Rabbit pooping in areas not supposed to

[Homework9293]

I recently extended Divas home (seen in pictures).

I found some small fenced pieces that I've seen people use for home made cages in my basement so I thought I'd use them.

Unfortunately Diva has been dropping poop pellets on the mat I have in there. The reason I have the mat/carpet is so she has some traction if she wants to jump around. Slippery floors I know some rabbits hate to do binkies on.

I was wondering if getting her spayed (which I do have planned after September) would fix that issue? Other than that she poops and pees in her litter box no problem.

 

[Blue eyes]

She's likely just marking it as hers since it is new to her. It's pretty normal for a rabbit to drop those poos around when in a "new" area to claim it as theirs. Give it some time and she'll likely do that less and less.

 

[Homework9293]

She's likely just marking it as hers since it is new to her. It's pretty normal for a rabbit to drop those poos around when in a "new" area to claim it as theirs. Give it some time and she'll likely do that less and less.

Am I doing the right thing by just dropping it in her litter box and showing her?

 

[Blue eyes]

No need to "show" her. In fact, it's probably a good idea to just leave them there for a couple days before cleaning them up. Otherwise she may feel compelled to leave more there. She's just trying to claim the rug.

 

[Homework9293]

No need to "show" her. In fact, it's probably a good idea to just leave them there for a couple days before cleaning them up. Otherwise she may feel compelled to leave more there. She's just trying to claim the rug.

The thing is she did the same thing for 2 weeks before I caged that area. She pooped on the rug even without the extra cage there.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Rabbits poop to mark territory--so, if they pee in a pan then they are usually as trained as it gets. We've rescued more than sixty over a few decades and only 2 would use their pan in their hutch for every need. The rest used their pans but would also mark the room with poop--why I have a giant shop vac.

 

[Homework9293]

Rabbits poop to mark territory--so, if they pee in a pan then they are usually as trained as it gets. We've rescued more than sixty over a few decades and only 2 would use their pan in their hutch for every need. The rest used their pans but would also mark the room with poop--why I have a giant shop vac.

That's my problem! She'll pee in the litter pan no problem but she'll drop poop pellets everywhere.

I've only had one rabbit in my life litter trained to the point he didn't drop poop pellets outside his cage.

I'm wondering if spaying will fix this issue?

 

[Hermelin]

You can lessen the poop droppings by spaying but it won’t be 100%. My boy Odin who have been neutered for 3 years now still occasionally drop 1-3 droppings outside the box but majority are in the litter box. So I just pick up his small scattered droppings.

While other bunnies will never learn.

 

[Homework9293]

You can lessen the poop droppings by spaying but it won’t be 100%. My boy Odin who have been neutered for 3 years now still occasionally drop 1-3 droppings outside the box but majority are in the litter box. So I just pick up his small scattered droppings.

While other bunnies will never learn.

I heard you should get females spayed regardless as compared to males, they can get a urine disease that can kill them. Is this true?

 

[Hermelin]

I heard you should get females spayed regardless as compared to males, they can get a urine disease that can kill them. Is this true?

It’s true females have a higher risk to develop cancer and the risk becomes higher the older the bunny gets. So it’s good to spay females and they will also get a more leveled temper. I always spay my girls also but at the moment none of them are spayed because of age.

 

[Homework9293]

So I took the mat out for now until she stopped. She only seems to do it on the mat.

The other issue that has arrived is she has started showing aggression when I pick up ot put away things near her face. Mostly in her litter box when I put the poop pellets back. Is this a thing spaying will calm down?

 

[Homework9293]

Anyone?

 

[JBun]

Yes, spaying will almost always help improve litter habits, but there are no guarantees, as it varies with each rabbit how much it helps and what the rabbits set up is like. Moving a rabbit to a new area, opening up a new area to the rabbit, or new people/animals in the house can all affect this as well, as rabbits will leave poop pellets to mark their territory, especially when anything new is involved.

The territorial aggression could be hormones, which can calm down after spaying, or it could be due to eyesight issues and she doesn't realize it's you at first, or some does can be very territorial about their area even when spayed.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Litter_training
Please review the forum policy regarding bumping your thread. If it's not an emergency(which you should be taking your rabbit immediately to the vet with anyways), it's important to give people enough time to respond, which can be several hours or even the next day or two.

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/rabbitsonline-forum-policy-and-decorum.10320/