Litter training regression. Help!

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holly

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When I brought my very young English Lop named Avery home, he came from a breeder that had them already litter trained. He was 6 weeks at the time, and is now 9 weeks old. He was EXCELLENT at using his litter box and only left a stray poop outside his box very very rarely.

About 2 weeks after Avery came home, Tristan, also a baby, came to live with us, who had never before used a litter box. Tristan has picked up on Avery's habit of peeing in the box, thankfully, but he quite honestly doesn't give a crap (pardon the bad pun) where he poops! He poops everywhere...in the litter box, in the cage, outside while running around....wherever he happens to be.

This hasn't been improving at all, and the worst part is it's making Avery regress and now Avery is pooping wherever he pleases too. :cry2

What's the answer to this? I always pick up any poops immediately as soon as I see them, and put them in the box. I've been scrubbing their pen every day to make sure there's no poop smell on the floor...I've just now moved their litter box to a different corner, because this afternoon I came home and they had both just pooped right where they were laying all day -_- which was in a different corner...so figured might as well give it a shot. I've heard to not give them any more space until they can conquer the small area....should I not let them out to play until they can keep their pen clean? :\ Sounds kinda mean...

Should I just give them more time since they're so young? Thanks for any advice!
 
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9 weeks is still young, so it could just be because he's still young that he's taking after the messy bunn. However, it could also be that he's pooping everywhere to reaffirm his territory that you've just added a new bunny too. A rabbit new to a home will often poop everywhere as a way to mark territory and it eases up after a few weeks. Because your bunnies are young, you're most likely going to have trouble from 12 weeks on as they start to reach puberty they will likely mark their territory more and may even start fighting. Getting them neutered young, or separating them before any fighting starts and getting them neutered a bit later is something you need to be prepared for. Baby bunny friends are often not adult bunny friends without spay/neuter and going through the bonding process.
 
Rabbits use poop to mark their territory. I consider a rabbit completely litter trained when 99% of the time they pee inside their box. I never expect all their poops to end up in the box. Try adding another box to their pen and they may poop there. I would resist the urge to scrub the area they pooped in, try leaving a few and see if that helps (vs. eliminating their efforts at marking their territories).
Most people find spay neuter helps with litter habits as well.
 

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