territorial peeing

[Badger]

Well, i could really use some advice.

I have two rabbits. Ellie is around 4 years old and King Bumi is 5. Both are fixed. 

First i only had Ellie. It was extremely easy to litter train her and she was very clean, except for the occasional poop you found somewhere on the floor, but that didnt even happen a lot. After a while i had to move out of my moms house, so Ellie and i now live in a studio. Ellie has her own pen with her own carpet, so she can run around without sliding away. It took some time to adjust and she did started to wee outside of her litter boxes a few times, but that too went away quickly. After we were both settled i decided it was time for Ellie to get a friend. The bonding went great and after two weeks i felt comfortable leaving them alone together. I also litter trained Bumi, but after a while they both started to poop and pee everywhere in the house. I thought it was getting better, but lately it has only gotten worse. The most frustrating thing about this is that 99% of the time they do all this at night, making it impossible for me to react immediately to let them know this is not okay. I’ve caught them in the act a few times though and let them know this is not okay, but they just don’t care! My bed has become the number one target. I used to be able to chill with Ellie on my bed, but if i let them on now they’ll pee immediately. I even have to close the pen every time i’m just going to the toilet to pee or quickly go outside to take out the trash, cause when i return they’ll have peed on it. They really seem to like peeing on soft things. I threw away the carpet all together and bought a new one. They do not have the carpet right now, which i really don’t like, cause now they cant run, but i really cant put them back on the carpet, cause theyll ruin it immediately and it’s just so unhygenic. I’m pretty desperate at this point. Theyve been together for 6 months now, so you’d it’d be over by now, but no please, who can help me with this problem, so i can put them back on their carpet and dont have to worry about turning my back to them and finding a wet stain on my bed/their carpet or waking up in the morning having their pen look like a bomb exploded!!!

Thanks for taking the time to read/help out,

Isis, Ellie & Bumi

[Mikey]

Theyre both trying to claim for territory which means they are not yet bonded completely. Its also common for buns to pee on soft things. Consider a plastic bed cover for your bed to make it more uncomfortable for them to pee on it, and itll be easier to clean if they do pee on it. Consider fleece blankets instead of carpet as not being able to run means theyre sliding and thats horrible on their joints and can create pain in the future. Fleece blankets offer traction to avoid those issues, allows them to run, and is easy to clean when they pee on it. Also, consider adding another litter box or two; some rabbits are extremely litter box picky

[SaraLorraine22]

I signed up for this forum to get some help with my bunny issue, but it seems that this is a very common ordeal, so I didn’t want to start yet another thread. I am having pretty much the same problem as Badger…my bun Henry was my first bunny, and he was perfect. Super easy to litter train and such a tidy little guy. I got him a companion 3 weeks ago, Norma, a 2ish year old lionhead. She is super feisty and thumps all the time, especially when she doesn’t get her way, the little diva. I blame her previous owners, who dropped her off at a shelter because, “we don’t need her anymore, my daughter is done with her now.” Anyway enough bunny babbling. Ever since they have been living together, there is pee all over the place. I keep having to replace their pen carpeting too!! They get along well and snuggle together often, so I would hate to separate them to litter train her individually. To be honest I don’t even know which bun is to blame because I haven’t witnessed the crime. Reading Badger’s post, then Mikey’s response that maybe they aren’t completely bonded yet…well it freaks me out that this could go on for many more months. I’ve tried additional litter boxes, spraying vinegar, minimizing the number of corners in their pen…nothing has worked yet, and I don’t really have time to sit there ALL DAY long and wait to catch them in the act. PLEASE HELP US!!!

[Mikey]

Hey Sara. Welcome to BinkyBunny Are both Henry and Norma neutered/spayed? If not, thats where you start. If so, what kind of bonding have you done so far? I would suggest some stress bonding to possibly push them to bond a little faster/easier which over time will help with the marking.

To aid in litter training (for Badger and Sara), wherever they pee the most: place a litter box. If they like peeing in corners, litter box in every corner

[Badger]

Unfortunately that is no option. I used fleece before this, but Ellie will literally wreck blankets in one night and I really cannot buy new fleece blankets every day. How do I get them bonded completely? They’re already best friends and doing everything together. Never fight or anything. Don’t really want to find solutions on how to clean it better, but make it stop completely, but I kinda lost hope at this point

[SaraLorraine22]

Both Henry and Norma are fixed, over 6 months ago. They live together in their pen and never fight. They clean each other/snuggle, so they get along well. I thought if they lived together and liked each other, then they are bonded. I don’t know what other kind of bonding I can do. I’m with Badger…how do we bond them completely? Also, I have two litter boxes in their pen, and can add more if necessary, but is this a temporary part of litter training? The pen is about 5′ x 8′ and adding more boxes will take away from room to run. Will they ever get tired of marking their territory and just be ok with sharing?

[Author]

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