Help with Flemish Giant!

[AnimalWitch]

Hello everyone I just want to say thank you for allowing me to be a part of this site. I have recently acquired a Flemish Giant from my boss. He was about 8 months old when I got him and he was all skin and bones and we thought he was not going to make it. Well here we are a few months later and he is doing very well. I am having a lot of issues with trying to litter train him and setting up a proper environment for him indoors. We have foxes and other Wildlife outside and no fences with woods so I cannot house him Outdoors. I have recently trained him to be on a harness and Lead, but unfortunately that has started to go awry because of the wild rabbits scaring him lately. He smells their scent and goes crazy trying to get away almost hurting himself. I am at my wit's end cleaning up his urine and feces inside. I will include photos of the setup I have I need help please! He is not neutered yet. Do any vet hospitals provide discounted neutering for rabbits like some do for cats and dogs? Like I said I am new to this site and I am here for any and all advice anyone would like to contribute. I'm sorry my post is long.

 

[AnimalWitch]

The site will not allow me to upload a photo. It says that the server is not large enough or something??

 

[Niomi]

Welcome to this site. Most indoor rabbits are litter box trained. Do not use cat litter. The best litter is horse stall pellets, which is a wood product. If you don't have a farm and garden store in your area where you can buy pellets, you can also use stove fuel pellets. In my state they are sold at Menards. Put a layer of pellets in a litter box and put some hay on top, to encourage your rabbit to sit in the litter box. Put the box in a place where your rabbit likes to do his business, usually in a corner. If his area is large, you may have to reduce his area to get him to go in his box, or you can try putting out more boxes. Others on this site may have better suggestions on set ups. It has been a long time since I litter trained a rabbit because my rabbits are rescues that were trained when I got them.

Where I like, there are spay/neuter programs for people with low incomes, but you will just have to check around to see what is available in your area.

 

[samoth]

The site will not allow me to upload a photo. It says that the server is not large enough or something??

Hmm... maybe it was a temporary error because too many people were doing something here at the same time? Give it another try

 

[Blue eyes]

Intact rabbits can be difficult to litter train - most especially when they are hormonal. Your rabbit (for a Flemish) is at the right age to be hormonal. Neutered rabbits litter train much more easily and are more consistent (once they've had a few weeks post neuter for those hormones to fully dissipate).

Indoor housing is perfectly fine and can be done. I've had many rabbit over the years and they all were easily litter trained. Here is a page on my site that discusses litter training and tips on keeping an odor free home with a rabbit indoors. HOpefully that will help.

 

[Ariana]

I had a Flemish mix and he was a messy rabbit. Here’s A trick I learned to protect floors and keep things clean , even when they’re litter trained , is cage inserts. You can buy them separate from cages in different sizes. I put them on the floor, under the litter box also. They’re easy to clean and if he pees it will stay collected, it’s easy to clean up hay because it can cling to fabric. You can even put them under blankets to protect floors. Since using them it’s so easy to clean I just pick it up and dump the hay and poos that have collected on it from him jumping out of the box and it dumps right into the trash bag.

 

[Liquidtravel]

I have a 6 month old Flemish bunny. I just got him neutered last week. Prior to that, he urinated in his liter box without me having to "teach" him. Periodically he would pee elsewhere but I started to realize he was marking his territory. He did drop pellets everywhere. Again, marking his territory. Now, he is still recovering from surgery so he is not leaving his habitat very much. I am anxious to see how he calms down over the next few weeks as his hormones start to subside.