with many posts. My bunny was born 3/28/16 so it’s almost 8 weeks old.

        So here goes:

        My first question is this; I picked my bunny up last night to bring her to the living room (her cage is in the dining room) because we were out all day and I wanted to make sure that we were able to give her some time out of her cage as she goes a bit nutso digging, scratching and chomping at a cardboard box we have in the cage at night and at dawn and it wakes me and my boyfriend up multiple times a night. I’ve left the cage door open and she had came out the last two days and it stopped her from doing the digging at night so this is why I wanted to make sure she got some time out of the cage. When I brought her to the living room she was not happy. She seemed frantic that she couldn’t find her cage and just in general didn’t seem happy and curious to her surroundings, like she was the other times she was out. So after about 15 minutes of waiting to see if she would calm down I decided to have her go back but she was too frantic to herd back to her cage so I again had to pick her up. When I checked on her today she had a bit of loose stool in her litter box but also had regular pebbles since then. Should I be worried about this, or just avoid picking her up to avoid the almost diarrhea (it was a bit liquid-y but still had almost formed pebbles).

        Also, what’s up with the digging at night? Why only at night? Should she have something more comfy to cuddle up to at night? She has a 3x3x2 NIC cage that I built her with a mid level and top level, but she doesn’t go up on them because I assume she’s content with the space she has at the bottom and just isn’t interested in jumping yet. Is it too much space for her? She has the cardboard box to hide in and a willow tunnel that she loves chomping on. Other than that she doesn’t seem much interested in anything else. I understand she’s still young so she probably doesn’t do very much other than eating and pooping. I just am over thinking everything and want to ensure I’m giving her a happy healthy life.

        She also likes to hang out in her litter box a lot so it also makes me wonder if she needs something more cuddly? The floor of the cage is a dog kennel floor with a cotton rug for traction. She’s been doing well peeing in the litter box and mostly poops in there too. I assume the few poop pebbles outside of her box are from her hopping out of the box or when she gets startled by a noise, as I’ve only had her for less than a week. She also will push the CareFRESH litter bedding away to form a clear area for her to lay in the box? lol.

        How often are do you clean the litter box? And how do you go about doing it? I scoop the pee clumps out but because of pushing the litter and poop out of the way I find myself dumping the box every other day so she’s not laying in poo? Am I not putting enough litter in the box? I put about an inch of litter across the whole box with some hay and she also has her feeder hanging over her box that has pellets and hay.

        Sorry for all these ignorant questions. I can post pics of the cage if it would make it easier to understand what I’m explaining. I appreciate any advice! Thank you!


      • Rebelbun
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          Rabbits tend to lay in their litterboxes. It’s a normal bunny thing as far as I know.

          She probably hasn’t gotten round to exploring the second floor of the cage or maybe she doesn’t know it’s there? Have you tried putting her up there and letting her come back down on her own?

          Was the soft poops actually runny or was they just most and soft? Did it look like a bunch of tiny regular poops mushed together?

          Rabbits tend to be more active at night and sleep during the day. That’s just natural bunny behavior, sorry My bunnies do the same but I’ve gotten use to the noise since I’ve had them. She’s going to be less active when you let her out of the cage because she can release some of her energy.
          As for freaking out in the livingroom, it may be cause it’s a new place? Has she been in there without her cage before? Her cage is kind of like her “safe” area because it’s what she knows. Did you have a tv or any other kind of noise going on? She may have just been stressed by the new surroundings.

          She’s really young so she’s going to eat and poop a lot. Right now I’ve been cleaning my litter boxes every couple days cause I have 5 baby bunnies and 3 Adults, but my bunnies haven’t been laying in them as much because I have the feeders over them to encourage the babies to use the litter boxes instead of the floor.

          I hope some of this helps a little. Good luck with your bun!


        • Love4Bunny
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            Welcome I agree, I think she needs time and a lot of patience to adjust to her new surroundings. And she’s just a baby, also.

            I think scooping out the wet spots and replacing it with clean litter daily is good thing. I place newspaper inside, on the bottom of my litter boxes to ensure my wood stove pellets don’t slide around. You can additionally put in a screen from the BB store (makes my life easier). I don’t use paper products for litter, so I have little experience with how to make that work for you. Sorry! Having said that, some rabbits like to sleep in their litter boxes, and although mine don’t, it’s the hub of their enclosure. So all of that is normal.

            Have you got a good bunny vet on standby? That’s important. If I were you, I would also search the forum on bunny diarrhea, etc, just to be prudent, because if it becomes truly runny, that’s not a good sign. Was it pee mixed with poop, do you think? Or just poop? You may want to include several litter boxes in the newer areas. This way, she’ll have somewhere to go, and something to chew on (hay) if she’s stressed, which could well be if there are strange noises, lots of activity or new smells.

