New bunny owner...need help with cage set up!

[jkarn]

Hello! We are buying my son a rabbit for Christmas and we are very exited to go pick him up tomorrow! He's a very cute Holland Lop. We bought him from a reputable breeder who's granddaughter shows Hollands. The rabbits are raised in a heated barn (we are in Michigan!), so this Holland is used to being in a wire bottom cage...

Here is my question! How do I set up the cage so that we encourage our bunny to poop in one corner, so we can litter train? What do we put in the bottom of the cage (if anything??) to encourage this? We have a very largeSOLID PLASTIC BOTTOM(no wire!) cage (47"x24"x20"). I chose this kind of cage since our intention is to litter train, however, what do we put in the bottom of the cage at the beginning, BEFORE the bunny is litter trained?? I am confused if we should just put some newspaper down until we determine the rabbit's favorite corner, with a folded up hand towel at one end for his bed, or if I should put bedding or aspen shavings all over the bottom. My concern w/ bedding or shavings is that the rabbit will just poop and pee everywhere instead of in a corner. Please tell me how to set up and be ready for bunny tomorrow!! Our bunny is young, about 9-10 weeks old. Thanks so much. If we had a wire bottom cageit wouldn't be an issue, obviously, the poop and pee would just fall underneath.

Jules

 

[kherrmann3]

I posted in your intro thread, but I can post it again here.

As far as the litter goes, go with something bunny-safe, like CareFresh, to line the entire bottom of the cage. Then, put a different kind of litter in the litter pan, like Yesterday's News. The difference in litter can help them with litter training.

Also, I litter-trained my guy by arranging the cage just so. He had his water bottle in one corner, food bowl in another, a nest of some sort in the other, then the litter box in whatever corner was left! He wouldn't go potty where he ate, drank, or slept!

I hope that helps!

 

[aurora369]

My advice is to have nothing on the floor, and start litter training right away.

When I litter train (young or old), I put a litter box in straight away. Put some fresh poop and a tissue soaked in their pee into the box. Some fresh hay to tempt them to sit in the box as well.

I clean the bottom of the cage multiple times a day. I use a spray bottle with vinegar and water mixed together. I soak up any pee spots with some paper towel or tissue, placing those in the litter box along with stray poops, and then spray down the cage bottom with the vinegar mix and then wipe clean.

In essence, keep the clean part of the cage clean, and the litter box dirty.

I keep doing this cleaning routine at least 3-4 times a day until they are trained. Normally this works with in about 2-3 weeks. You just need patience, but I've found this the best way to litter train (for me at least).

I have trained bunnies as young as 3 weeks (still with mom though) and bunnies as old as 8 years with this method.

--Dawn

 

[jkarn]

How do you choose which corner to place the litter box? Should I let the rabbit choose, or just put it in any corner? I have a high sided corner litter box, with a wire grate on the top, to prevent the rabbit from sitting intheir "business."

Thanks!

 

[kherrmann3]

I did the back right corner because it was easiest for me to clean. Toby never complained. When I moved, his cage had to be oriented different. Now, his litter pan is in the back left corner, for easy scoopage.

 

[LizBuns]

When I first got smokey he insisted on using the corner opposite his litter box so i ended up having to rearrange his cage so that it was in the corner he preferred. That was all it took to litter train him. He still occasionally poops outside his litter box, but never every pees on the floor.

 

[kherrmann3]

Also good to mention... Make sure you move any "accidents" that are in the cage to the appropriate area in the litter box. If he pees in the cage, soak it up with a paper towel and put it in the litter box. Keep the cage bottom as clean as possible! They are pretty smart little animals. They will catch on eventually!

 

[gentle giants]

One other thing to keep in mind,is that since your new bunny is just a baby, it will take a little longer for him to learn to use the litterpan. He may choose a corner to use right away, or he may go all over the place for a little while. Just keep in mind that he's a baby, and he will learn it eventually.

 

[Raspberry82]

aurora369 wrote:

My advice is to have nothing on the floor, and start litter training right away.

When I litter train (young or old), I put a litter box in straight away. Put some fresh poop and a tissue soaked in their pee into the box. Some fresh hay to tempt them to sit in the box as well.

I clean the bottom of the cage multiple times a day. I use a spray bottle with vinegar and water mixed together. I soak up any pee spots with some paper towel or tissue, placing those in the litter box along with stray poops, and then spray down the cage bottom with the vinegar mix and then wipe clean.

In essence, keep the clean part of the cage clean, and the litter box dirty.

I keep doing this cleaning routine at least 3-4 times a day until they are trained. Normally this works with in about 2-3 weeks. You just need patience, but I've found this the best way to litter train (for me at least).

I have trained bunnies as young as 3 weeks (still with mom though) and bunnies as old as 8 years with this method.

--Dawn

This is exactly what I did to litter train my buns. I make sure to put the poos outside their litter box into their litter box as soon as I see them. The paper towel or kleenex soaked in their pee is really important to help them pee in their box too.

Keep in mind that even though your bun may be fully litter box trained, they likely will still pee outside their cage if left outside or away from their litter box for too long. The frequency of pee accidents decrease as they get older.