Retraining bun to use litter box

[Faerin]

Sorry if this was posted before I can't seem to find anything quite like this.

My male Holland Lop Peter is having some difficulties. We moved not to long ago and we lost track of his litter box in the process. He went without one for at least a month. I figured it would be fine to just get him a new litter box and start trying to retrain him if need be. So I went out and found a new litter box (this time one made for rabbits instead of the kitten one he had before). He refuses to use the litter box no matter what I do. I'm wondering if it has to do with the fact that it doesn't look anything like his last litter box. He had two of the same box before so he would know to use the box outside of his cage. They were both red kitten sized litter boxes. Now he has a corner box for his cage that is green. Is there any possible way to get him to see that this is a litter box too or should I go out and get another red kitten box? I have tried all the tricks I had previously used to litter train him in the past but nothing has worked so far.

 

[SweetSassy]

Since your trying a corner box now, does it have the wire on top? Maybe he doesn't like the wire. Maybe you should go back to the regular cat boxes. Have you put some hay in the litter boxes? So he can eat in the litter box. If he pees outside the litter box soak it up with a paper towel and put it in the litter box. Same with the poo's. Put poo's in the litter box too.

April

 

[Faerin]

No wire on this one it's just like a triangular box that attaches to the side of his cage.

I tried the hay before when I was first training him and he would tend to stay in his litter box all the time. I didn't think that was good for him since he would always get pee stains on his back feet. I suppose I could try that again though since it's a different litter I'm trying now. Come to think of it that might be the problem... Maybe I'll have to try putting the same type of wood chips in his box as the ones on the bottom of his cage. At the moment I'm using natural heat treated pine pellet cat litter for his litter box and just heat treated pine shavings for the cage.

 

[SweetSassy]

That might be confusing him. don't use chips in his cage. only put litter in his litter box. He's prob confused. put cardboard down on the floor of his cage or a rug.

 

[Amy27]

All bunnies are different but my two, if I so much as move their litter box their litter box habits are not as great. I would think after a month and all the changes of moving you are going to have to retrain. It may not take as long as the first time.

If it was me I would not worry about getting a litter box or litter that you previously had. I think he would have to be retrained anyway.

I would probably add one more box if you only have the one. I agree with April that putting hay in the box may really help. I would try to clean the litter box everyday to keep him from getting the urine stains and maybe having two boxes would help so if he uses both there won't be as much urine in them for him to sit in. Maybe adding more litter to help it absorb more urine so it is less for him to lay in also.

I also agree with April on putting something else on the bottom of the cage. That made a huge difference when I trained my buns. They could really tell the difference between their litter box and their cage. I used a rug in their area and would take it outside and hose it off with some dish soap to clean it. When it got bad I would throw it out. I found cheap carpet at Walmart and Lowes and if you want small pieces I found some of those at Pet Supplies Plus for $1.98. I am not sure if they have that pet store in Canada though. Watch your bun if you use the carpet at first to make sure he isn't eating it. You don't want it getting stuck in his stomach.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Faerin]

Thanks for the advice.

I will have to search out some pieces of carpet. Is there anything special carpet wise that I should look for/watch out for. Obviously I wouldn't want anything like shag or long carpet fibers. What about a tightly woven rug? I think before I was to put that ont he bottom of his cage I would try a towel or something at least until he was retrained since I wouldn't mind if that had to be thrown out often and it mighty be easier to clean.

 

[SweetSassy]

I buy like kitchen rugs. The short, tight woven rugs (Some are Berber) . There cheap too. Like $5 at Walmart. You can try a towel as long as he don't eat it or use it to pee on.

Good Luck. Keep us updated on how he does.

April