Help with litter-training 3 month olds?

[spankypod]

I have two 3 month old sister buns. I was told that they're good with their litter-box, but I am having a tough time.

I have a plastic bin in their cage. I put the same litter they were used to, and then a layer of hay on top. They have the run of a small room with their cage open.

They are going ALL OVER the room. And it seems when they are in the cage, they go all over that too.

They seem to go everywhere BUT the litterbox! Ahh!

Any advice for properly training them? Should I not put the hay in the litterbox? I've been picking up the pellets and putting them in their litterbox, but they don't seem to get the hint.

Until they start learning, I'm going to have to cut down on their out-of-cage time. I can't be cleaning a room full of tiny poops every night!

Please advice. I have NO experience litter training rabbits. They're just starting to get used to me and not be afraid of me, and I haven't tried to place them in the box or pick them up much for fear of ruining the trust I've built.

 

[Maureen Las]

You can try placing their poops back in the box but to be honest it will be hard to train them until they are spayed (about 6months) old and after that it will be much much easier


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12213&forum_id=17

 

[12354somebunny]

Have they just started living with you? If yes, it may take a while for them to learn to use the litter box.

I've only had 4 rabbits so far, so what I've experienced may not apply to other rabbits Each of my 4 rabbits took 1 - 2 weeks to be litter trained, and they were between 2 - 3.5 months old when I started litter training.

I started out with a smaller space and generally, their setup looks like this:http://furrybutts.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/dsc_5301fb.jpg

Their pellets, hay and water are all in their litter box (but separated from the litter material by wire mesh). Whenever they pee outside of the box, I'll wipe the pee with tissue and put it into the litter box. And clean the floor with white vinegar to remove their scent so that they will stop peeing there. As for stray poos, sometimes I put them back into the litter box, sometimes they just go into the dustbin.. depending on whether there are already lots of poo in the litter box. In time, they learned to use the litter box on their own.

Hope this helps!

 

[sephira]

I feel your pain!! My 2 month olds poop everywhere!!! I'm just trying to stay vigilant about cleaning, but it is hard. They are ok about the peeing but they miss the boxby backingup too far so it goes over the edge.

Now this is STRANGE about mine... Whenever they are having their free time in my room, they will tend to gravitate to the puppy pad that is on the floor for my Shih-Tzu (he is pad trained only) to poop and pee. (Notevery time, but most.) It's really weird so I put a puppy pad in the bottom of their litterbox and they seemed to do better... :?That's just plain 'ol WEIRD!

 

[Shortstuff1385]

Don't know that this will help. I started my buns in a small area. I bought a triangular litter box with a high back on it. I use yesterday newspaper pellets. It took about 2 weeks but I just gave it some time to see where he liked to go to the bathroom, he had one corner that he always used so I stuck the litter box there, he seemed to catch on pretty quick. I think he felt like thats his corner and he's sticking with it.

 

[luvthempigs]

Are they using the litter box at all? Is there a litter box available to them when they are loose in the room (besides the one in their cage)?

It may help to use grids and set up a "play pen" for exercise until they arebetter aboutusing the litter box.

 

[spankypod]

I put their pen on a tile floor and have started quickly wiping up any poop&pee accidents and putting them in their litterbox. I'll see if this helps! They are staying here until their habits improve. Luckily for them, it's a pretty big pen, so they should be OK with no outside-cage time for a few days until they catch on.

 

[snap]

Do it like a puppy. Watch them, and when they go/start to go say NO! and pick them up and place them in the litter box.

Or I could come over. XD I somehow have a magic thing with box training rabbits? I've been starting with one of my three month olds, Popcorn, and he picked up immediately((he's had it one night, and now he's a little upset that I'm cleaning it XD)). He's never seen a litter box, let alone been in one! It was so odd.

 

[Erins Rabbits]

Start the rabbits in a cage. With smaller amounts of space they WILL use the litter box... even if they go elsewhere in the cage. A rabbit will continue to use any place it can smell it's urine. My rabbits tend to have poop corners- they will continue to "go" in the same corner, because it smells like they've used it before.

Hope I helped.

 

[cousteau]

I've had my rabbit for a little over a month. He started peeing in his box right away but still poops all over the place. He's getting fixed in a couple of days, hopefully that will help. I know how you feel. When ever I let him out all I do is pick up poops.