So I've got the pee part, how about the poop?

[OhTisLove]

Hi all! Sorry, back again with a new bunny owner question.

The bun in question is a ~9 week old Checkered giant mix. VERY friendly, very smart, isn't at all afraid of me, the cat, or being picked up. Most of the day she is in a 2x5 (by three high) NIC cage, and gets to run around when I'm home to supervise.

She is 100% with the urinating in the litterbox. She will even go back to the box if she is out running around, haven't had one accident around the house.

I cannot, however, say the same about the pills. She is a disaster with them in her cage....most are on the outside of her litter box, and there are always some scattered around the other levels. Only a FEW actually end up in the litterbox.

What's even worse than her cage being a mess is the rest of the house being a mess. Now, bunny pills are certainly not a big deal to clean up...but at the same time, I'd like for there to not be poop all over my house if a guest comes over! And I'd like to not have to constantly be following her around, picking up the trail that she's leaving.

I religiously sweep the ones in her cage up morning and evening, and have even put some into the litterbox in the hopes that she'll get the idea. It just doesn't seem to be clicking though.

She's only 9 weeks, so not yet ready to be spayed, but is this something that will improve with the spaying? Is there something else, some other trick that I should be trying? Please help! I'd love to have a 100% litter box trained bunny, so that she can be out and about more often.

 

[elrohwen]

She's probably marking her new territory. I would regularly (at least a few times a day) pick up the poops and put them in her litter box. Clean the area with dilute vinegar so that no territorial smells remain.

This is also something that will probably improve with spaying, but for now just keep cleaning up and hopefully she'll lose the need to mark once she's more comfortable in "her" home.

 

[bengal77]

I've also heard that a rabbit's litter habits improve with age, especially when spayed. It makes sense to me that babies are messier. As Laura said keep moving her poops. Hopefully she'll eventually get the idea. Is her hay in her litter box? That can encourage her to hang out there. And since rabbits poop where they eat it might help her litter training.

 

[OhTisLove]

Thanks all, I thought it might be a baby/territory thing as well. She has only been here for just over a week now, so everything is still new to her. She is only allowed to explore two rooms right now...I want her litterbox habits to be more solid and for her to become a little more confident before she gets to go out and meet all the other occupants of the house!

And yes, her hay is right in front of the litterbox...that's how I "tricked" her into litter training.

 

[Runestonez]

In your post you haven't mentioned whether her hay is over/in her litterbox...
Hay in the litterbox will improve the situation immensely!

If there is hay in the litterbox and she is still doing it...time will help...spaying will also help and picking up the poops and placing them in the litterbox can help correct too!

Danielle

 

[purplepeacock]

with time things will change. my bun is OCD about his litter habbits but when he was a baby he'd poop everywhere. even now if i have to put him in the bunny cage to bring him to the vet (he's normally in a NIC cage) he'll poop everywhere. i think he just wants his smell on everything. i noticed with liffey that around 6 months prior to being fixed he started getting messy again. after the big snip he was much better.

 

[Amy27]

How are thing going? Have her litter box habits improved at all?

 

[Tofu]

my new bunny is the EXACT same way!
got the pee part.. but poop is just everywhere!
i know what you mean about picking them up religiously LOL!

glad i'm not alone! but he's still only 11 weeks old~

 

[bunnyluv96]

my baby bun does that too! he is nine weeks old and he learned how to use his litter box on the second day I brough him home, not one accident since. BUT he poos everywhere!! He does get some in his box but there is tons in the bottom level especially first thing in the a.m. I just pick them all up, generally twice a day maybe more and into the litter box they go! I have hay in the litter box and also hung a little healthy bunny snack on the side of his cage to intice him in! He also poos everywhere during exercise/play time. Not as bad as the cage, but he doesn't understand litter training outside the cage..or maybe he does b/c he hasn't had one pee accident in his exercise pen since day two. oh our baby buns! They keep us hopping lol