serious behaviour issue

[jaydee]

Hi all, my names sarah and my son has a one and a half year old english called gizmo.
Gizmo has a two tier indoor cage. He has always decided to pee at the bottom his ladder and poo in his litter tray next to it. Not really a problem, annoying yes but manageable. However he then took to sitting in his pee corner. This lead to sores developing on his hind legs, trip to the vets and cream antibiotics later, it cleared up, however he will not stop sitting in his pee. Consequently the sores returned, we bought more cream and are at a stalemate just now.
My husband put down smooth pebbles (after cat litter and puppy pads didnt work), to stop him peeing in the corner but he now just pees on them and also in his litter tray, still sits in his pee, and if we dont put the cream on for a day the sores return.Gizmo gets a lot of attention and The cage is open a lot during the day, he gets out when he wants, he also pees around the house in about 4 different places places.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received as if this continues the outlook for gizmo isnt good

:sosad:sosad:sosad:sosad

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Is he neutered?

 

[pani]

Can you put another litter tray in that corner?

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Agreed, a neutering is the first step if he has not already been snipped.

Catlitter isn't a great choice for rabbits from a health standpoint - they do far better on kiln-dried wooden stove pellets, or aspen litter. Cedar and pine litter should be avoided, as urine reacts badly with compounds in the wood to create toxic fumes. You could also use yesterday's news cat litter.

Have you provided appropriate litterboxes with absorptive material around the house?

For the cage, get a larger litterbox that accomodates both the pee and poop spots. Fill the litterbox with a highly absorptive litter, like kiln dried wood stove pellets. This will suck up the urine.
When you clean the litterbox, don't clean it out perfectly - leave a tiny bit of poop to help him remember the purpose of the box.

Remember, it isn't his behaviour that is wrong; he's being a rabbit, doing rabbit things. Half the game is to figure out how to accommodate his needs, and out-game him

 

[jaydee]

thanks for the replies, yes he has been snipped, and unfortunately a litter tray will not fit at the bottom of the ladder, hence the pebbles, but he has now decided to pee in the litter box and sit in there instead, i will try the wood pellets see if that helps. Were going on holiday soon and am concerned about the state when we get get back.

 

[jaydee]

any idea where i can get the kiln dried pellets in scotland UK

 

[squidpop]

I don't use the kiln pellets- they are very expensive in New Zealand. I have litter pans that have high sides and put 7cm of pine shavings which are really cheap and absorbant and top it with barley straw so they don't sit directly on the pine shavings and inhale fumes. The straw seems to keep them high and dry and their feet are always really clean despite the fact they enjoy sitting in their litter box. I buy barley straw by the bale. I like barley straw because they sit in it but don't eat it and it keeps their feet clean.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

The wood pellets are usually available at hardware/outdoor stores. They are used for wood stoves, as well as horse stall bedding.

 

[PaGal]

Do you have a hay rack hanging above his litter box or do you place hay in the corner of his litter box?

Buns typically potty while eating so if you do one of those it should help. You do want to provide a litter box large enough for him to fit well inside. You also want one big enough that he must be completely in the litter box to be able to munch on his hay.

Also, you may want to place litter boxes outside of the cage since he is peeing outside of it as well.

You can use any water proof item that will do the trick for a litter box besides just a made for pet litter box such as a plastic storage tub or even a metal baking dish.

 

[jaydee]

his litter tray is big enough for him to sit in it, the thing is he seems to want to sit in his pee... he is a bit weird anyway, spoiled rotten of course, He constantly licks you, and i mean lick lick lick lick. I know this is a grooming thing, but he does it to obsessive levels, always has. lol