Litter Training a Bonded Pair?

[Penelly]

I have two bonded rabbits, a year old male and a 4 year old female. My male rabbit has always struggled with using his litter box. He will use it when convenient, while also peeing and pooping everywhere. There is no consistency in where he urinates, I have multiple litter boxes but he still chooses not to use them. My female rabbit is nearly perfect with her litter box, only an occasional stray poops. As they are bonded, I am struggling to litter train him. I have tried everything I can think of and have done research, but can’t find a solution. An additional problem is my females fear of wood floors. I have seen recommendations of removing all absorbent materials from their environment, but when I tried that, my female rabbit wouldn’t leave her litter box. Any suggestions for a non absorbent material that my rabbit will still walk on? Any tips or suggestions for my litter training dilemma are greatly appreciated!!

 

[JenGibs]

I use these under my rabbit areas (over carpet) and they are perfect! I have a female who doesn’t do well on wood floors and she does fine with these. Easy to clean. We take them outside and hose off with water and soap once a week...but mine don’t pee on them so we probably don’t have to wash them that often.
These come Up to 1 inch thick! It’s awesome and the Walmart pricing right now is phenomenal. I used to pay $15 for 4 tiles. You may have to order them online as our local stores did not keep them in stock. Also, use the border edges on them and make sure they butt up to a wall or something. My rabbits do not chew on them but making sure they cannot get to an “end” is a good idea. I’ve never had spilled water or anything go through them in the connections either.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Everyday...iles-6-Piece-24-Sq-Ft/493483054?selected=true

 

[JenGibs]

If putting over carpet, the 1/2 inch thick may not be thick enough to keep them from bending in when walking. They come in blue, gray and black.

 

[Penelly]

If putting over carpet, the 1/2 inch thick may not be thick enough to keep them from bending in when walking. They come in blue, gray and black.

Wouldn’t the foam be dangerous if the ingested it? I used to have these and my vet advised me to get rid of them.

 

[JenGibs]

Wouldn’t the foam be dangerous if the ingested it? I used to have these and my vet advised me to get rid of them.

That’s why I said make sure they do not have access to the edges. It’s a flat surface so it’s hard for them to just eat in the middle. I can also tell you that the cheaper ones, that are more flimsy, are not good. The thick ones are great. One of my bonded pairs took a few chews on a corner, realized it was not yummy, and never did it again. My other bonded pair has never tried to eat them. The thicker ones are not “soft” so the bunnies just feel like they are on a regular floor.
Like I said, the cheap ones are not good. I can vouch for the ones in the link I sent you. Now, if a bunny chewed it and just kept doing it, yeah, that would not be good but that also would apply to any and every type of flooring. A lot of bun parents use these and have great success. I also have a lot of chew things and enrichment toys around so they stay busy with those and their dig box.
Buns are different. Some chew fleece blankets. Mine don’t. Mine will chew the hell out of a baseboard though! Mine will also chew something once and are like “Nah” and not again. They have pulled a piece of carpet or two and even then they weren’t interested.
You do what you feel is best for your rabbits. Get some and try them. Just be sure they can’t get to the edges. If they don’t know there is an edge to chew, they may not think about it. You have to bunny proof everything it seems but these have never caused a problem and have protected my floors.

 

[Butterscotch]

I put vinyl flooring under my rabbits' cage and play pen because I was having trouble litter training my female. She would go potty anywhere on any soft surface. They were both scared of the new flooring at first but now they're completely fine with it. The vinyl is larger than the play pen so they don't have access to the edges and can't chew it. My female potty trained herself after several months of struggle with her. (Read my blog.) I also found it helpful when bonding my bunnies to use a litter box large enough for both rabbits to sit in it side by side and use it together. Monkey see, monkey do, I guess. It worked! I have no more problems with my female's potty habits. I had to remove any beds and blankets from their cage until she used that litter box religiously for a while and now she can have a small fleece blanket in her cage and play pen without using it as a toilet. You might just have to do what I did and remove all soft surfaces for a while. I felt really bad for them at first but in the long run it was very much worth it. Also make sure to keep adding fresh hay to your litter box throughout the day as that will encourage your bunny to use the box.

 

[FlaBunnyLover]

Your post was very informative. We have tiles for the bottom of their cage, but used the blankets for a soft landing. Their feet seem to slip on the tiles but they don't like it. I will remove any blankets to see if that will help with using the box. This is so frustrating.

 

[Diane R]

Your post was very informative. We have tiles for the bottom of their cage, but used the blankets for a soft landing. Their feet seem to slip on the tiles but they don't like it. I will remove any blankets to see if that will help with using the box. This is so frustrating.

Try putting stable matting on top of the tiles so they have traction.

 

[poopandpee]

I use fleece on top of those jigsaw things and tuck them in the edges, put heavy things around like their litter trays and stuff so they can't lift and chew, I actually use a kids playmat from Asian stores, they are cheap and HUGE.
If I catch the pee fast enough (within 10mins), its still sitting on top and I can absorb it with tissue paper -

If you're worried about it seeping through, how about layer it with puppy pads too and then fleece on top (that's if they don't chew fleece/towels)..

My girl still poops everywhere in her pen, I just do a quick brush every morning and evening, she occasionally pees at different areas still, but I forgive her coz she the friendliest slugbunny I just want her to live her best life.