New Bunny Owner!

[turquoise]

Hi!
I'm new, and have been very nervous about bringing a bunny into the home, that is until I looked around (ie stalked lol) the forums. There is such great advice here.
So anyways, our new addition is Dorian, and he's 10 weeks old. He was content in the car ride home (which was a whole 25 minutes), and has never been very anxious ever since we've met him! He's not scared of loud noises, and even tolerates my 6 year old stomping around in other rooms, or playing his drums. He's very mischievous - loves to come out and play, which included attempting to tear up the rug/curtains, and binkying around his cage over and over. He especially likes to jump around to The Office theme song. He doesn't seek affection yet, but he has tolerated my 6 year old petting him briefly, and today he succumbed to being pet for half an hour! He almost fell asleep.

I have some questions though. First - will he ever acknowledge his litterbox? The first day, he laid down in it, but since then has completely ignored it. I put the food near it, and he's just moved around it until I PLACE him in the box, where he sits long enough for me to turn around, at which point he jumps right out.
Also - I haven't figured out where he has been peeing yet. There is no smell, and the corners don't seem degraded (besides for mounds of poop). He's only peed twice since I've gotten him (two days ago) on my carpet, and that's all I've seen. How much does a rabbit usually void each day? He drinks plenty of water.

And finally - one of his eye whites seems a little irritated and red-ish. There is white gunk in the corners of his eyes each morning, which I wipe away with sterile water. I've since changed his litter, because it had dust in it, and I hope this fixes the irritation. However, if it doesn't start to get better, when should I go and see the vet? I am a nurse, and have access to medical supplies - so I really would like to have the vet as a last resort, if we really need antibiotics.

Sorry for the long questions - I plan on training him to be a therapy animal, so I really want to get this right the first time.

 

[Kzbun]

Hello and welcome to RO!
I'm not the best at answering questions, as I'm still a bit new to this, but I'll help with anything I can! What are you using for a litter box and the litter? He could not like it for whatever reason. Putting his food so that he will be in the box while eating is something that may help. I'm not sure how much rabbits pee, but perhaps he is going in the litter to pee? Either that or maybe he's going in places you can't see. Sadly I can't really help on the eye thing.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We keep the litter box next to their hay rack. Works with most of ours. Time,neutering, and consistency helps with box training. I'd go to the vet--we always do a well check with new bunnies.

 

[existenziell]

Welcome to the forum! Your bunny sounds like he's going to be a great and fun rabbit. And he's really adorable.

The best thing to do, I think, is see where he is peeing and pooping first before you start getting him to use his litter box. That way it's already kind of in his head where he should be peeing when you put the litter box in that spot. Chances are he has no idea what you're trying to get him to do just yet. Also, since he is so young, he probably hasn't established what place he wants to do that just yet. It will become more obvious and solidified over time. All bunnies are different and some catch on quicker than others. Just be patient with him and, for now, keep cleaning up after him without using a litter box. And since he is so young, he isn't producing a lot of waste just yet. You shouldn't have to clean the cage every day (but should do so when he gets older and starts going more).

As for the irritation, that should clear up if you changed the litter. It doesn't sound too serious. As always, just watch and see if it clears up before you decide to take him to the vet.

 

[agnesthelion]

Oh my goodness Dorian is such a handsome guy! Welcome to RO

My two pee several times a day. 2 pees in two days seems odd......? Maybe there is a spot you haven't found?

Litter training just takes time. Also, neutering (which he may not be quite old enough yet) usually imporves litter habits immensely. Poops will not be 100%. rabbits are considered litter trained if they pee in the box.

Sometimes litter training is more experimenting with different options. What is his cage like? What is the box type and litter type? Also, what kind of litter did you switch to?

Buns do get eye gunk much like humans. Just keep an eye on it. Clean it out but hopefully it was the dust from the other litter.

Glad you found us here. This is a great forum!

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

Welcome to RO! Dorian is gorgeous, what breed is he?

With the litter training, neutering helps. You usually neuter when the testacles come down around 3-4 months, but your vet will tell you if he is ready. Also some rabbits take longer than others to catch on. For instance, Ash would poop in his litter box half the time and half the time he would poop on the ground. But now he poops mostly in his litter box. Rabbits probably pee like humans, the more water they drink the more they pee.

I would keep an eye on his eye, and if it gets worse I would take him to a vet.

 

[PaGal]

First, try to discover where he may have peed. You can clean where he pees with vinegar so he won't smell his pee smell there and do it again. You can pick up and put his poops in his litter box. With me bun I also soaked a corner of paper towel where he peed outside the litter box and placed the wet towel in his litter box.

Can he get in and out of the litter box easily on his own?

Most buns will never completely stop leaving some poos outside the litter box. I did notice with my bun that at first he left a lot of poops around his room. As he got older he left less poops. Now I just have a few to clean up, some days none.

 

[Azerane]

He looks like a real sweety. )

It's possible a dusty litter caused the irritation, what did you switch from and to? I agree with others that the litter training takes time, especially with a younger bun. I would suggest putting all his hay in one end of the litter box, my rabbit, Bandit, loves eating hay while sitting on his litter. Also, if you notice a particular location that he seems to poo more, then perhaps shift the litter box to that spot, then if you want to change the location later once he's learned to use it, you can slowly move it. In addition to that, I found if I picked up any stray poo as soon as I found it, and put it into the litter box, that it really helped. Putting his poo in there will help him to realise that that's where they're meant to go. So when you clean them up, instead of getting rid of them straight away, put a handful of them in the box. Then when he starts using the box, when you clean it out, leave a couple of poos behind to keep his smell in there as a reminder. As for the pee, Bandit usually pees several times a day, so there must be another location for it, maybe on top of where he's currently pooing?

Hope that helps

 

[DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE]

what a little sweetie!! congrats and welcome!!!

 

[turquoise]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions!
I switched him from "Super Pet Potty Litter" that the pet store recommended (which was awful and messy), to care fresh. I'm happy to report that the eye is completely better now, phew. I even noticed a wet stain on the care fresh litter, so maybe he's catching on without me even realizing it!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Welcome to RO, what an adorable little fellow. I second most of the comments on here, just watch where he tends to pee and move the box to there. As with everyone else, I put hay in one end of the tray and also have a hay manger above so they can poo and pee and eat at the samet time. He´ll get better as the weeks pass and as long as he´s also peeing in there, consider him trained. Mine still leave some poos outside but less than before they were neutered.

Hope to see more of your little fellow.