Skiddish bunny pooping everhwjere

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

katiecrna

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2016
Messages
432
Reaction score
67
Ok so I need some advice on a couple things. I have a almost 4 month lionhead doe. She is very skiddish of me. We have had her for about 3 weeks. She is very curious and loves to run around and jump on things. But when it comes to me, she is scared and won't let me touch her. I try not to pick her up but I do every 2 days because I have to brush her hair because it gets matted. I have a big cage for her size that is open to a pen so she has lots of room to play. When I am home I open the pen and let her free range in my house. And she is popping everywhere. Like in her cage there is poop everywhere. She uses her litter box a lot but she also poops and pee on her cage which is lined with a fleece blanket. So my question is... Am I giving her too much space so that she won't get potty trained and also so she can ignore me and not get use to me and my touch? I know that when she gets spayed (we're going at 6months) she will be better but I am trying to get her socialized and prevent her from becoming an aggressive bunny. Any input will help thanks!
 
Ours (6) all have a litter pan in their hutch which sees a lot of poop and more importantly, all the pee. Rabbits chin and poop to mark territory, so we have a large shop vac as the poop is going to be all over, but mostly in other litter boxes on the floor. We have only had 2 out of 37 that used the litter pan exclusively until they got old (over 10). You can try putting down a few litter pans and putting the poop in them, but it will probably persist.
 
My thoughts in red...

She uses her litter box a lot but she also poops and pee on her cage which is lined with a fleece blanket.

Two thoughts: 1., If she was potty trained before, the hormones can cause her to 'forget' her potty habits. That will change after spaying. (spayed rabbits litter train more consistently)

2. Having soft anything (like fleece) anywhere other than the litter box can make potty training more difficult. They want to pee somewhere soft (like a litter box OR fleece). Best to keep cage floor solid (no loose bedding or fleece) during the potty training stage. That will keep her from being confused as to where to potty.



So my question is... Am I giving her too much space so that she won't get potty trained and also so she can ignore me and not get use to me and my touch? I know that when she gets spayed (we're going at 6months) she will be better but I am trying to get her socialized and prevent her from becoming an aggressive bunny. Any input will help thanks!

My thought is to keep bunny confined to a cage until consistent with going potty in the box. Once you see that, then allow a wider area with an x-pen around the cage. Check for continued consistency before expanding the area.

When bunny is out in the x-pen area, just sit in that area. Just letting her approach you as she feels comfortable is enough to teach her that you "are safe." It isn't necessary to be handling her alot. I would even advise against petting her everytime she comes near. Rather let her see that she isn't going to be bothered everytime she approaches.

Socializing her doesn't need to mean handling her alot (that can sometimes be counter-productive). It just means letting her be comfortable with your presence. After she is spayed (and not hormonal), then one can work more on touching and petting.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top