Help with toilet training

[Magick_mogwai]

I started toilet training Gandalf 4 days ago. I put the litter box, a one designed for rabbits with a high back that's big enough for him to sit in but doesn't take up too much of his cage, in the cage with some soiled sawdust in it and a bit of hay on top like many places online suggested. He investigated it straight away but even though I put it next to his hay where he pees sometimes he didn't really use it even though I cleaned put the rest of his cage. I read some more advice and took all the other sawdust from the cage so it was just the cage floor which he doesn't seem to mind and kept putting his poos in the tray to help him get the idea. Yesterday morning I moved the tray since he seemed to be choosing another place to pee and made it so he couldn't get to his hay unless he was in the tray. This morning when I got up he had managed to push his tray away from the hay to get at it and had pulled some of the litter and hay into two separate places and peed there.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I read that you should try moving the tray if your rabbit uses a different place to pee but he has several places and if I out litter trays in them all that will just fill his cage with litter which won't help him get the idea.

Prior to getting the litter tray he would always go back in his cage to pee and mostly go in to poo so he does get the idea of using a specific area. Any ideas would be appreciated. I know it takes time to train animals but it seems like for some reason he gets the idea but is reluctant to do it.

 

[PaGal]

For all three of my buns I did the same thing. One I got as a youngster from a breeder. The other two were rescues of over a year old. None were litter trained when I brought them home. Thumper took only three days to get it. The girls were trained by two weeks.

You can place hay in the litter box for munching on or hang a hay rack above the litter box so Gandalf has to be in the box to munch. Since he has removed hay from the litter box maybe a hay rack would be worth a shot. Neither of my hay racks are traditional hay racks. Make sure it is a material that would not be harmful if chewed and not big enough for Gandalf to get into or he will jump in and go potty there or at least all three of mine did.

Pick up any poops outside the litter box and place them in the litter box. If he pees outside the litter box soak up some urine with a piece of paper towel and place that in the litter box. Clean outside of the litter box with a water/vinegar mix. This removes all trace of smell so the bun will not return to the same spot based on smell.

For the girls I did not change their litter as frequently as I do now and would only hose out the litter box at first so some of their smell would remain in the litter box to help them get the idea.

You may need to limit his freedom until he starts to use the litter box regularly.

Most buns are considered potty trained when they only pee in the litter box. It is rare to have a bun that does not drop at least a few poops outside of the litter box. If Gandalf is in a new area he could be marking his territory which may slow or stop over time. Four days is not a very long period of time. Be patient and by the way I love the name. One of my favorite characters from some of my all time fav books.

 

[Magick_mogwai]

Thanks for the advice. He has a hay rack he can only reach from the litter box now. I hadn't thought about cleaning where he has peed with vinegar I will give it a try.
:bunny19