Potty Problems

[warminwisco]

Sammy is a 6 plus y/o mini rex who I have posted a couple time for. He had
e caniculi 2 years ago and he will not pee in his box any longer, I accept that as he lost an eye got real sick almost died and I am so happy to have him still around. He hops into his cage and will pee randomly on Assure pads we have down and we just change em. Problem is keeping him from walking on the peed spots and he gets dirty real fast and we bath him every 2-3 x/day if not sooner.

Anyone have any experience or ideas about how to keep his lining of his cage from getting soiled like a grid system with a pan underneath or wicking material for this problem. He has free roam when we are home and he rarely pees on the carpet so the cage is the issue. He just won't hop into his litter box any longer, incontinence I guess.

he gets these real big soft poops also and eats em whats this all about again also?

 

[warminwisco]

I am a 53 year old guy by the way who every day looks forward to walking in from work and kissing my rabbit 150 times behind the head. I love him he loves to be kissed and kisses back I love this lil guy!!!

 

[agnesthelion]

I am a 53 year old guy by the way who every day looks forward to walking in from work and kissing my rabbit 150 times behind the head. I love him he loves to be kissed and kisses back I love this lil guy!!!

Very sweet we all love our buns here too.

As far as the potty system, maybe you could just experiment with the litterbox. Are the edges too high is that why he won't hop in? Does he have an adversion to the litter now? Maybe cut the edge on one side of the box and experiment with different litters. I use wood stove pellets found at most home improvement stores. $5 for a 40lb bag. Also, you can put some of the soiled pee pads in the litterbox. Does he seem to pee in a certain spot in his cage? Sometimes rearranging the box location or put more litterboxes in there that you can remove later but just to give him more options.

As far as a grid system, for the whole cage it might not work. It's not recommended for bunny's feet. You'd have to have blankets or solid surfaces for him tom rest on and that might defeat the entire purpose.

It also should be mentioned is if he is not neutered, this could be a marking of the territory thing. Especially if he is only doing it in his cage, he is marking that as his space. At 6 years old though there might be a risk to neuter so I'm only mentioning it as an explanation.

Lastly, the soft poops he eats are called Cecotropes or night droppings. Rabbits produce two different kinds of feces and the soft cecals have nutrients in them so they eat them. It is completely normal and actually if they don't eat them it indicates a problem.

 

[warminwisco]

Thanks, I have tried all the above and he is neutered. We used pellets for along time and he started to get congested. The grid system is hardon thier feet I know I toyed with the idea os soft fabric screen not aluminum over something so his pee would drain. I will try the litter box with a pad in it and hope for the best. He used to pee all over the carpet we watched him like a hawk to clean it up fast but he has been going into the cage lately and peeing. People say with one eye we should put him down, ya right I hold onto cars till they fall apart, same wife, rabbit stays!!! A little extra work but hey man he is like my son.

 

[warminwisco]

I had tarps down and his foot got wrapped in the tarp and strangle I almost lost him again. 6 laser treatments brought the swelling down otherwise his foot looked like a big bobcat it was so swollen. Vet loves sammy and my wallet she is great though.

 

[agnesthelion]

I had tarps down and his foot got wrapped in the tarp and strangle I almost lost him again. 6 laser treatments brought the swelling down otherwise his foot looked like a big bobcat it was so swollen. Vet loves sammy and my wallet she is great though.

Oh wow sounds like he has had a couple close calls! He's meant to be here for sure

When you say he was getting congested...do you mean from the pellets? Some rabbits just don't litter train. And sometimes with rabbits it's more about manipulating things so they go in the box vs. actually training. Sounds like you've tried alot but it may be just continue trial and error with different things. When he does go on the pad it's important to get it cleaned up immediately so he doesn't smell that he should go there again. Also, shape and size of litterbox can matter too. For example, my two refuse to use a corner box, haha, so try different things there.

And yes the one eye is definitely not a reason to put down!! We have an RO member who just had to have her buns eye removed. Rabbits can live very happy lives anyway

Post pics of your bun on the introduction thread id you want. We'd love to see!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Since it's not the height of the box, maybe try a couple different mediums--we use kiln dried pine and shredded newspaper.

 

[tonyshuman]

Some materials are more wicking, if he simply will not go potty in a litterbox. A popular one is faux sheepskin, or Palace Pet bedding. Sometimes fleece-like material will also work. You can put absorbent puppy pads or something under these cloth-like materials, and the urine will travel through the fabric into the absorbent stuff and stay a lot drier on the surface. Another option is using diapers, although they can cause a lot of problems as well due to not letting air circulate around the skin. Here's some sites with helpful info. A lot of the info pertains to bunnies with movement issues due to disability, but that's because they often can't move enough to use a litterbox.

http://www.hopperhome.com/Disabled Rabbit.htm
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-2/disabled.html
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/disabled.html
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-12/disabled-litter.html

We have a couple of members who have dealt with this and may be helpful resources if you want to send them a PM. TreasuredFriend comes to mind. Another helpful resource could be this book:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/159580031X/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
and this Library thread
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f22/disabled-bunnies-27352/