un-litter trained

[WhiteCharlie]

Hi everyone!

After being quite good about peeing in the litter box, Charlie has decided that it makes a better bed. I use the white carefresh litter, and all seemed to being going great until a couple days ago when right in front of me he peed next to the box.

We have the cage set up like so: on one end a cardboard box with a hole for him to hide in and his pellets and vegies next to it. On the other end we have the litter box (again, with the white carefresh litter)with his hay and water within reach if he is in the litter box. On the floor we spread some wood bedding.

He's pretty much always pooped where ever he wants, but always peed in the litter box. Then noticed he was spending quite a bit of time in there, for no reason in particular, and caught him hanging his little butt out one side of the box and peeing. At first I thought he had made a mistake, or is aim was off. So I just picked up the pee and let it be, but he keeps peeing in the same spot outside the box, and used the box for lounging purposes.

I've been mixing a little of the peed on bedding with the litter to see if it helps, but he doesn't really seem to care. Could bedding be confusing him? Should remove it? He really likes digging and pushing it around so I rather not if I don't have to.

Also, I don't think his cage is too big, it's currently approx 17x32 inches, so I'm a little hesitant to make it smaller. We do let him out when we get home, and he doesn't pee outside his cage. Just twice on the bed, but he's no longer allowed up there. Other then that he just pees in the cage.

Sorry for the long post, I figured the more info the better. I'll be grateful for any advise.

Thanks!

 

[funnybunnymummy]

If he can hang his butt over the edge of the box, it sounds like it's too small! Gus used to do this with his triangular-shaped box. He really was being a good bunny and going in his box, it was just too small! When I got him a full-sized cat box, it ceased to be a problem.

Also, many bunniessleep in their litter boxes, even when they use them as litter boxes.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I've seen Spike do that a couple of times. All four feet in the litter box but his rear was over the edge. One thing I did was to put the litter box inside an apple box, with the top on and a hole cut in both ends. It's a bathroom and a hangout.

 

[WhiteCharlie]

These buns!!

How can it tell if it's too small? He can pretty much flop in it now. I've only seen him hang his butt once, and the other times he just goes to that spot a pees. I also guess I wouldn't mind him sleeping in the litter box, as long as he also uses it for the intended purpose.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Something we had to start doing, which could work for u. Is feeding him both pellets and hay in his box. It worked for snuff. They like to poo when eating hay for sure. So maybe use the pellet dish and put in a corner of the box and feed hay so he can reach from w/in the box too.

 

[Tweetiepy]

I put Peaches' litter box in a corner and he uses pretty much only one corner - so much that after two days the poops reach the grid the top of the grid that I have there - and I have to rotate the litterbox so that he can use the other corner. he uses pretty much that same corner for peeing - he likes to back against the two surfaces to pee - so much that it goes on the wall behind and I'll have to put up some sort of splash guard for the pee.

 

[WhiteCharlie]

Yesterday he went on a pee fest!! He peed all over the place when I let him out of the cage for his binking time. Could he be marking or upset at something? Could he be sick?? I really hope he's ok!

 

[funnybunnymummy]

How old is he? Is he neutered yet?

Rue

 

[WhiteCharlie]

Well we found him a few weeks ago, so we really aren't sure. I've been looking for a vet to take him to. I'm having a bit of a time finding one not too far from me. At first I was thinking that he was a very young New Zealand, but now I think he might be a slightly older Florida White, and that he may be neutered. Is there a way to tell?

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Flip him on his back and check for testicles.

Rabbits, unlike many other species, have one testicle on either side of their anus, so they don't look very much like the testes we're used to seeing.

They'll look something like this:

BTW, some males can "suck up" their testicles into their bodies when they're stressed. So you may have to do some manual probing to find them.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[WhiteCharlie]

Nope, he has none. When I press him and his little organ pops out, the opening looks like a hole, not a slit. I've read that means a he's male.

On a brighter note, he did not pee when we let him out yesterday. Still nothing in the litter box. I thinking of changing the litter.