Rabbit litter box issues

[awesomebunny]

My rabbit is litter box trained and uses the litter box. She will use the litter box and lay on the pee and poop. I don't know why and I know she has plenty of other places to lay.
P.S. My litter box is large so she can stretch and lay on it.
P.S.S. It has nothing to do with temperature, because her two story house has (fake) tile and carpet.

The only reason I can think of is that she likes to place her head on the little lip on the litter box, but sometimes she lays directly on her side.
This is an issue, because if she pees and decides to lay on it, her fur gets yellow. Also she has a poopy butt issue, from sitting on her litter box poops.
BTW, I clean her litter box EVERY DAY.

So if anyone has any solutions, please post it below.
Thank you.

 

[Blue eyes]

Easy solution is to top the litter with a LARGE handful of hay twice per day. That will keep her from direct contact with urine and it prevents the poos from getting/staying wet - they'll just be dry rounds.

I just happened to complete a photo for my website comparing my fresh litter box with a "used" box. This shows how, by adding hay daily, it remains fine for bunny to lay down and not get stained or messy. With the set up shown, and for just one rabbit, I can go an entire week between litter changes (with no odor at all).

With two rabbits, I changed it every 3 days or 4.

hmmm.... no photos seem to be uploading, even with low resolution (keeps saying 'file failed to upload')

You can see the photo on this page of my website. Just scroll down the page. The photo I'm trying to show you is next to the brown, "1,2,3" box.

 

[awesomebunny]

The problem with that, is my bunny is different from other bunnies. Ever since I got her she would never eat anything that touched her feces, and will not intentionally poop/pee on her food. I literally have a hay box, that looks almost identical to a normal person's rabbit litter box that she eats hay from that is separate from her litter box.
Do you have a different material, similar to hay that can be used instead?

 

[Blue eyes]

You could try putting a grate over the litter.

https://store.binkybunny.com/litter-box-screen-kit-p181.aspx?widget=mp

 

[JBun]

You could try straw in the litter box instead. If you put hay in the litter box, will she just not eat the hay in there cause she pees on it or will she stop using the litter box? If she just won't eat the hay that you put in there, then I would just have hay on top of her litter and her separate hay box for eating.

Your other problem might be the type of litter you are using. I use wood pellets which allows the urine to drain to the bottom of the tray, then my rabbits never have contact with the urine even if they were to lay in the litter box on top of the wood pellets(though technically I do also have hay in mine and a soft screen covering the litter). In fact I only clean out my litter boxes twice a week and my rabbits are in their litter boxes constantly and never have urine stained fur or poop stuck to them. So I would say that maybe the issue is your litter box set up needs some adjustment, including possibly needing to change type of litter used.

With the poop problem, if it is mushy poop that is sticking to her fur and her round fecal poop is normally formed, that is not related to sitting in her litter box but is most likely a dietary issue from too many pellets/treats and not enough hay. The excess carbs in pellets and starchy treats causes a bacterial imbalance in the rabbits cecum, leading to improperly formed cecotropes that come out mushy and stick to their fur. Lots of fiber from good grass hay is usually the best way to correct this problem. There are other possible causes for this, but diet imbalance is the most common cause.

 

[awesomebunny]

I have tried putting grates on her litter box, TWICE, and have decided not to do it. The first grate I tried was very wide, and seemed very uncomfortable. The second grate I tried had much smaller openings, which was better for comfort but not ideal. Grates are also a pain to clean. The Binky bunny grate can be only used if hay is used on top. I guess I could use straw, but I have no idea where I would get it. I live in the city, so there is literally no farm straw to be found. The biggest problem about grates that I hate, is that they are hard to clean.

As with the litter I have used practically every litter on the market. The problem with the litter is that it will stick onto her butt along with the poop, which is how I know she sits on it. BTW, the litter I used was a volcanic rock litter that would stick to her butt. I also have had times where carefresh would stick onto her butt, so I have got rid of that.

For the poop problem, I don't think it is mushy poop. Months ago she did suffer from some squishy poops attaching to her butt, but now all her poop are very hard. (I know because I checked)

As for now, although people will wholeheartedly disagree with the litter box setup I have now, I'm using puppy pads for the pee and changing it every day. I wanted a litter-less litter box so it wouldn't stick onto her butt.

I guess now I should look into going the straw route, but I really hate the grate cleaning. If only they had a disposable grate (AWESOME IDEA!!!).