I have a rabbit that is about 4 years old. I “babysat” her about a year ago and introduced her to a potty. A month ago her owner gave her to me. She is a California rabbit . spayed/ neutered...whichever a girl gets. she is 4.8 lbs. She came back to me, no potty.lbut huge cage. 2 ft x 5 ft. About the size of my bathtub.. I got her a large high corner potty. It is big enough for her to lay in it. She pees in it fine. Sometimes I wonder if she pees in bed, or water bottle leaking. She poops about equally in potty and cage. She has paper potty pellets, which she eats some...and the fluffy bedding. I clean her bedding by hand everyday. Sometimes she rushes at me, when I do. Others she sits against me. She sits outside her cage, whenever she wants. My question is will she ever only poop in potty. I have read pick it up, put in potty...but...then I would be picking up poop twice ..I have noticed her pee smells strong too. I am assuming, she was ”fixed”. She came from spca. She is very loving. Another question..if I go thru her cage, by hand, and get poop out...I would say 90%...how often should I completely clean cage? Replace bedding? Pet store said, weekly...but bedding is expensive. I do take wet pellets out of potty everyday and the poop...and replace pellets if needed. I try not to put it too thick, or she will dig and throw it in her bedding. The bedding in cage is about 3 inches.
Litter box/ cage question
- Thread starter Montijo
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Hi, when you toilet train your rabbit you need to keep the entire cage free of bedding, only toilet has pellets and some hay and all the floor is hard and you spray occasional puddles with white vinegar 5% and wipe dry to remove smell, only toilet should smell like toilet. She'll get it quickly.
I also use corner toilets but not all rabbits use them well, I have a male who would only pee&poo into it, but others would prefer bigger box, maybe try and get her a rectangular box to fit firmly into her cage and you may see some difference.
I use corner toilets like yours as extra spots but for large rabbit like yours 40x50cm min with high sides like 18cm would be more sutable.
I use wood pellets because they absorb urine best and pine neutralise smell, I only use recycled paper pellets with smaller rabbits, or occasionally. I really prefer wood pellets and they are also cheaper when you buy them in bulk.
She's a pretty girl!
I also use corner toilets but not all rabbits use them well, I have a male who would only pee&poo into it, but others would prefer bigger box, maybe try and get her a rectangular box to fit firmly into her cage and you may see some difference.
I use corner toilets like yours as extra spots but for large rabbit like yours 40x50cm min with high sides like 18cm would be more sutable.
I use wood pellets because they absorb urine best and pine neutralise smell, I only use recycled paper pellets with smaller rabbits, or occasionally. I really prefer wood pellets and they are also cheaper when you buy them in bulk.
She's a pretty girl!
Thank you... so, if I take all the bedding out...do I put it back, after she is toilettrained? And she uses it as a bed...so do I put down a pillow or blanket in cage? I think she will use the potty, she does pee in corner of it, and there is some poop. I can get another box, if she doesn’t. i can get wood pellets too, because yes, I am spending a lot of money on her.
Freedom
Well-Known Member
We use no bedding. He is free roam but has a blanket in his cage.
Only wood pellets in his box.
Only wood pellets in his box.
The larger the litter box, the more consistently she will use it and the easier it will be to maintain. With a large box that has wood pellets for litter (better at odor control as @zuppa said) and then topped with hay, you will not need to empty it every day -- not even close. You won't need to buy that loose paper bedding at all and the cheap wood pellets will last a long time.
There are a couple pages on my site that explain the set-up and maintenance of a litter box (set-up is key):
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html
There are a couple pages on my site that explain the set-up and maintenance of a litter box (set-up is key):
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html
I have more rabbits so I buy everything in bulk that way is always cheaper, with one rabbit even she's a large girl you'd need probably 5 kg of wood pellets for her toilet box for one-two months, you will have to change them twice a week. I have a rabbit I only change it once a week because he is very pedantic about his toilet but I remove soiled pellets in one corner where he pees twice a week just because I feel better and especially it's summer now, but even if you change full toilet or only pee spots and adding some fresh pellets, 5 kg should be enough for one month. Also depending how much she drinks, I have one girl she drinks 300ml a day easily so more wet spots.
Here's Fred's toilet after maybe 4-5 days of use, as you can see, wood pellets in one corner are wet and they getting bigger when wet so if I am lazy I just remove that spot and move some dry pellets there, I don't worry about poos since they are dry and don't smell.
Also he's compact size lionhead and this high is enough for him, for larger rabbits I have higher sides litterbox, my girls manage to lift their bottoms high enough to pee outside the box if it's not high enough.
This is Fred and his corner toilet he used previously, same as you have there. He loved it just with his red box he has more room to lay in it more comfortably, also he is trying to keep all poos in there as well, with his corner toilet he had some poo in other corners of the cage, covered with hay. No problem since they were dry but still, cleaning is easier with larger toilet box.
As when she uses her toilet box properly and you are sure, you can put some soft bedding or blankets back into her floor, she should't pee on it anymore, but give her a couple weeks to understand that everything goes only into toilet, rabbits are very intelligent and clean creatures they like it tidy, well I have Smokey there she's a pain, but she's not fixed.
Here's Fred's toilet after maybe 4-5 days of use, as you can see, wood pellets in one corner are wet and they getting bigger when wet so if I am lazy I just remove that spot and move some dry pellets there, I don't worry about poos since they are dry and don't smell.
Also he's compact size lionhead and this high is enough for him, for larger rabbits I have higher sides litterbox, my girls manage to lift their bottoms high enough to pee outside the box if it's not high enough.
This is Fred and his corner toilet he used previously, same as you have there. He loved it just with his red box he has more room to lay in it more comfortably, also he is trying to keep all poos in there as well, with his corner toilet he had some poo in other corners of the cage, covered with hay. No problem since they were dry but still, cleaning is easier with larger toilet box.
As when she uses her toilet box properly and you are sure, you can put some soft bedding or blankets back into her floor, she should't pee on it anymore, but give her a couple weeks to understand that everything goes only into toilet, rabbits are very intelligent and clean creatures they like it tidy, well I have Smokey there she's a pain, but she's not fixed.
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