Rabbit Un-toilet trained

Hi all first time posted here,

I have a one and a half year old mini-lop which I absolutely love and adore but recently he has started getting on my nerves. He is an indoor rabbit for we have cats and foxes in my area and ever since we got him he was toilet trained. He has a little corner of the living room we have sectioned off for his pen, a bowl of water, tray for food, and a little rug for him to lay on. We neutered him ages ago and we've never seen any problems til recently. Every morning I wake up to yellow stains and little chocolate drops all over my carpet. Of course I get rid of them to keep my house clean and I even dab the urine with paper towels and place them into his pen (don't worry, i throw away the ones with disinfectant spray on them). But I wake up the next morning and the exact same thing. We have used many types of sprays (over 20 brands and types) recommended by fellow rabbit owners and online forumers but nothing has seemed to work. Now I'm starting to think it's the rabbit, not the spray. I don't get why all of a sudden he's chosen to start doing his business on the carpet instead of in his pen. He was fine for a full year and a quarter and we would only ever see the occasional poo that he picked up from his feet accidentally. I've never heard of a rabbit UN-toilet training themselves. Does anyone have any ideas of what we could do other than recommending a disinfectant spray brand for I've more than likely tried it? I don't want to make him an outdoor rabbit but it's looking like a pretty viable option. It's not nice inviting friends over to find a big yellow stain in the middle of the room.

Any help would be super appreciated !
Thanks.
Ryan.

A sudden change in potty habits can indicate a urinary infection.

A sudden change in the household - new pet, re-arranging furniture, new person/visitors, new scents -all have the potential to cause a rabbit to territory mark.

Not sure how many different types of sprays you've used, but any one (or all) could cause an issue as well. White vinegar is about the only thing I know of that is good for eliminating urine odor. Rabbits don't like that smell and tend to avoid going wherever vinegar happens to be.

[Does he get hay?]

We haven't got any other pets in the house, the furniture has not been moved since we got the rabbit. I don't have many visitors over and when I do the rabbit is really friendly, and i'm not sure what new senses it could be.
I've tried vinegar but it doesn't seem to do anything. He get hay every night and his little pen cleaned after I eat dinner.

You may need to rule out whether there is a health issue going on (like a urinary infection).
JBun may also have some other insights...hopefully she'll see this and chime in.

Rabbits are creatures of habit. If they change something it means something have changed from their point of view. So either something in his environment changed (you say it didn't but it can be a very small thing, even a bird nest on the roof ) or he has a health problem. I would have a vet check just to make sure.

This is a curious thing to have happen. Please let us know what the vet says. I hope they can get to the bottom of things.

Generally, a sudden change in potty habits means vet visit. Often like everyone said, it can mean urinary tract infection, stones, etc. It doesn't make sense to us, but if they urinate in the box and it causes pain every time, it's the box that causes pain (not urination) in their minds. It's the same reason cats often urinate/defecate outside the box when they have urinary issues too!

Thanks for the responses everyone, I'm booking a vet appointment tomorrow ! I'll let you know how it goes

How is he doing?