Litter training

[Haru the Lionhead]

How do you litter train your rabbit?I watched every YouTube video and it is not working. She thinks that the litter box is her bed.. she eats and poops and sleeps there, but when she wants to pee she gets out of it, pee outside, then gets back on it. Also when she pees she sticks beside her pee and sniff it and she refuses to move and after that she sits behind the door and gets stiff, she doesn’t move for some time. She is 5 months old

 

[Katie94]

Does she always pee in the same spot? If so try putting another litter box over the spot she has chosen. During training it is good to have a couple of litter box options while they get the hang of it. Also is she spayed yet? If not and adding a litter box doesn’t help spaying can make a big different to litter habits!

 

[HoppyRabbits06]

How do you litter train your rabbit?I watched every YouTube video and it is not working. She thinks that the litter box is her bed.. she eats and poops and sleeps there, but when she wants to pee she gets out of it, pee outside, then gets back on it. Also when she pees she sticks beside her pee and sniff it and she refuses to move and after that she sits behind the door and gets stiff, she doesn’t move for some time. She is 5 months old

I had the same problem when my rabbits were not neutered. Make sure she is spayed because litter habits do improve once they are spayed/neutered.

 

[Anna R.]

When they are just starting to train I start by putting a box in each corner of their area. Then I watch them and see which one they are using the most. In some cases they don't use any of the ones I have given them and they pick their own spot. (They usually pick their own spot and once they start peeing there that is usually the spot they return too, as they now have their scent laid there) Once they pick their spot I move a liter box over that spot, and the ones I have put out I check. If they are using it I leave it. If they aren't I take them out. After time they work down to just one or two. It's just trial and error. Most rabbits I find pretty much train themselves as long as you pay attention to where they are going and follow their lead.
I did have one rabbit that would NEVER go in a liter box. She was not spayed. I tried every type of liter box and she would literally take any box I gave her and dump it out and spread all the bedding over her entire area. She had a large cage in her area so I ended up just putting bedding down on the bottom and putting her hay manger in there. She just used the entire cage bottom as her liter box, and she could sit in there and eat hay. It was just a big liter box to her. She never peed any where outside of it though. She would just not commit herself to one box and instead used one area which ended up being OK. It just cost me more in bedding as I was having to bed the whole cage bottom. I would try to keep up with her though and just scoop out the area she used each day and replace with clean bedding. It was just her thing I guess. She was the only one I ever had an issue with not using a liter box.

 

[Haru the Lionhead]

Does she always pee in the same spot? If so try putting another litter box over the spot she has chosen. During training it is good to have a couple of litter box options while they get the hang of it. Also is she spayed yet? If not and adding a litter box doesn’t help spaying can make a big different to litter habits!

She is not spayed and she pees every where, at first it used to be corners or beside the wall but now it’s everywhere

 

[Haru the Lionhead]

When they are just starting to train I start by putting a box in each corner of their area. Then I watch them and see which one they are using the most. In some cases they don't use any of the ones I have given them and they pick their own spot. (They usually pick their own spot and once they start peeing there that is usually the spot they return too, as they now have their scent laid there) Once they pick their spot I move a liter box over that spot, and the ones I have put out I check. If they are using it I leave it. If they aren't I take them out. After time they work down to just one or two. It's just trial and error. Most rabbits I find pretty much train themselves as long as you pay attention to where they are going and follow their lead.
I did have one rabbit that would NEVER go in a liter box. She was not spayed. I tried every type of liter box and she would literally take any box I gave her and dump it out and spread all the bedding over her entire area. She had a large cage in her area so I ended up just putting bedding down on the bottom and putting her hay manger in there. She just used the entire cage bottom as her liter box, and she could sit in there and eat hay. It was just a big liter box to her. She never peed any where outside of it though. She would just not commit herself to one box and instead used one area which ended up being OK. It just cost me more in bedding as I was having to bed the whole cage bottom. I would try to keep up with her though and just scoop out the area she used each day and replace with clean bedding. It was just her thing I guess. She was the only one I ever had an issue with not using a liter box.

I put two litter boxes inside the cage in different corners and she pees in the box and out of the box. She used to push her back to something and then pees, now she pees anytime. When she pees inside the cage she doesn’t really care, it’s like she didn’t pee. But when she pees outside she sticks beside it and sniffs it and when i see her, she runs and hides. It’s like she knows that she did something bad. I also noticed that most of the times the yellowish pee would be on the side or corner and the clear pee is in the middle. So when she is peeing yellow she gets ready and sticks her back to something, but when it’s clear it’s not much like maybe a table spoon or something and I’m thinking maybe she doesn’t know that she did it? or does all bunnies pee without getting ready to pee?

 

[Anna R.]

She is also 5 months old. She is going through her change and growing up. Usually during this stage is when they will start doing this. Even if she was liter trained about this time in their lives every rule is thrown out the window. It is a stage and it is either time to get her spayed or you will need to be patient. It will take her a couple of months to get past this and when she does she will likely just choose one spot and stick with it. She's going through what we humans call "the terrible twos" only rabbits go through it about her age. Her body is transforming from bunny to rabbit and is full of hormones, so she is not herself right now. You either need to be patient, and I know that is hard. I have gone through that several times, it just takes time and she will calm down bit. Or, get her spayed. Then after the healing process she will get the hang of it. I've gone through this many times. Just hang in there. I know how frustrating it can be.

 

[Miepie]

the one that pees every were in and outside. But after 1 year we discoverd that she was a he !.
and that pees had to do with territorium.

 

[JBun]

It likely either has to do with territorial peeing, in which case neutering would likely help with that, if you have an experienced rabbit vet where you are to do that.

Or it could be your rabbit has urinary incontinence due to a health issue like a urinary tract infection, which would mean your rabbit needs to be put on the appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic(usually smz/tmp or baytril) to clear it up. Usually with this your rabbit will also have other symptoms like dribbling urine and getting a urine soaked bottom.
Medirabbit (urinary incontinence in rabbits)

 

[Katie94]

She is not spayed and she pees every where, at first it used to be corners or beside the wall but now it’s everywhere

In that case you are most likely seeing hormonal terrortial behaviour due to her age. Female rabbits tend to mature around 5-6 months. You could wait it out for a few weeks to see if she calms down with it or spaying could be the other option and has many other benefits as well. I have attached a link from the RWAF about the benefits for neutering. The most important thing is to get an experienced vet to do it.https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/medical/neutering/

 

[Happy Hollands]

likely either has to do with territorial peeing, in which case neutering would likely help with that, if you have an experienced rabbit vet where you are to do that.

I agree. This is very common around 4-6 months, just be patient. Unless you are planning on breeding her, spaying is important. Try putting her hay close to where you would like her to potty. Finding a good box (like this one) is key to training!

When they are just starting to train I start by putting a box in each corner of their area.

This is also a good idea if you have enough boxes. Even cardboard boxes lined with hay will do the trick for this.

Or it could be your rabbit has urinary incontinence due to a health issue like a urinary tract infection, which would mean your rabbit needs to be put on the appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic(usually smz/tmp or baytril) to clear it up.

You could definitely take her to the vet for this, but first I would recommend giving her Apple Cider Vinegar to prevent UTI's. A few drops in her water will help. ACV can also be used to clean up potty accidents.