Adolescent Potty Training: New Home and Just Neutered

[miagi]

I've been reading A LOT (various sites and this forum) about potty training for rabbits and how their instinct will lead them choose particular spots. I apologize if these questions have been already addressed, but I'm yet to find any suggestions for my situation.

I got little Miagi about 2 1/2 weeks ago and he is about 5 months old and he is a lionhead rabbit. I got him un-neutered from a store, where he was perhaps just the oldest in a cage of about 7 rabbits. I purchased a fairly large cage for him that is metal framed with a pan in the bottom for his droppings to fall though. I have half of the cage covered with some comfy bedding to aid his feet.

Now to the potty situation: The first week I brought him home I let him roam my small studio apartment pretty freely and when he went to the bathroom I would pick him up, have him smell his potty and place him in the cage. That didn't seem to work and after about 2 days I chose to place the cage in a particular corner that he kept going to the bathroom in.

This new location seemed to work, but only when he was in his cage did he pick a favorite corner. When he left the cage he still went just about everywhere. I would still pick him up and place him in his cage after he gone to the bathroom outside of it. I even put timothy hay where he went inside his cage so he'd be incentivized to use the bathroom there. About a week in to this, I decided to get him neutered, hoping that would lead to less desire in marking his territory. After the surgery, I brought him home and decided to reduce his out of the cage space... kind of a new start and try potty training in a smaller space, then gradually give him more freedom.

Now, about a week of this strategy, post neutering and using a smaller space and it still does not seem to work at all. The reason I think I am doing something wrong is because as soon as I let him out the first thing he does within seconds is find somewhere to go the bathroom. It is a repeat process once he goes to the bathroom outside of his cage... I pick him and place in his cage corner, he either stays in his cage and doesn't want to come out, or he's there for a bit and then he comes out of his cage and immediately finds a new (and normally different) place to go to the bathroom. Typically it is just his droppings, but occasionally it will be his urine. I know that he is capable of using a particular corner because he does it in his cage all the time but why then does he more than 2 weeks into this potty training does he :

a) almost immediately chose to not use that same corner inside his cage once I let him out. Seems like no signs of improvement.

b) not want to use a particular spot outside of his cage? which if he did I would just get him another litter box.

Some background info on the home life. He's got plenty of toys he likes. I keep him in the cage at night and during the day when I work (leave tv on for him) and when I come home I pay most all my attention to letting him out, playing, holding him, and giving him his freedom. The problem is that he still ends up spending a lot of time in his cage because when he goes to the bathroom outside of it, I pick him up and put him back in. And as a result he seems less inclined to come out of his cage nowadays. I'm afraid I'm ruining our relationship because he just knows if he comes, I'm gonna just put him back in. It's like he feels I'm punishing him, but I don't know what else to do to help him get the point.

Please help! I want to give my little guy all the freedom he needs and wants, but he's gotta be potty trained if he's gonna roam around my carpet filled apartment. Any thoughts would be MORE than appreciated!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[aurora369]

Hi,

And welcome to the forum!

I have always had best luck potty training rabbits on a solid floor. I also do not keep any soft materials in the cage until they are fully litter trained.

If a mistake is made outside of the litter box, I soak it up with tissue/paper towel and place that in the litter box. I then use a 50/50 vinegar/water mixture to clean the area and get rid of any pee smell from the non potty area.

I keep the cage floor very clean and give it a cleaning with the vinegar/water every day and every time there is a pee outside the litter box. In the beginning, I'm cleaning upwards of 5-6 times a day, but as they get the idea that will drop to 0. Often times, the bunny will just get it suddenly one day and then you only have to clean their litter box. Most rabbits don't get 100% of the poo in the litter box though, and I just use a hand broom to sweep them up and dump them into the litter box.

I also find that having a second litter box outside of the cage very useful. When they come out for playtime, the bunny may not want to go back into their cage for a bathroom break. So I have one or two litter boxes to put in the play area.

Keeping the play area restricted and slowly expanding. The play area should be kept very small until he is fully litter trained in his cage. And then the area should be expanded very slowly, adding extra litter boxes if he needs them. After a while, you can probably take away extra litter boxes that he's not using.

It can also take up to two months for hormones to dissipate after a neuter. So you may have to just be patient and keep working at his litter training in the mean time.


Also, you have to catch him mid pee if you want to pick him up and put him in a litter box. If you move him after he has peed, he won't understand why he's being moved. If you find he's peed, the best thing to do is clean it with vinegar and put a pee soaked tissue in the box you want him to pee in. However, if you can catch him just as he starts peeing, moving him to a box at that time can be quite helpful.
-Dawn

 

[miagi]

Thanks Dawn you rock! Extremely helpful, and I will definitely take on to those pointers. I have just added a second litter box outside the cage. We'll see how it goes From what I gather, it seems like when a bunny is making a mistake outside the box, you should only take action or place him back in the cage (or litter box) if you can catch them in the act? Other than picking them up and placing them in, is there any other 'discipline' like thing to say or do? Like tones in voice or an abrupt "no!"? Does this help or hurt the situation? THANKS AGAIN!! - Mike

 

[aurora369]

If you catch them mid-pee or just as they start, you can make a startling noise to try and get them to stop mid-stream. Picking them up while they are peeing is the only time I would re-locate them. Otherwise they won't understand why you are moving them and they will just get confused (hence the staying in the cage more now).

Keeping the non-potty areas clean I find is key. When potty training, all I feel like I am doing is spot cleaning. I keep a big spray bottle full of 50/50 water/vinegar and a roll of paper towel beside the cage. But, it is all worth it once they are potty trained because cage cleaning becomes so quick.

Dawn

 

[miagi]

Awesome! Thanks again Dawn. The new box outside the cage has become a success... so far only about 3 accidents