Litter box advice for new bunny owner?

[MandyB]

Hello! I am a new bunny owner and any guidance would be much appreciated. I brought home a male bunny a little over two weeks ago, then just over three months old. He’s about 95% on using his litter box within his cage. When I’m home/awake, he also has access to a small space outside his cage. My plan was to gradually keep expanding that space, and restrict it back down if his litter box use started to suffer, but he’s pooping consistently in the space and sometimes peeing – he’s not really successful in any size space if it’s outside his cage. He is more likely to drop a poop or two throughout the space, which I assume is marking behavior, and less often has what I consider actual bathroom incidents (which are happening around the same general area). In either case I’m cleaning up immediately after they happen, but he’s not getting the memo. Should I be ushering him to his litter box any time this happens and restricting his access to the larger space for a few minutes? Would adding a second litter box outside his cage help? Would doing so risk confusing him in the future and send the message he doesn’t need to return to his cage to toilet? Should I just give him more time to feel comfortable outside the confines of his cage, and maybe the marking behavior will stop? I know things could get a lot worse in the coming couple of months and change after he’s neutered, but want to be sure I’m not making things worse/confusing on my end!

 

[JBun]

You may not have much luck until you get him neutered. You're fighting nature and hormones, and until those hormones are eliminated they'll keep driving the hormonal marking behavior. You can have as many litter boxes as you feel you need. Though it will probably help to keep them with a similar set up as the main one(same litter, with hay).

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Litter_training
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html

 

[MandyB]

Thanks so much for your thoughts/time. I am going to add a second box to his play space and hope for the best, and plan to keep his space relatively small and contained until after he’s neutered. And, just continue to be thankful for what DOES manage to make its way into either box!