New(ish) Bunny! Help me!

[cabbage]

Hey guys!
I have a bunny that is fairly young (3 and a half months) and I'm really struggling to litter train him! I've been at it with trying to usher him to his cage, where his litter box is, picking him up and putting him there (but he hates being picked up so i don't want to do that so it's not a punishment) even treating him when he's in the box! Nothing seems to be sticking! Is there anything i can do? maybe a box outside the cage... or a different cage? He has to hop in since it has a ledge, but it's on the floor?

Also he's gotten quite nippy recently, aggressive. Is that a sign, maybe i should neuter him soon? Or I've annoyed him?

One last question! How do you usher your bunny back to his cage so he doesn't feel like it's a prison, and to avoid picking him up so he trusts you and doesnt think of you as a big scary monster?

Help! So many questions! Do hope someone can help me out!
Thanks
Cat

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sounds like neuter time. By litter training, are you trying to get him to use his hutch exclusively for everything? We consider ours trained if there is no urine around and as for the other, we have a shop vac. Only have had one out of 32 who voided exclusively in her hutch. Happy that the rest used pans for urine and sometimes for poop. We have several pans around so they don't have to just use their hutch. I have one pan inside a box with a top and bottom and have them used to going inside it when it's time to go up--our hutches aren't on the floor so this is how I avoid picking them up. You do have to get them used to handling whether or not they like it though.

 

[Tam O Ham]

I'm sure it really depends on the rabbit but I had the best luck by simply paying attention to where George was choosing to go the bathroom regularly and then plopping down a litter box there. Granted at one point I had a litter box in almost every corner but it didn't take long for George to associate a litter box with where she went the bathroom. Over time she narrowed it down to just a few that she used and now she actually goes back to her cage to go the bathroom, pee and poop (she's an only rabbit so she doesn't seem to feel the need to mark her territory with poops anymore I guess). It seemed much easier on both of us to just let her call the routine and then work with it.

As for getting her to see her house as a good thing to be in, I've found treats and plenty of head scratchings work really well along with being able to jump back out once she's in. It doesn't always work out that way, sometimes mom's got to go to work and she'll be a stubborn bunny. But she'll hop in there of her own accord once she's done with her daily time outside in the apartment these days and like I said, she'll hop in to go the bathroom before hopping back out to keep rampaging too.

I do remember George getting cage possessive probably at about four months or so (either her age or her just getting comfortable enough to start acting out). Is your bunny only aggressive in small enclosed 'his' areas or in general?

 

[Imbrium]

they can be neutered as soon as their boy bits descend, which has quite possibly happened by that age. neutering should help with both aggression and litter box habits.

do you use bedding in the cage? that can often confuse them when trying to litter box train.

one way to get more of the poops into the box is to either put the hay in the box or to hang a hay rack over the box - bunnies like to munch as they poop.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=53690&forum_id=93 - great litter box system; I highly recommend the grid even if you don't want to build the whole thing. I didn't have the tools to build the hay cover, so I cut a piece of coroplast scrap, put some bolts sticking up through it and then ziptied it to the grid - the bolts are far enough apart they can reach through to get hay, but it stops them from putting their little bunny butts in (and then pottying on) the hay part of the box:

 

[cabbage]

Thanks guys!

I'm not sure if he's descended (or a girl) as he's very fluffy, and i can't really get a look!

Tam O Ham; I gave him a box to play with the other day and began acting out around it, I think he may have got possesive over it!
And i think i will have to purcahse many litter boxes!

Imbrium; I have shredded paper for bedding in his cage (sticks less to his fluffy fur) and pine pellets or whatever there called in his litter box, so they are fairly different!

thanks for the help!