Litter Box Cleaning & Training

[Kyva]

I know there are multiple posts on litter box training, so I'm going to skip most of that.

However, I do have a specific question about cleaning the litter box. I read (somewhere on here I think) that cleaning the box around every 3 days may work best. This helps in reinforcing that the box is his place to go.

I have Cucumber on wood pellets in his box, which I then lightly cover with hay. I have a box of hay in front of his box, then his water and fish dishes behind it (so he eats, drinks and poos all at the same time).

We brought him home Tuesday night. He had two pees outside his box, then ntohing else. He got the idea and has been using the box for pee ever since. Poos don't bother me.

With all of this in mind, I decided to do a full clean of his cage this morning (changed the fleece, his box etc) as it was getting kind of messy (not smelly though).

With everything clean and back in place, I let him go back to his cage about half an hour ago. He already left two very small pee puddles on the fleece, which I quickly cleaned up with paper, then added the paper to his box to, once again, show him that's where he needs to go.


I was somewhat confused as to why cleaning the cage and box would push him in reverse trainingwise, so I went to look it up. Apparently it depends on the rabbit, but you can actually clean their cage too soon and make them think you don't want them pottying there anymore?

If this is the case, how often should I start changing his box so that I don't offend him?

 

[whitelop]

The first week of litter training Ellie, I didn't clean her litter box out completely. I would scoop most of it, but I would leave a pee corner with pee in it so it still smelled like her pee.
I still cleaned her cage out though, I cleaned it every other day I think. Changed the blanket. Ellie understood the box by the end of week one. Then after she got the litter box down, I cleaned her litter box and cage out every day and she did pretty well.

So I think as long as you leave a little bit of the dirty litter in the box or just don't wipe the box out, he should start to understand what to do. With the pine pellets, it turns into saw dust and should be pretty easy to wipe out.
It sounds like he's doing pretty well though with the box.

What kind of box do you have for his hay in front of the litter box? Do he not get into that and potty in that?

 

[Kyva]

Whitelop, right now I have a makeshift hay box. I made it out of a success rice box

That said, I have the box sitting on its side, and have a small hole (think like a kleenex box) in the top of it, so the opening faces his litter box. He can eat from the box, but he can't sit in it

Okay, so just do what I've been doing. I didn't wipe out his litte box, and left a little pee inside it, but I guess he just wasn't used to the new fleece. I'm sure once he's used the three fleece I got at least once, he may get the idea.

Thanks for the insight. He is doing so very well, though. He also knows how to beg. A few times a day, I'll open his cage and get inside on my belly to pick u[ stray poos and put them in the litter. I block the exit of the cage with my body, but Cucumber just comes up to me, bats his eyes and nose bumps me like, "Hey, let me out.' It's absolutely adorable!

I'm trying to get him on a schedule of 2 hours out around 1 or 2, out again from 4:30 - 5:30 (around when hubby comes home) then out again from 7 until at least 9.

 

[whitelop]

The hay box set up sounds pretty good! It sounds like it's probably entertaining for him to get hay out of! haha.
He'll probably get used to the fleeces and stop peeing on them. I want to say that Ellie did the same thing when I introduced her to new blankets.

 

[Kyva]

I honestly don't think it should come as a surprise. It doesn't smell right to him, but after a few uses, I'm sure he'll not even give it another thought.

I think I need to make him a bunny blog. I keep taking way too many pictures, and he's doing so many things that make me a proud mommy. I just got my first nip because I was in his way, followed by tooth-purrs during a petting session, and bunny licks when I stopped.