Litterbox cleaning question

[maherwoman]

Quick question:

Would cleaning out my bunnies litterboxes create the chance that they might stop being litter-trained, due to their scent no longer being in the box?

I'm not worried about Maisie...she's totally and completely (even with poop) litter-trained. I worry about Flower because she grew up not even having bedding, much less having a litterbox, so even though I've had her about two months, I still worry about fully cleaning out her box prompting her to no longer use it (with it being without her scent). She's fairly well litter-trained now, but it hasn't been that long, so I hesitate to clean out the box with something like vinegar, or some such.

What are your guys' thoughts? I would like to have them cleaner, but would also like to have the assurance that it won't send my bun peeing outside the box because she doesn't smell her urine there anymore. Does all this make sense??

Thanks, guys!

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Hi Maherwoman!

Well, I clean out my litterbox that's in the rabbit room about every 3 days with vinegar and dish soap, thoroughly and I've NEVER had a problem. Rice and Beans are PERFECT with their litterbox. Marshy will pee in the box but poop all over. I'm hoping that will change when I get her spayed. Hope that helps.

 

[Runestonez]

We clean out kids litterboxes every 2-3 days with vinegar too. If you are putting the box back in their home where it usually is I don't think they would have a problem! None of our kids have lost their litter habits from it! HTH!

 

[rubysmom]

My guys also get their boxes cleaned with vinegar and water every few days and they have not had a problem. I just put their boxes back where they like them and they are fine. My guys are perfect with peeing in the box but always leave at least a few poopies around their room. Actually, since I've switched (temporarily) to kiln-dried aspen (I ran out of their litter) they have been staging a protest...lost of poops all over their pen. But they are still good about their pee.

 

[maherwoman]

Cool! Thanks so much, guys...

My next couple questions: What kind of vinegar, and what's the amount you use per water in the solution you clean the boxes with?

Thanks so much!!

 

[Pet_Bunny]

maherwoman wrote:

What kind of vinegar, and what's the amount you use per water in the solution you clean the boxes with?

White Vinegar, straight for the fastest and cleanest job. I use an old toothbrush to scrub with.
Rinse well with water.

Rainbows!

 

[maherwoman]

Thanks so much, Pet_Bunny! And white vinegar is so inexpensive! YAY!!

 

[canela_2004]

To clean Kahlua's box, I use a spray bottle with water and vinegar (50/50) and scrub witha scrub brush. I was worried about the scent as well, so I would always put about a teaspoon of wet litter in the corner she would go in. I dont have to do that anymore, it's been 2 weeks or so and she knows where she is supposed to go. But if youre bunny is still iffy about using the boc, especially if he'she didnth ave one before, go head and keep a small amount of wet litter (a teaspoon or a tablespoon) so she can remember what its for. That small amount wont make it smell bad or anything and your bunny will have that reminder. :bunnydance:

 

[Mrpumpkinbunny]

Hi when I clean out the litter boxes, the first thing my buns do is hop over an poop in them to make sure I did not forget that was their box! When Peanut was first litter training I would take a couple of her poops and put them in the clean litter box just in case. That seemed to do the trick.

 

[BunnyRae]

I was thinking about having 2 boxes. That way I can just take out the dirty one, and put the clean one in while cleaning the dirty one. That way there's always one there.

 

[Jess_sully]

Now, I know this is going to be a stupid question. But I've always used "special" (read: expensive) cleaner meant for small animal cages, because I never KNEW what kind of vinegar to buy! And do you dilute it or anything?

 

[BunnyRae]

I've always heard of using white vinegar. I don't know about diluting it tho. I'd like to know too.

 

[Jess_sully]

Hmmm good. So we're both clueless Hopefully someone will enlighten us

 

[JimD]

BunnyRae wrote:

I was thinking about having 2 boxes. That way I can just take out the dirty one, and put the clean one in while cleaning the dirty one. That way there's always one there.

That's what Pet_Bunny does for Pebbles. It's a great idea.

 

[JimD]

Jess_sully wrote:

Hmmm good. So we're both clueless Hopefully someone will enlighten us

Too funny!!

I use a spray bottle and a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water.

Dawn dishsoap is the only other thing I use.

 

[Spring]

Nope, you don't dilute it. I just pour half a cup or more on the place with the most stains and let it sitfor a bit. I then scrub it and scrape it with a knife if there is any stubborn bits. I then add a little splash just on the rest of the cage and add a bit of water and clean the rest of the cage, just so I don't waste vinegar.

 

[Jess_sully]

Okay, thanks! Vinegar is safe for use with all small animals, right? Because if it is, I'll start using it on my hamster's cage too and toss that other stuff in the garbage. Let me tell YOU, hamster pee has a STRONG scent! :?

 

[Spring]

Yes, it's perfectly fine. Just rinse it out VERY well as small critters have a good sense of smell and the vinegar could be unpleasant with it's strong smell. Just rinse it out a few times AFTER you can't detect the vinegar.

 

[JimD]

maherwoman wrote:

Quick question:

Would cleaning out my bunnies litterboxes create the chance that they might stop being litter-trained, due to their scent no longer being in the box?

I clean the litter pans every other day using white vinegar and then washing with Dawn dishsoap.

The ONLY time one of the buns refused to use her pan after cleaning was when MrsD cleaned the pans and forgot to use the vinegar. Tootsie's pan had a very slight smell of urine and she absolutely refused to use it, and proceeded to empty all of the litter out of her pan. She then pooped all over the place, but she didn't pee. She waited until I recleaned her pan and then rushed over to it to pee.

 

[maherwoman]

To my knowledge, Jess, vinegar is safe for ANYTHING, as long as you rinse.

It's not chemicals, or anything, it's just plain vinegar (possibly diluted with water), so I wouldn't think there'd be a problem.

Just my :twocents.