            There’s a lot of great stuff in the bunny info section that might answer some of your questions about what to expect regarding behaviour and such (rabbits are crepuscular, which is why they’re active in the evening, etc, etc).

            She’ll need something for traction, but if she’s a chewer, get rid of the carpet immediately. I use sea grass mats. Also, you want to make sure that she doesnt ingest too much cardboard. My rabbits like willow sticks and toys (rabbit-safe ones), and you can get those online. I don’t think rabbits need soft stuff underfoot all the time, but she may appreciate a soft toy or soft blankie to cuddle up to.


          • Carrie
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              Thanks for the replies!

              Her poop’s were back to normal yesterday and have stayed normal since. I think they were cecotropes as they weren’t a true liquid and more just looked mushed, like she may have stepped on them. I tried to attach a pic of what it looked like but the file from my phone is too big to load.

              I’m going to give her some time to get used to her cage before I pick her up again . She really didn’t like it and I got scratched a little the first time. The second time I cuddled her in a towel. I moved her cardboard box to the second level to peak her interest though and she still has her willow tunnel to hide out in at the bottom.

              As for the freak out in the living room, no she hasn’t ever been in there. She only explored the dining area where her cage is but I wouldn’t be able to block that entire area off and watch her properly from the living room so I brought her to the living room with us and yes we were watching a movie as well. Could have just been too much new stuff in a short time for her. We will be moving the first week of July so it will be a much better living area for us all and she will have her cage in a better area where I can have her out to explore and she will still have access to her cage daily. Right now it’s difficult to let her out and block off the entire dining area and just let her be unsupervised, since it is a very open area I have to be there at all times to make sure she isn’t chewing the walls, chairs, etc etc or going under an area where she shouldn’t be.

              That’s good to know about her night time antics lol. Our house is so small (like studio apartment small) right now so we hear every noise. Won’t be much longer til we have our own room and she will be able to do as she pleases without disturbing us anymore. My boyfriend is getting a bit grouchy as he’s a light sleeper and deals with it all night, while I’m a deep sleeper and only wake at dawn with her ?.

              Where do you find your wood stove pellets? This is the option I wanted to try out first but could not find them in any store as the winter season is passed. The CareFRESH works but to scoop it like you would cat litter is impossible as the paper clumps are quiet large and I get frustrated and just change the entire bin. LOL I imagine changing it as often as I do will become quiet costly though.

              The cotton rug is tightly woven and she doesn’t chew it but it is a temporary flooring for right now anyways. I wish the dog pan bottom were more rubbery for traction but it’s a slick plastic instead so she absolutely needs something on that as she would be sliding and slipping all over. I’ve been churning over ideas on what to do for flooring. I have some fleece fabric to put down on the shelves but am thinking I may go with some cheap laminate for the shelves. Just haven’t decided what to do for the dog pan bottom, the sea grass mats seem like a very doable option- cheap, looks nice, and edible.

              I haven’t found a vet yet but have been asking around. The only one I’ve been told of was somewhere on some street they think, oi! I’ll get back on that though, thanks for the reminder!


            • tobyluv
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              3310 posts Send Private Message

                Hi Carrie and welcome to Binky Bunny! If you can’t find wood stove pellets this time of year, you can use horse stall pellets instead. There is one brand called Equine Pine. You might be able to find it or something similar at a feed store or hardware store, any place that might have horse supplies. If you have a Tractor Supply in your area, they sell one variety of horse stall pellets – http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/equine-fresh-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb?cm_vc=-10005


              • Rebelbun
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                  Paper litter is also bad if she eats it I hear


                • Karen
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                    Hi, my name is Karen and I am a newby. I have a few questions that I will put out to the group:

                    I got my bunny, Juno, about 1 month ago and he is now 2 months old. He is the sweetest, curious and bravest little guy! When I get him out of the cage, he follows me around. He hates it when I pick him up. When I take him back to his cage he gets wiggly and tries to jump out of my hands. He has succeeded a couple times but I don’t want him to get hurt. I can’t catch him to put him back. He will eventually go back to his cage. I don’t want to leave when he is out as he could escape out the door.

                    Having trouble with the litter box thing. The person I got him from said to put litter in and put a little urine and feces in so he knows where to go. Sheesh, he still goes all over his cage and I feel I have to clean it daily which is rather costly. Thought he stopped going all over the house and he has for the most part. Then….found a corner that he is going in where I can’t see him. I put a litter box there in hopes that will help. Any ideas for cage and house?

