Hi Cher,
I hear your desperation, and I'll do the very best I can to try to help you.
-When rabbits get overly excited, they can sometimes lose control andaccidents (not going in the litterbox) can happen. You maywant to put down another litterbox in the house and limit the spacethey're able to travel in at the moment. As they get betterabout using the litterbox, you can increase their 'freedomspace'.
-Some people put a bit of hay in the litterbox to encourage the rabbits to use them.
-Do you have the right size litterbox for your rabbits? Theyseem to like corner litterboxes or ones with a high back better thanthe cat litterboxes.
-What type of litter are you using for them? If the litteryou're using creates a strong scent after they've gone in the box, theymay not like it and stay away from it. Perhaps a change oflitter, but I'd stay away from cedar and pine shavings. Iknow a guy that uses pine shavings, but the jury is still out on howgood it is for rabbits, so I stay away from it and use recyclednewspaper pellets. For those that don't know, cedar shavings,and some claim pine shavings, when mixed with a rabbit's urine puts outa toxic fume that causes respiratory infections in rabbits.
-Have you placed the litterbox in the area your rabbits continually gorather than where you'd like them to go? Once a rabbit makesup its mind where s/he likes to poop, there's little chance a human hasof changing it. Since Tucker was going in two places in myapt., I put a second litterbox down and heusesboth.
-Hormones definitely have an impact on their bathroom habits.After a rabbit is spayed or neutered, they seem to be less anal abouthaving to mark their territory, and are in more control over themselvesas they get a little older as their bladder controlincreases. You just have to be patient at this time untilthey get a little older and neutered or spayed. Time flieswhen you're having fun!
-You may want to invest in a watergun and give the rabbits warningsthat they need to get in the box. When they start to squat,go over and shoo them into their litterbox, saying 'get in the box' orsomething to that effect so they know what the phrase means.Once in there, give the rabbit high praise. After a while, ifyour rabbit doesn't respond to 'get in the box', you could give him asquirt, tell him to get in the box, and 99% of the time, my rabbit willhop right in not wanting to get squirted again. This willteach the rabbit that pooping outside of the box is bad, but pooping inthe box is good.
I agree with your partner. When you go home, I wouldn't letthe little buggers on the couch. They'll be fine,Mom. They're sure lucky they get so spoiled and loved by you.
-Carolyn
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Hi Kathy,
I'd suggest you get some wood and put it around for your rabbits tochew on. There was a post here where I listed sometoys. I forget which one it was in. You may want toput some of those things around for the rabbit so that they'redistracted from chewing on your rug. No matter how cute theyare, and they know it, they must be corrected whenmisbehaving. You don't want them ingesting the fragments ofthe carpet. It could really lead to a biggerproblemwith them.
Little Stinkers giving you that cute look and getting away withmurder! We're so wrapped, aren't we?!
-Carolyn