I need help for litter box training

[Sandra]

My bun (who is about 5 months old), for some reason, has stopped using his litter box. He used to be so clean. Is there any reason he stopped using his litter box? He as a normal litter box for bunnies big enough for him. I use Aspen woodshaving and I put hay in his box. Any suggestions on how to encourage my bun to use the litter box again? I am getting discouraged. Every time I see him peeing out of the box, I say "no" and get him in the box saying "this is where you are suppose to pee" BTW my bun is not fixed but will be soon.

[Millimi]

Maybe once he gets fixed, he'll go in the litterbox again. My suggestion is, when you find poop in a place not in the litterbox, pick it up and place the poop in the litterbox. It may sound kinda gross, but it works. My rabbits caught on to that very quickly and have had barely any accidents since. Also, you may want to change what you use for litter in the litterbox. Hay is good, but maybe you might want to try something like corn cob bedding because your bun might think that the hay is for eating and that he can't soil it anymore. Good luck, and I hope this helped.

[LolaBunny]

I was told by (I forgot who) to use Feline Pine, it works REALLY well, and its easier to clean up then Any type of wood shavings, I also use Critter Litter, I mix those to, the Critter Litter is supposed to have some smell to make them go there but that works to, my Bunny literaly Caught on the day after I started. I also put hay by the box and all her food is in that area

[veggiegirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by LolaBunny I was told by (I forgot who) to use Feline Pine, it works REALLY well, and its easier to clean up then Any type of wood shavings, I also use Critter Litter, I mix those to, the Critter Litter is supposed to have some smell to make them go there but that works to, my Bunny literaly Caught on the day after I started. I also put hay by the box and all her food is in that area

I think I suggested the Feline Pine. I'm so glad its working out for you! It works great for me too, with the hay on top and food near the litter box.

[velvetrabbit]

Most rabbits (medium to small breeds) reach "maturity" between 3-6 months. This often is the cause for missed litter boxes and stuff. Usually, they will pick it up again after "puberty" is over, or if they've been fixed. Other than that, the suggestions made by everyone else are very good.

[RSbunny]

Everyone has made great suggestions!!! My only extra bit of advice is that the shavings may not be absorbing everything that well and so your bun has stopped going in there cause it's dirty for him. I've run out of litter for my buns once before and so I gave them newspaper cause it was all I had...they used their litter once and then cause it was all soggy (I was out for a couple of hours and wasn't home to change it staright away) they peed outside their tray. As soon as they got litter again they went back into the tray.

[cinni]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sandra My bun (who is about 5 months old), for some reason, has stopped using his litter box. He used to be so clean. Is there any reason he stopped using his litter box? He as a normal litter box for bunnies big enough for him. I use Aspen woodshaving and I put hay in his box. Any suggestions on how to encourage my bun to use the litter box again? I am getting discouraged. Every time I see him peeing out of the box, I say "no" and get him in the box saying "this is where you are suppose to pee" BTW my bun is not fixed but will be soon.

You will have to deal with this problem until his is castrated. Males sexual matury at 4-6 months of age. When they reach that age, they usually become more aggressive and territorial (the latter is what contributes to the litter box problems). They will urinate and leave droppings outside of the litter box as a way to mark their territory. I can't recommend much, as neutering will be the only way to solve this problem. Once he is neutered, it will take about 1-2 months for the hormones to settle down and for him to start using his litter box normally again. You can try to deter his messy behavior by telling him "no," but it won't help that much unless he is fixed... his hormones are going nuts right now and it really isn't his fault that he is having trouble with the litter box.

The aspen and hay litter is a no-no as well. Like others suggested, having food (hay) in the litter box may send mixed signals to the bun. Also, if the rabbit urinates on the hay and it gets moldy, and then he tries to eat it, this also can cause problems. As for the aspen, it is not odor controlling or very absorbant (and its messy and gets all over the place). You can try Feline Pine.. its a great litter, but (at least in my area), is very expensive. You may want to look into Wood Stove Pellets, which can be bought at a hardware store. I never used them for my rabbits personally, but have heard much praise about them. Other littes you can look into are Yesterday's News, Cat Country, Kritter Country, or Bird Country. They are all so-so litters, but you can try them if you wish.

Good luck!

[velvetrabbit]

Quote: I can't recommend much, as neutering will be the only way to solve this problem.

.

I'm inclined to disagree, based on personal experience. It is true that often, neutering is the only thing that helps fix this issue, but it is not the sole way of solving the problem, as I have had males (and females when they matured) go back to using the litter box, after a time.

[veggiegirl]

Quote: Originally Posted by cinni The aspen and hay litter is a no-no as well. Like others suggested, having food (hay) in the litter box may send mixed signals to the bun. Also, if the rabbit urinates on the hay and it gets moldy, and then he tries to eat it, this also can cause problems.

I use Feline Pine with hay on top and have found that it encourages my rabbits to use their litter box. It was recommended to me by the rescue that I got my rabbits from. Not only does it encourage them to use the litter box, it encourages them to eat more hay. I have never had a problem with moldy hay, because I change the litter daily. My buns pick a corner of the box to use when they go, and munch on the clean hay in the rest of the box. Its always worked for me. Having hay on top also keeps the Feline Pine in the box. If I didn't have hay on top, I would have sawdust everywhere (it turns to sawdust when it gets wet).

Neutering will help, Sandra. Try to hang in there until you can get that done.

[veggiegirl]

Oh and Carmen, I totally agree with you about keeping it clean. I had to go an extra day because I was low on feline pine, and Sonora demolished her pen! She kicked out all her litter, so there was pee saturated sawdust everywhere! She kept biting the bars of her pen until I clean the litter box out and cleaned everything up for her. That girl throws a fit if I don't clean it every day. I always change their litter daily except in rare cases like today. Now that its clean, she is calm and happy.