Potty training a disabled Bun

[Whiskeylousmama]

Okay, so 24 hours ago I brought home my new boy bunny. If you haven't read my other post, he is 6 months old, and has head tilt. He had a few balance problems, so things get tricky. I had to tape towels down on the floor of the bunny mansion so he had traction.

Well I made a small NIC pen for him to run it attached to the house, and he loves it, however, he loves it so much he has started to chin and worse, spray. He sprayed me twice, both times I picked him up and put him in his litter box, but it wasn't an accident, he was marking. So I decided I would put the puppy pads down under his pen to absorb the spray. The problem is he can't get traction on the pads, and he starts to roll. Well, that counted that out, so the pads are gone, and he is back on bare carpet... how to I prevent the carpet from getting gross until I can get him in for his neuter? Also, he doesn't seem to have any issues getting into his box, in fact, he appears to prefer it to the puppy pads because of the traction, so if I cover all the carpet, he holes up in his litter box.

 

[m.e.]

This may not work for you, but when Peanut was first dealing with head tilt she was confined to an exercise pen and her bedding was layered: first puppy pads (for easy clean up), then fleece and then sheepskin (both fabrics bought from Wal-Mart very inexpensively). She was able to maintain good traction, it kept her relatively dry and made clean-up a lot easier. I'm sure it would work just as well if you laid the bedding over the carpet. You can see the layers in these photos:

http://xe2.xanga.com/73ba631b6243079715131/b54208390.jpg

http://x49.xanga.com/b0ba85143913579715178/b54208432.jpg

 

[tamsin]

Hiya,

The best thing for bunnies with issues like this is vetbed (or profleece). I'm not sure what you call it in the states but it's the stuff vets use in their pens. It's sometimes sold to go in dog crates.

It's like a thick rug (about 1"/2.5cm) and design to draw any moisture underneath so the surface stays dry even if it's soaking underneath. To clean it you just pop it in the washing machine.

http://www.petlifeonline.co.uk/Store/Dogs/Bedding/Vetbed-Original-Vet-Bed-Pet-Bedding

Tamsin

 

[ec]

You might also want to check out a Yahoo group called "Disabled Rabbits" - there's a ton of info. in their archives, and they seem very friendly....