                    Last, I have a small dog, about 9 lbs. The first day I let him out he ran up to the dog! He was tethered across the room in case. He is the friendliest dog I have ever had. They love each other. I want to unleash the dog so they can both run around and enjoy each other. I have tried a couple of times and Jax (the dog that is only 1 year old) is very sweet, they touch noses, smell each other, etc. I am not afraid that Jax would intentionally hurt him; however, every time the bunny runs Jax chases him and it seems that he treats him like prey! Also, he has always been kind of mouthy when he plays. Doesn’t hurt me or anything but I saw him try to grab Juno on the back. I don’t want him to get hurt. He is a dwarf Lionhead and should only grow to 2 1/2 – 3lbs. Do you think I will be able to unleash Jax?

                    I would appreciate any advice! Thanks…,?


                  • Karen
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                      Hi, my name is Karen and I am a newby. I have a few questions that I will put out to the group:

                      I got my bunny, Juno, about 1 month ago and he is now 2 months old. He is the sweetest, curious and bravest little guy! When I get him out of the cage, he follows me around. He hates it when I pick him up. When I take him back to his cage he gets wiggly and tries to jump out of my hands. He has succeeded a couple times but I don’t want him to get hurt. I can’t catch him to put him back. He will eventually go back to his cage. I don’t want to leave when he is out as he could escape out the door.

                      Having trouble with the litter box thing. The person I got him from said to put litter in and put a little urine and feces in so he knows where to go. Sheesh, he still goes all over his cage and I feel I have to clean it daily which is rather costly. Thought he stopped going all over the house and he has for the most part. Then….found a corner that he is going in where I can’t see him. I put a litter box there in hopes that will help. Any ideas for cage and house?

                      Last, I have a small dog, about 9 lbs. The first day I let him out he ran up to the dog! He was tethered across the room in case. He is the friendliest dog I have ever had. They love each other. I want to unleash the dog so they can both run around and enjoy each other. I have tried a couple of times and Jax (the dog that is only 1 year old) is very sweet, they touch noses, smell each other, etc. I am not afraid that Jax would intentionally hurt him; however, every time the bunny runs Jax chases him and it seems that he treats him like prey! Also, he has always been kind of mouthy when he plays. Doesn’t hurt me or anything but I saw him try to grab Juno on the back. I don’t want him to get hurt. He is a dwarf Lionhead and should only grow to 2 1/2 – 3lbs. Do you think I will be able to unleash Jax?

                      I would appreciate any advice! Thanks…,?


                    • tobyluv
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                        Most rabbits hate being picked up and they will struggle and can injure themselves, so you really have to be careful when holding them. If Juno was older, you could try luring him back into his cage with a treat of his favorite fruit or veggie, but rabbits shouldn’t have veggies until they are 12 weeks old. Are you sure that Juno is only 2 months old? That would mean that he was only 1 month old when you got him, which is too young to be taken away from his mother. If there is a possibility that he could escape out the door, you do need to have him secured in a cage or pen when you are gone. Maybe you could carry him back to his cage in a carrier, then you would only have to lift him into it then out of it into his cage instead of carrying him around.

                        It is difficult to fully litter box train a rabbit until it has been spayed or neutered, so you might not have a lot of luck with that until he has been neutered. You should only have litter/bedding in the litter box and not all over the cage. That confuses them.

                        It sounds like you should keep Jax away from Juno, if he is trying to grab him. Some people do successfully have a rabbit with a dog or cat in their house, but others have to keep their rabbit separated from their dog, to make sure that it is safe.


                      • Rebelbun
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                          Just as a side note, I have had bunnies that litter trained even without being spayed/neutered. I think right now your biggest issue is going to be that he’s way too young to litter train.
                          Bunnies get more of an attention span and memory as they get older so right now your going to have difficulty training him. I have had to resort to putting a litter pan under my babies feeders (I have 5 bunnies that are almost 3 months old) because they tend to poop while they eat.
                          Try putting some hay in his litter boxes, and don’t clean them every day because then he will think he’s not suppose to go there. When you clean them you should leave some urine and a few poops to let him know it’s ok to go there.
                          I hope some of this helps!


                        • Carrie
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                            I agree. My feeder is attached to the cage and hangs directly into my buns litter pan. She always uses the box this way and is about 9 weeks old now. She has only had one accident with pee. I cleaned it up with vinegar water so the scent is not there and she has had no other pee incidents. Every day there are only a few poo pellets throughout her cage and I just sweep them up and put them in her box. She is so cute when I’m sweeping them up too, all curious about what is going on, sniffing the hand broom and my hand and looks at me like what are you doing?! LOL.

                            Maybe your bunny has too much free range just yet before really being trained for the box? I’m new to bunnies but I have read some people say that regarding litter training.

                            I would keep Jax away from Juno. I wouldn’t want to chance anything to happen. How old is your dog, maybe it is still too young and playful? Maybe you could sit with your bun in an xpen while Jax is loose. That way they are still around each other but in a more controlled environment.

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                        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Newbie bunny owner questions.