Bun is only 10 weeks old, is that too soon to litter train? New Developments!

[Yawnu]

Because seriously, I’ve tried everything. From what I’ve researched, he’s still too young to give treats, so there’s no incentive I can give him either. His cage becomes a huge poopy mess within days of cleaning it, and the box in the cage is spotless (minus the stuff of bun’s I put IN there to try and guide)

 I have no way to audibly guide him either because he doesnt respond to any kind of clicking, snapping, or voicing.

 

Should I be concerned? Or just wait a bit longer?

[jerseygirl]

10 weeks is not too young. We dont really litter “train” per se… It’s more about setting things up right to take advantage of their natural habits. And a little bit of modifications depending on the rabbits preferences.

Keep in mind though, your rabbit is approaching puberty and litter habits can go AWOL during this time.

Ive noticed in you Intro thread you use a corner litterbox with a grate? And have bedding material in the rest if the cage. Do you still have this set up?

These style boxes usually end up being too small. You will likely need to upgrade to a cat style litter box in the near future. For now though, try the box without the grate and place Moonies hay in there or hanging in a rack above it.

Then remove all bedding from rest of the cage. Bedding material and litter are too similar so it makes it hard for the rabbit to know where to go toilet.
Most like a plain floor also. Bedding is messy and a waste of dollars.
Without it, you’ll find it easier to clean up his accidents.

If he is continually going in one other spot, try moving his box there and put the soiled material in it. He might be telling you he prefers that spot. Rabbits are funny.

Moonie’s a very sweet looking rabbit! Have faith, he’ll get it soon enough.

[RabbitPam]

He will be trained soon, some bunnies take longer than others to get it. Everything Jersey suggested will help a lot. You really don’t want to clicker train him for this, just give him happy, soft voiced praise whenever you see him go.
I would reiterate her suggestions of:
Placing the litter pan where he seems to go most often.
Remove all bedding except what’s in the litter pan.
Switch to a rectangular pan with medium high sides to prevent too much scatter. Remove any grate for now.

Make sure you use litter that he likes. Sometimes a simple change in type will help a lot. He may find the grate too rough, so a soft litter like Carefresh or Aspen shavings might appeal to him. Never use Pine shavings or generic Wood shavings. Aspen is safe. You might also go the other way and try pelleted litter, such as Yesterdays News, Feline Pine pellets (they are safe) or Aspen pellets (My favorite for odor control.)
Put hay in one end of the litter pan so he can eat and poo at the same time. It helps.
Keep the rest of the habitat clean of all pee and poo. wipe up pee with a paper towel and leave it in the litter pan. He will smell the scent in there and it will guide him. A 10 week old baby will “get it” soon, but remember he is learning all the basics of everything at that age, so he needs your help and patience.

[Yawnu]

Thanks for all the advice. I will try removing all the other bedding and see what happens. what should I place at the bottom of the cage instead? (its a plastic bottom.)

 

I moved the corner box to the corner he seemed to pee in the most, and put lots of hay on it, and his food dish and water bottle near it, and now he just seems confused, I woke up this morning and he had shifted all his hay into the box, like underneath the grate into his litter. Should I take this as a clue that maybe he likes to use hay as litter? Is that fine? Because it does not seem like he has pooped anywhere else since I did this, and I only see one pee spot outside of it.

 

Right now I use simple wood pellets (not pine) at the bottom of his litter box. (this is what the pet store owner suggested to me) but I’m starting to think I should switch to something else.

 

Bunny also does not mind the grate, he sleeps on it. lol I tried taking it off and he stopped going in there altogether.

[Deleted User]

As long as the wood stove pellets have no chemicals in them then they’re great! A lot of the BB members use wood stove pellets. I put down towels on my bun’s cage for her to bunch and lay on. My bun actually enjoys sleeping on the floor more than the towel. =p But she loves to bunch it. Is the corner box becoming too small for him? Maybe you putting the hay in a holder will keep it together? I cut a cereal box in half and put hay in it for my bun as a cheap hay box.

[jerseygirl]

It sounds like he viewed his whole cage as his litterbox and his actual box as his little clean spot, bed to lounge on. Lol. I think you should see that change now youve taken the bedding out of the cage.

You certainly can use hay as litter. On top of the litter material or in a hay rack over top of litter box. This is the best way of getting everything where it supposed to go as rabbits poop and munch hay at same time. Just take out the wet hay each day and top up with fresh hay.
Do you think the hay just fell through the grate when he was eating some or sitting in it?

[Yawnu]

Developments!

I took Skipper’s Mama’s advice about using a halfed cereal box as a hay box, but I still can’t tell if Moonie likes it. I never see him actually eating his hay, he’s usually eating his pellets… I’ve heard this isnt a good thing, can you guys confirm? ><; He drinks a ton of water though.

