Potty training urgent help needed

[MANDYTLABUDA]

I just adopted two Holland Lops. A brother and sister from different litters. Sam is 1 1/2 years old male. Allie is 6 months old female. Both were altered approximately 2-3 weeks ago. The rescue told me they were litter box trained and using corner boxes. I brought them home 3 days ago now and have them in a 5' x 4' pen and now have 2 corner litter boxes and 2 medium size rectangular cat boxes in the pen. They sit and sleep in the cat boxes and have not even sat in the corner boxes. They actually don't even use one specific area to urinate or leave their droppings? Please does anyone have any suggestions? I thought maybe the pen is too big? Also the bottom of the pen is cement board covered with industrial carpet, then puppy pads and blankets from the ER from the hospital (a friend of mine is an EMT) they are very absorbent and my buns don't chew. Please, please, please help. I don't know what to do? The rescue said to give it a few weeks. I am worried that if I wait that long they may learn bad habits and never become rabbit trained. I trained my last rabbit in 20 minutes. He was also in a normal cage and then became free range in the home. Which is what we would like to do with Sam and Allie if they ever become potty trained. HELP!

 

[JBun]

The move to a new home could be the cause of their loss of litter habits, and it might be that after settling in their litter habits will return to normal. What type of litter are you using, is it the same as what they had at the rescue, and is there hay in their litter boxes or in a rack above them? If you aren't using the same litter they are used to, you could try switching litter type, but that may or may not matter too much if you have hay over the litter. Rabbits like to eat and poop so having their hay where they have to sit in the litter box to eat it, helps keep their potty messes contained to the litter box. I use pine pellets as litter, then I put a layer of hay over so it is soft on their feet and add a clean layer of the hay each day, then I either have a hay rack above or put a pile of the hay in one of the corners of the litter box that isn't a usual peeing spot.

You could also try reducing their pen space to maybe half that size, til they pick their good litter habits back up. It could just be having too much space is throwing their litter habits off. You may just want to ditch the corner boxes if they have decided they like the rectangular boxes better, since you may not have room for them in the smaller pen space. One other problem I can see is their flooring. Most rabbits like to pee on soft surfaces like blankets, carpet, and couches. Can you make their flooring a smooth surface for now, like just using the cement board(if it's a safe substance?) or putting a textured linoleum on top of it? Rabbits are often less likely to pee on a smooth surface. Once their litter habits are good, you can try putting the softer flooring back in.

 

[MANDYTLABUDA]

Thank you so very very much! I did not think of covering the floor with linoleum. I read about it but thought they would not have enough traction and did not want them to get splay legs. Also I am using the same litter. The yesterday news pellets. I am going to make the pen size small for a few weeks until they are trained. I just feel horrible that they are in such a small space. Once they are potty trained I can open the space back up. Will the linoleum be okay for them to walk on? Thank you so very very much for your recommendations. You are a Saint!

 

[JBun]

Splay leg is something that is more of a concern for young growing rabbits, not fully matured rabbits.

Some rabbits do have difficulty walking on linoleum but can get used to it. And some hate it and refuse to walk on it. Just depend on your rabbits. It would be best to try and find a kind with some sort of texture to give them better traction. You can also put mats on it for traction, once they aren't just trying to pee on them.

There may be other flooring options that you can find at a home improvement store. Some people use the rubber horse stall mats, which provide better traction. They usually come in 4' x 6'. The thicker ones are quite heavy, but some feed/ranch stores also sell the 1/4" ones that would be much lighter.

You could also just put a tarp down instead, as a temporary measure. Rabbits can get good enough traction on them and tarps are cheap. You just don't want to use one if they decide to chew too much on it.

 

[MANDYTLABUDA]

Thank you for all the advise and info. I am just so very nervous I will make the wrong decisions. We have decided to start with linoleum. I am going to order hay racks and keep the hay in the boxes as well so they have the choice. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated also he is 1 1/2 and recently spayed and is continuously spraying her and areas in my home when I let him out. Is this normal? If so can I hope he will stop when his hormones settle down?

 

[JBun]

It can take around 4-8 weeks for the hormones to fully dissipate. Usually around 4 weeks you will start seeing more of a change in hormonal behavior. The spraying and excessive marking should all settle down. Litter habits should get better too.

 

[MANDYTLABUDA]

Thank you again! He did climb into the corner litter box this morning twice. The first time I believe he did use for fecal matter but no urine yet, but every little bit is okay with me. I am hoping he teaches his little sister! LOL

 

[PaGal]

Be patient as they have recently been altered as well as moving to a new home both of which could be cause for poor litter habits.

Any poops outside the litter box pick up and place in the litter box. Any pee outside the litter box soak a piece of paper towel in and place that in the litter box. Clean up the rest of the urine and wipe the surface with a vinegar/water mix that will remove all urine smell so buns will be less likely to pee there again based on smell.

You could also when changing litter leave just a small amount of soiled litter in the box until they start improving their litter habits.

 

[MANDYTLABUDA]

PaGal thank you as well. I have been leaving the poops in the litter boxes. However due to the current pen bottom I cannot clean the urine out completely until I remove the ER blanket at the end of the day when I completely remove the blanket and wash and replace it with a new one. Tonight I am replacing the carpet, puppy pads, then ER blanket bottom I am currently using with linoleum and going to see how that plays out for us. I believe all the positive reinforcement I have found on this forum has helped me believe I am not a horrible mother and they just need time to adapt. My last little bun was adopted from the APL at 8 weeks old and had already been altered so he did not know another lifestyle before us, which is why it may have been easier for him to adapt. My two new babies were in one home, then sent to a rescue where they lived for a few weeks-months and then uprooted and sent to me. Time and patience may just do the trick! Thank you

 

[edwinf8936]

They tend to use litter boxes or go the far away from their food.

 

[Rosies Rabbitry]

Have you put any of the urine in the litter box? I have all of my buns using litter boxes. Some have been easier than others. I had one that was more than stubborn and when I started to put some of her urine in the box, she slowly started to use the box. Hope it helps. Good luck!