Litter Training Regression

[RandiRow]

I got my baby bun at 8 weeks old and since then he was working so hard and was so close to being potty trained. Then all of a sudden his training has gone out of the window. He’s pooping all over his pen, peeing on the floor again and expecially the couch, even on me. We were so close to being trained and now he can’t be trusted. Any help on how to get him back to where he was or suggestions on what to do now, even reasons why this is happening would be appreciated.

[jerseygirl]

What age is your rabbit now?

Just as an aside; did you get your rabbit from a pet store, private sale? Giveaway?
3 weeks old is terribly young for a rabbit to be separated from the mother.

[tobyluv]

Are you sure that your bunny was only 3 weeks old when you got him? If he is around 12 weeks old now, he may be approaching puberty, and the sudden influx of hormones could be why he is no longer using the litter box. It can be difficult to fully litter box train a rabbit who hasn’t been spayed or neutered. If he is around that age now, having him neutered in the not too distant future, should really help with his litter habits.

[RandiRow]

He is 3 months old now.

We got him through a giveaway/breeder. He is a fuzzy and I’m a teacher so he wasnt perfered for showing so she was going to give him to me for my classroom.

[RandiRow]

I believe that’s what she said, weve had him since early October though and he just blew his baby coat. Puberty is what I feared. Our vet wants to neuter at 6 months so it just seems like such a long haul if he is starting now. Any help for how to make it less head ache?

[jerseygirl]

Okay, we it would definitely be his hormones responsible for the regression.

It’s really a matter of riding it out until they settle or looking into neutering. It’s not always necessary in a male if he’s your only rabbit, but neutering dies help with litter habits and help make the urine smell less. You also might see the onset of circling (running around your feet) humping, spraying and sometimes aggression.

It’s a shame they were given away so young. It’s important for their get health to stay with the Mom for 8 weeks at least. I hope you won’t see any consequences of his being separated so early. I had a rabbit from 4 weeks of age and he did well. I do hope that’s the case for your little guy also.

[jerseygirl]

Some vets are confident to do it from 4 months. As long as the testicles have descended, they can be neutered.

In the meantime, you just have to limit how much the bunnies come out to free roam I’m afraid.

Is his habitat the pen or is that attached to a cage also? What do you have as the pen floor?

[RandiRow]

My husband led me astray, he was 8 weeks when we got him.

[RandiRow]

For his cage he has a good sized x pen and we usually let him out in the evenings, but hes getting braver and wants to explore more which means more poops and puddles to clean.

[jerseygirl]

Posted By RandiRow on 11/30/2016 9:59 PM
My husband led me astray, he was 8 weeks when we got him.

That’s a relief. Much better for a rabbit in the long term.

[jerseygirl]

I think this would be worth a read. It talks about how one owner managed the couch peeing.
http://rabbit.org/litterbox-encore/

I would grab several cat loiter boxes from a dollar store and place them around the room, and a few extra in the pen. You could even just line them with newspaper. Hopefully he’ll take to peeing in those at least. And hopefully extra boxes will only be needed temporarily.

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