bad behavior/habit?!

[fantaysah]

Sugar has recently taken to sleeping in the litter box. How can i stop this? They have a multi level condo with a house they refuse to use. Also they mostly pee in the box but poop everywhere! Sugar even poops while laying down. She will be lounging awake and asleep and and will accumulate a pile behind her. Is that normal and how do i work with her on that?

 

[ZRabbits]

Wish I could help, but all my bunnies enjoy sleeping or resting in their litter box. I just clean more often.

And regarding houses, I've done the same. Bought houses that my bunnies will use when babies, but now that they are settled in, it's really not needed. As babies they needed a place that they could hide in when scared. Now that they are settled in and older, they feel they don't need that place to hide. I'm fortunate all my bunnies enjoy being out in the open. They feel secure.

Wish I could be of help, but I don't see bunnies sleeping in their litter boxes as being a bad behavior or a bad habit.

K

 

[mdith4him]

Is she spayed? Our Junie used to pee in her box, but poop everywhere, too, before she was spayed. Afterwards, she's become a much better litter box user.

Some bunnies just like sleeping in their litter boxes. Nibbles will occasionally, but usually only after it's just been cleaned. I don't know if you can stop it, but if the idea is just grossing you out, you could put a plastic mesh grate over the litter. That way, they'd be lying on top of the plastic grate instead of directly on their mess. The grate also might not be too comfy, so it might get them to sleep elsewhere.

The grates can be bought pretty cheap at places like Lowes or Home Depot, but you can also buy ones to custom fit a box, like this one: http://store.binkybunny.com/litter-box-screen-binkybunny-p111.aspx .

 

[fantaysah]

It already has a grate on it. And if this is normal bunny behavior then fine just thought it wasn't because she just started it when i changed from their tiny cage to their condo. She is not spay and is around 4 months old. Her and pepper were both very young when i got them.

 

[ZRabbits]

Also she could be a bit overwhelmed with the bigger home you got for her and she's staying where she knows it's safe. Eventually as she gets used to the new place, she will venture out and find other places to sleep.

K

 

[fantaysah]

They have always popped outside their box i assumed because both are sharing the same home and its marking. They also chin everything esp. When they get free roam. But the sleeping thing is new it started 3 days after their move so maybe it is the house and she will stop later. On the bright side they have started to eat more hay.

Also noticed they prefer to shove each other over the water bottle even though there is 2 available they Hoover and get under the other one while they drink. Pepper randomly checks shares mouth for food and they dig the floor before they lay down like dogs do. Their personalities are starting to cone out now that they have a bigger house

 

[LakeCondo]

It all sounds pretty normal to me.

If the poops outside the box are few & far between, this is normal & territory marking. If it's a load at one place, that potentially can be helped by putting another litter box at or near that spot.

 

[fantaysah]

Its about half of their poop ... they go anywhere. Their food is positioned where they have to sit in the litter box to eat and they do poop and pee there but also about 2 large handfuls probably 2 cups worth are all her their house.THEY POOP ALOT!

 

[agnesthelion]

Agnes sleeps in her litterbox too. I just laugh at her and clean alot. I did put a makeshift bed in her condo too that is about the same size and shape as her litterbox and every once in awhile I will catch her lounging in there but it's mostly in her litterbox. Buns are silly!

As far as pooping, Agnes isn't spayed yet and she is really good about pooping in her litterbox in her condo. I will find just a few stray ones. I have never seen her poop when she is laying down though....? When we moved her in to her new condo she did poop a bit more, probably mark droppings, but that cleared up. Maybe your bun is doing the same thing. If you get her spayed it could really help too.

Good luck!

 

[fantaysah]

2 more months until the vet will spay them but will definitely happen! Good to know that litter box naps are normal .... no one else has a bun that poops in their sleep? Maybe she is dreaming about eating!

 

[BunMommaD]

Our cookie used to flop and sleep in his litter box, but since his neuter he hasn't done it... Not once! Probably coincidence but he sleeps in his house now I always thought it was gross lol but he cleaned himself well and never stunk so I just let him be

 

[silversky2668]

Honey will sleep in his litterbox sometimes--as everyone has said, it's pretty natural And if it makes you feel better, he also leaves poops after sleeping. He loves to sprawl out across the rug outside of the cage (I have a permanently attached puppy pen so he can always come out if he wants), and I almost always find "pebbles" left behind when he gets up. Not a lot, maybe two to four. And as he moves to different spots throughout the day, they get left in other places, too. I just always pick them up and put them in his litterbox, but I don't think it's something he can really help since he's sleeping, lol. Other than that, he's perfectly litterbox trained at this point.

 

[mimosa]

Harriet sleeps in her litter box. I've never worried about (I read that it was normal).