Toilet Training Tips Please - 7 month old male neutered rabbit

[miss.suzyb]

Hello,
We have two bunnies that are the same age and neutered at the same time, one month ago. Flopsy (white with brown fleck) toilet trained very quickly. Coco (brown) is taking longer. We have read and applied the strategies on this forum about letting them decide their spot. Immediately moving Coco to that spot and placing his pee on a paper towel in the area. We increased the vinegar/water ratio. This has definitely helped. We give him a treat when he pees in the litter tray. They are indoor/outdoor rabbits. They get lots of exercise in an enclosed 500 square feet rooftop garden.
Coco sometimes pees in the correct spot but not consistently. I am now thinking I need to reduce Coco's roaming space to reduce his number of options.
What this would mean is placing a partition and separating the two bunnies. They are great mates and I don't think they would like it. Can you recommend the next step for Coco's training? He has made progress but needs more support.
Sincere thanks.
Sue

 

[BonbonandJujubee]

Maybe try having more than one litter box and slowly removing the ones he doesn't use, until he uses only one. If he gets used to peeing in the litter box only then he may begin to look for it more.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

I wouldn’t recommend separating them, especially if they do have a good bond. Is your litterbox large enough for the two of them? I’ve heard that some rabbits learn by copying their mates. I would also follow @BonbonandJujubee advice in adding another litterbox. Just do what you’re doing now, if he’s started to use it sometimes, he’ll definitely get better. Be consistent in cleaning and sanitising they area once he’s gone to the bathroom in the wrong space. Pick the poops up and place them into the litter box, every time.

Good luck!

 

[Blue eyes]

It can take up to 8 weeks after surgery for hormones to fully dissipate. Those hormones can interfere with potty training. It could be that this is part of the issue with Coco.

If you need to reduce their roaming space to get Coco on track, then reduce it for both of them so they remain together. Do not separate them or the bond will be put at risk.

 

[miss.suzyb]

Sincere thanks for your advice. We really appreciate it and will continue to be diligent. The litter box is a big rectangular tub. I'll get another one. We haven't separated them. I can monitor the situation more closely as I'm working from home now.
Thanks!

 

[thevanguard6]

As Apollo's Slave said, just let them be together and pick up the poops and put them in the box each time (and then put the bunny in the box each time). Sometimes they'll insist that their box be closer to their hay so that they can reach over and eat while sitting on the loo (yeah, I know -- that's just how rabbits think). Eventually, they'll improve.