So, I placed newspaper and a towel a the bottom of his cage instead of bedding, and put the litter box where he peed the most, but… he still likes to pee in front if it or on the sides of the cage. I successfully managed to move him TO the box when I caught him peeing several times yesterday, but I woke up this morning and there’s like 3 patches outside of it. sigh. 95% of the poop seems to be staying in the box though, I’m assuming the rest is for marking, right? So that’s one out of two down, at least… haha

Today I’ve taken away the towel since he didnt seem to be using it to play, and tore out all the newspaper bits with pee on them and moved them to the box. This hinting method doesnt seem to be working, since I tried to soak up the towel pee with paper towel and do the same thing, but maybe completely removing the stains well help.

And there is still plenty of space for him in the box, he’s a tiny lop so the box is still 3 times his size, haha. I’m thinking I MIGHT get ANOTHER box though, a square/rectangle one, (the one i’m using is a corner one) and see if he likes it better.

Man, being a first time bunny owner requires a LOT of trial and error… whew ^_^; I do have a lot of patience with him though since I know he’s still a baby, though I often find myself asking him pleadingly “Moonie, won’t you please pee in your box? ; _;” hahaha. I’m very quick to give him lots of pets and praises when he gets it right though.
Is it okay for me to give him raisins as treats at this age?

[Hokankai]

Neutering will help with litter training! The fact that he’s being on the sides of the cage make me think he’s just marking and therefore not interested in using the litterbox. Once he’s fixed that will go away and he’ll start going in one area…at least that’s what he’s supposed to do. Haha

[Yawnu]

Yeah, thats probably the case Hokankai. He’s 10 weeks old now, is it safe to get him fixed at 3 months old? Cause if so, I’ll go set up an appointment at the vet for 2 or 3 weeks from now. I’d really like to have him fixed asap, if only to avoid the personality changes due to hormones.. I don’t want my sweet bun to turn into a horny monster D: !

[Hokankai]

You’ll have to contact your vet about that because each one is different. Mine didn’t want to fix before 6 months, but I couldn’t wait beyond 5 months and she did fine. They usually want them to be a minimum weight and you want to make sure his testicles have dropped before you take him in. I’d wait a bit longer because testosterone is an important part of growing as well as reproducing, and at 3 months he’s got a lot more growing to do.

[louise77]

I started litter training Manny when he was 10 weeks old, I noticed that whenever he was about to pee he would make this wierd little bullet shape with his body, when he did that I would just pick him up and put him in his litter tray it took a while but he soon realised that’s where I wanted him to pee. Even when he had to stay with friends for a week I took his tray and he peed in that, he’s such a good boy

[Deleted User]

Have you tried different kinds of hay with your little man? Maybe he’s just not keen on the hay you’re offering. He’s old enough to try to introduce different types.

[Hokankai]

Oh yeah, another good way to get him to pee in the potty is to soak up the pee from around the cage with a paper towel and put that in the pan. That’s what I did with Theodore

[Yawnu]

Skipper’s Mama , what type of hay should I try? right now he’s kinda occasionally nibbling on Timothy.

Hokankai, paper towel proved to be useless, since he likes to pee on towels it seems, I’m trying to see if using a face cloth for the bunny cage only to soak up all the pee and place it in his box. Its an old stained one that I no longer use.

I also got some raisins and I he actually ate one! So now I have something to give him when he pees in his box, but of course since he’s still so little I won’t overdo it.

[Deleted User]

Anything is good. =] I have tried Timithy, Oat, Orchard, and Blue Blend. My bun loves Oat hay and Blue Blend hay. You were right about saying that a bun is all trial and error. =p

[Hokankai]

Can’t you just dab where he’s peeing with a paper towel? Then you put a piece of the pee soaked paper towel in the litterbox.

The KEY to litter training is that he has to CARE where he’s going. Whether that be where the litterbox is or wherever his spot is. If he’s just peeing willy-nilly because he doesn’t care and/or because he’s just marking…then you’re not going to be able to litter train him until he’s fixed. Until then you’re just going to be chasing pee spots and trying to get him to do something he has no interest in doing…unfortunately 😐

[jerseygirl]

Should I take this as a clue that maybe he likes to use hay as litter? Is that fine? Because it does not seem like he has pooped anywhere else since I did this, and I only see one pee spot outside of it.

You can use hay as litter. Many of us put it direct on top of an absorbant litter. Just take out the wet hay each day and top up with fresh hay. They poop where they munch on hay.

If you’re thinking of a second box, set up the rectangular one as litter box and turn the other into a bed since he likes it. or vice versa.

[Deleted User]

I have to agree with Jerseygirl.  Turn the corner box into a bed for him.  Skipper loves her old corner litter pan and will sleep in it.  (If you look at the Sept. photo thread you can see a picture of her sleeping in it. =p)

[RabbitPam]

You don’t need any cover at all on the plastic cage bottom. In fact, my bunny wanted to stretch out on the plastic after her spay, even though I provided her with a soft bedding for the occasion. It’s a matter of preference for some bunnies, but Spockie always liked the feel of the plastic and laid on it happily. A little blankie or towell can be added for a soft bed, or you can check out the BB store for the flat, oval bed that is soft and safe.

You want the litter pan to be attractive as the only place to use. It’s OK if he lies in his litter pan at times.

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