"Marking" Pellets

[SecurityStacey]

Hey there.

Do your bunnies that are litter trained still leave pellets in their cage? Bill wasn't doing it when I first got him home and 99% of his pellets are in his litter and he always pees in his litter box but I will find one or two pellets on the bottom of his cage and on this 2x2 blanket outside his cage that is his. He never leaves them anywhere else - only his cage and his blanket.

Is it even worth the battle over it or since it isn't an issue should I just leave him be with leaving pellets in his cage and blanket? I read somewhere he will stop when he doesn't feel threatened... but honestly I don't think Bill feels threatened and he just wants to make sure I know that it is his house.

What do you guys think?

And just cause I'm a picture junkie, :biggrin2:, here is Bill relaxed on his blanket (after doing quite a job on tearing apart the bowl full of hay...) :

 

[Maureen Las]

What a gorgeous bunny butt
1 or 2 stray poops means that he is a very good boy. Don't even bother with it.

 

[kherrmann3]

Nice 'tock shot! If there are only a few stray poos, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. They are so easy to pick up with a dustpan

 

[wabbitmom12]

I agree - a few outside of the litter pan is normal. That's his way of saying,"This is mine. So is this. And this. Oh-that's mine too!"

And my bucks always like to lay 1 or 2 poos in front of each other's cages, just to drive the other onecrazy. Sort of like the bunny version of sticking your tongue out at each other! "Ha, Ha, I'm in YOUR territory!!"

 

[purplepeacock]

i have to agree......it's like they just have to leave a little something around to remind them that it's THEIR home....lol.....one thing i noticed with Liffey is that he likes to do dramatic flying leaps in and out of his litter pan...however on the flying leap out of the litter pan a few poops scatter b/c his feet kick them.

 

[BethM]

When I adopted Nick and Amelia, I was told they were "about 75%" with their litter habits, but I found them to be much better than that. Ever since Tobi has come into the house, Nick tends to leave a handful of poos around the front door of their pen. More appear just about as soon as they're cleaned up, but if I leave them a little longer, he will stop adding new ones. (I know it's Nick leaving them, they completely disappeared when he was having stasis but Amelia was feeling fine.)

More disconcerting is Amelia's habit of urinating outside the litter box. Their old condo had carpet floors, and I eventually had to dismantle it and get rid of the smelly carpet. She had picked a corner on the second floor to use. With the condo gone, she was using the back corner of the pen. I put up their new condo about 2 weeks ago, she has already peed in one corner of the third floor. (New floor is plywood with World Market grass mats.) :grumpy: I put a hanging toy over the spot, hopefully that will deter her. She doesn't do it every time, maybe once every week or two weeks, sometimes a month inbetween. I used to think it was laziness, but I think it may actually be territorial. (Isn't spaying supposed to help with that? What is up with that girl??) Sometimes, she is so gross!

Edit: Neither one of them has ever urinated *outside* their pen area.

 

[SecurityStacey]

Cool, I figured it was something like that. He never leaves any outside "his" space, though he does do it more when my boyfriend is over. I wonder if he isn't as comfortable with him so he makes his territory a little better known when he is over.

He also does those dramatic leaps in and out of his litter so some of it might be from that too.

Thanks!

 

[wabbitmom12]

SecurityStacey wrote:

Cool, I figured it was something like that. He never leaves any outside "his" space, though he does do it more when my boyfriend is over. I wonder if he isn't as comfortable with him so he makes his territory a little better known when he is over.

Speaking of "territory"...

I think it's so funny how the bunners often react to HOOMINS of the opposite sex. For example one of our bucks just loves me so much...he always snuggles me....then pees on me!! :? He almost never does that to anyone else. I'm pretty sure that he's marking me as his "own". (Gee, THANKS.) And a couple of our does have a romantic love interest in my husband. They just have to kiss his feet!! (And the bucks have to spray him!! I think they don't appreciate the competition of another male in the room, ha!) As most of our buns are show animals (and therefore unaltered), we have LOTS of estrogen and testosterone flowing around the room at all times!!

 

[BethM]

My Tobi (female) grooms Jason like there's no tomorrow. She doesn't really like me much though. (I'm tolerated) I always figured it was because I am female. She even looks a little distressed if he hugs me or puts an arm around me, if we're in her room. She thinks I'm gonna steal her man!

 

[purplepeacock]

liffey must just be a complete mooch. he doesn't care who pets him or holds him just as long as someone is giving him attention. the only thing he doesn't like is when i am typing. he'll keep nudging my fingers like "hey....those fingers need to be petting me!" i love the way all buns have such different personalities. it's like having kids...you never really know what you're going to get when you get a bun for a pet!

 

[wabbitmom12]

:yeahthat: SO TRUE!!

 

[pumpkinhead]

purplepeacock wrote:

liffey must just be a complete mooch. he doesn't care who pets him or holds him just as long as someone is giving him attention. the only thing he doesn't like is when i am typing. he'll keep nudging my fingers like "hey....those fingers need to be petting me!" i love the way all buns have such different personalities. it's like having kids...you never really know what you're going to get when you get a bun for a pet!

Maybe its a lop thing, because Toby seems to like everyone too. He's really laid back and happy to let anyone pet him/pick him up/hold him. I know the two nethies we had when I was living at home were most definitely NOT the gregarious "cuddle me" type! It's a completely different ball game.