I've been trying to litter train my bunny for over a week now, and it doesn't seem to be working at all. Everyone keeps telling me to put the litter box in the corner where he goes to poop, but the problem is my bunny poops EVERYWHERE....not kidding, EVERYWHERE. In a matter of 5 minutes, he poops about 20 poops. If I do end up litter training him, that's where he'll be all day because he goes that much.
litter training help
- Thread starter shemac72
- Start date
Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:
Is he peeing in 1 spot?
Do you have litter through out the entire cage or just the litter corner?
How old is your rabbit?
How long have you had him?
Is he neutered yet?
Do you have litter through out the entire cage or just the litter corner?
How old is your rabbit?
How long have you had him?
Is he neutered yet?
He has a cage with the gate open so he can hang out in a play area that is fenced (see attached). He pees everywhere as well. He is 3 1/2 months old, not neutered. There is hay in the cage but nothing in the pen area. He's not a big fan of laying in the hay, so I've put a piece of cardboard in the cage where he sleeps. The litter box is out in the pen area where he spends most of his time.
whitelop
Morgan
I would take all the hay and stuff out of his cage. That will help him to understand that the whole cage isn't a big toilet. Do you have a litter box in there, its hard for me to tell! I assume that you do since you're trying to litter train. LOL
Anyway, after you take the bedding/hay out of his whole cage, replace the litter box and put the bedding in JUST the litter box. He's still young, so he's going to have accidents, its to be expected. BUT you have to stay on top of scooping up the stray poops and putting them in the litter box. If he pees in the floor, take a corner of a paper towel and sop up the pee and put it in the litter box. That will help him smell his own waste in the box and he'll start to understand. Also, you could put some hay either IN the litter box or in a rack above it. But you'll want to make sure that he's sitting in the box and eating the hay. Since they like to potty while they eat.
I would make sure that his litter box is going to fix his whole body in it as an adult. I don't know what kind of rabbit it is, but most of the time a kitten sized litter box does well. Or I have a huge one for my tiny rabbit who pees over the side! haha. But since he'll be in it a lot eating hay and whatnot, you'll want to make sure its big enough for him to lay down in. My rabbit frequently lays in the litter box, its gross but its just what they do!
I think you're using some sort of wood shaving. Those aren't the best for pee absorption and they're not the best for odor control. What I use and a lot of others use, are the wood pellets. You can get them as feline pine from chain pet stores, or from like a Tractor Supply, you can get them as equine pine. They're very affordable at TSC at $6 for 40lbs. 40lbs usually lasts me around 5-6 months. Or you might be able to find some at Home Depot or Lowes as the wood stove pellets, but make sure they don't have an acceleratant in them. Or if you didn't want to go that route, I think carefresh or crittercare are good at absorbing pee and odor. There is also yesterday's news, a paper pellet.
-Equine pine- http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...ory_rn=&top_category=&urlLangId=&cm_vc=-10005
-Yesterday's News- http://www.petco.com/product/3050/Purina-Yesterdays-News-Paper-Based-Pellet-Cat-Litter.aspx
-Carefresh- http://www.petco.com/product/3370/C...ed_Dog_1-_-Carefresh Natural Pet Bedding-3370
Lastly, it takes patience and time for him to learn the litter box. He might get it over night, but he might not. Also neutering, I've heard really helps them get the litter box habit down 100%. There will probably always be stray poops until he's neutered, thats just part of having a rabbit. But if you could get him to pee in the box like 98% of the time, you're doing well and you could probably consider him litter trained!
I hope that helps! Good luck!
PS. AWESOME enclosure set up!
Anyway, after you take the bedding/hay out of his whole cage, replace the litter box and put the bedding in JUST the litter box. He's still young, so he's going to have accidents, its to be expected. BUT you have to stay on top of scooping up the stray poops and putting them in the litter box. If he pees in the floor, take a corner of a paper towel and sop up the pee and put it in the litter box. That will help him smell his own waste in the box and he'll start to understand. Also, you could put some hay either IN the litter box or in a rack above it. But you'll want to make sure that he's sitting in the box and eating the hay. Since they like to potty while they eat.
I would make sure that his litter box is going to fix his whole body in it as an adult. I don't know what kind of rabbit it is, but most of the time a kitten sized litter box does well. Or I have a huge one for my tiny rabbit who pees over the side! haha. But since he'll be in it a lot eating hay and whatnot, you'll want to make sure its big enough for him to lay down in. My rabbit frequently lays in the litter box, its gross but its just what they do!
I think you're using some sort of wood shaving. Those aren't the best for pee absorption and they're not the best for odor control. What I use and a lot of others use, are the wood pellets. You can get them as feline pine from chain pet stores, or from like a Tractor Supply, you can get them as equine pine. They're very affordable at TSC at $6 for 40lbs. 40lbs usually lasts me around 5-6 months. Or you might be able to find some at Home Depot or Lowes as the wood stove pellets, but make sure they don't have an acceleratant in them. Or if you didn't want to go that route, I think carefresh or crittercare are good at absorbing pee and odor. There is also yesterday's news, a paper pellet.
-Equine pine- http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...ory_rn=&top_category=&urlLangId=&cm_vc=-10005
-Yesterday's News- http://www.petco.com/product/3050/Purina-Yesterdays-News-Paper-Based-Pellet-Cat-Litter.aspx
-Carefresh- http://www.petco.com/product/3370/C...ed_Dog_1-_-Carefresh Natural Pet Bedding-3370
Lastly, it takes patience and time for him to learn the litter box. He might get it over night, but he might not. Also neutering, I've heard really helps them get the litter box habit down 100%. There will probably always be stray poops until he's neutered, thats just part of having a rabbit. But if you could get him to pee in the box like 98% of the time, you're doing well and you could probably consider him litter trained!
I hope that helps! Good luck!
PS. AWESOME enclosure set up!
Last edited:
Neutering will make a big difference. It's not uncommon for younger rabbits who do take to litter training, to then 'forget' it when those hormones kick in. Yours is just at the age when those hormones should start kicking in, so this is making it difficult.
Once he's neutered, things should be much easier. (though it takes a month after surgery for hormones to dissipate)
In the meantime, once you empty the area of all loose bedding in the cage and only have litter in a litter box with hay in it or over it (as whitelop suggests), then just concentrate more on the pee. If he doesn't pee in the box, move the box wherever he pees. Don't worry about where he poos. Just sweep them up and put them in the box. The urine is what you want to concentrate on. Once he gets that, the rest will eventually follow (except for territorial poo markings).
Once he's neutered, things should be much easier. (though it takes a month after surgery for hormones to dissipate)
In the meantime, once you empty the area of all loose bedding in the cage and only have litter in a litter box with hay in it or over it (as whitelop suggests), then just concentrate more on the pee. If he doesn't pee in the box, move the box wherever he pees. Don't worry about where he poos. Just sweep them up and put them in the box. The urine is what you want to concentrate on. Once he gets that, the rest will eventually follow (except for territorial poo markings).
