I'm sure this has been asked before, but....

[Gabbi]

is there any way to stop the territorial pooping? My bunny is an intact male. I'm not positive on his age because he was given to me as an already mature bunny. I've been told that he is around 1 1/2 to 2 years old. If he is 2 or older, from what I've read, it could be dangerous to have him neutered.

Anyhoo, he loves to poop at my front door. I have put an extra litter box over there because he was also urinating there. Now he urinates and does his big poops in the box, but he still lays down plenty of little pellets. It drives my husband crazy. And since it is at the front door, the pellets get stepped on and ground into the carpet before we get a chance to vacuum it up sometimes.

So, any suggestions would be welcome. And just ask if you need more information on our setup or anything.

Thanks!

 

[missyscove]

I consider a rabbit litter trained when they pee exclusively in the litter box. I think you're always goig to find a few stray poops.

I think having him neutered could really help. I'm not sure where you read that 2 is too old to neuter him. Yes, as they get older there may be more risks with anesthesia, but 2 years old is by no means old. If you're concerned about him you could have pre anesthesia bloodwork done to check his organ functions, but I think that with a confident, experienced vet he would be fine to neuter.

 

[Gabbi]

Yes, sorry. I should have made myself more clear. It's not the neutering itself that is dangerous, but being put under that is the dangerous part. Because the pooping seems to be the only issue with him being intact, I'd rather not put him through a surgery if there are things I can do that would lessen the pooping.

 

[JBun]

Neutering is pretty much your best hope of getting the poop marking to stop. You can try using natures miracle to get rid of the smell where he's marking, and maybe that will stop him. Otherwise, to have any hope of changing the behavior without neutering, you would have to sit there and watch him every second, and get after him when he leaves his poops behind, and even that may not work.

Of course any surgery has risks, but neutering is less invasive than spays, and 2 isn't old at all. I had one of my male rabbits neutered at 2, and he came out of it without any problems. But it is surgery, so there will always be some sort of risk involved in doing it.

 

[missyscove]

How long have you had him? If he's new to the house you might see some improvement once he realizes his territory is his.

 

[Gabbi]

We've had him for just over 2 months. I noticed last night that he didn't leave nearly as much poo, but I'm not getting my hopes up lol

 

[BunnyWabbit]

My boy rabbits tidied up after they were neutered but some rabbits never stop their territorial pooping.

A healthy rabbit shouldn't have any issues if they're altered by a rabbit savvy vet. When my boys came back from the vet they didn't seem at all affected by the experience.

Rabbits and Anesthesia

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We've only had one out of 37 that did all her business in her litter pan in her hutch. The only way you can stop them is to not feed them--they eat, therefore they poop. Why someone invented the Shop Vac. The really funny thing is that was Commander Bun-Bun and she was the most territorial bunny I've ever seen.

 

[gmtstars]

I hate to say it, but maybe you should restrict his area until he gets it right?
Is it possible to x-pen him up in front of the door with the litter boxe(s) and until he starts using them exclusively he can't have anymore run of the house
Do you put hay in all of his litter boxes?

 

[PaGal]

It will not help him to stop pooping where he shouldn't but could you put down a rug to cover your carpet where he does poop at in front of your door. It will at least protect your carpet and it could be cleaned easier than whole room carpet. One thing that would work even better is a plastic mat like they use in offices under desks. That would protect your carpet and would be very easy to just wipe up. With either I would watch to make sure the bun does not chew them as that could lead to health problems

 

[mochajoe]

From someone (me) who lost a beloved rabbit late last fall to a testicular tumor, I am a HUGE advocate for spaying and neutering! He was my daughter's show bunny, so we did not have Jim neutered. Once his show days were over, he was older and he was such an awesome, sweet, wonderful bunny who was meticulous about using the litter box...I thought the same thing...he's older and he's awesome, why put him through that!!! In hindsight, I wished I had known then about Rabbits Online and that I had consulted with my bunny savvy vet. I will never know, but maybe if I had, he would still be here!!! I will never be asking myself that again...spay and neuter is the way to go!!! Good luck!!!

 

[Gabbi]

Thanks for the ideas. Neutering may be the way to go. He usually uses his litter, so I'm not sure that it is an issue of him being naughty and not using it. I think it's the territorial thing, especially because it's mostly at the front door. It doesn't bother me so much, we can vacuum it up, except that when people come in it's gets ground into the carpet when they step on it. I may look into having a plastic covering for it. Ah well, I'll talk to the hubby about it and see what we do lol Again, thanks for the ideas.

 

[ZoeStevens]

Mine only stopped after being neutered. I still find the odd stay poop but before I had to sweep the kitchen 2-3 times a day. The neuter is a pretty easy surgery, and short, so the risk is pretty small. All surgery carries a risk but he will be no better off if you can't tolerate the mess and have to get rid of him.