No longer using the litter box

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Rayen

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May 25, 2009
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Location
, Manitoba, Canada
The story goes something like this; my rabbits were really well litter trained. They occasionally would pee on the blanket, but it would be a one time thing every so often. Primarily they used their box and I had very little to clean up. Their litter box was decent and it lasted about 2-3 years until it started to become nearly impossible to clean. So, I threw it away, got a new one, put it in the same spot as the other one and they refused to use it.

So, I just kept trying. I cleaned the poop up, put it back in their litter box day after day. I wiped the areas they peed/pooped with vinegar, tried to keep up on keeping the area clean. They refused to use it. I went out and bought them the exact same style of box as the first one, got rid of the one I had just bought and started again.

They started to kind of use the new litter box once enough of their own poop had been placed into it. I thought finally! They're going to go back to using a litter box! Then I cleaned it, put it back in the same spot, they stopped using it.

The cycle kind of repeats itself. I clean the box, put it back where it always is, they don't use it. I keep picking their poop up, mopping up their pee puddles, they start to use it until I clean it again.

Is there something I'm missing here? They haven't chosen a new corner to use as their bathroom, they always go right, right outside of the box. Like, they back their little bums up against the litter box and poop/pee right there. When I first got them I would change their litter boxes pretty often and they would still use them. The last one just happened to be large enough for both of them and it just worked so I kept it for a long period of time.

Other than this, they still act pretty normal.They're still just as active as they've always been, still shredding and destroying all they can find, still eating like normal. They're both just about 5 years old now.
 
Is the new litter box the same size and height? If not, that may be what the problem is. Have you changed anything else with it, new litter or anything?

It could also be the new one smells strange and doesn't smell like them. You could try wiping up their pee puddles and wiping some of it on the new litter box. Also when you clean it out, don't clean it really well. Put new litter in but don't clean it with anything and maybe leave a small amount of soiled material in the corner of it. When they get really good at using it again, then you're probably safe to do a thorough cleaning.
 

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