Winston is being a BRAT

[SOOOSKA]

Geez, my Winstonis driving me and Chris NUTS at nightullhair:. He is constantly digging in his litter box and chewing the screen. Does anyone have any "Brilliant" ideas on how to stop him. Oh course my "Sweet " little Vega is such a good girl she just sits back and watches him do it.

He has tons of toys in the cage so it's not as if he's bored lots of chew sticks. I really don't know what to do.

Also I'm pretty sure he's not eating the screen cause it's mixed in with the litter that he is making a mess with.

Thanks any ideas are welcome .

Susan:bunny19

 

[SOOOSKA]

See what I mean, how he is chewwing the screen.

Susan:?

 

[tonyshuman]

My bf got one of those corner litter pans at the pet store that had a metal grate on it. We're not worried about his feet because he doesn't usually just hang out in there, and it keeps him from eating the litter. Maybe this would work for you guys?

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752717

 

[Alexah]

Cute little Winston, tsk tsk tsk! .

I'm not sure but here are some things that came into my head after reading this post...

Have you changed the brand of litter you use recently? Have you always used the screen, or is it something new? I know for my rabbits that they tend not to like change - at all. Has anything else changed in his or your routine? Perhaps he's acting out because of that.

Something I do is rotate their toys in and out of their pens every week or so. That way the toys, chew blocks, and other miscellaneous items seem fresh and new. I've found that it keeps them from getting bored with what they have. It keeps them occupied and me happy. Maybe that's something you can look into doing (if you don't do so already).

Also, has his schedule changed in that he's not getting out as much as he's used to? Can he have more time out of his pen and running around? Maybe a little extra cuddle session with you? I'm not sure if that's even feasible, but it's a thought.

Either way, good luck and let us know if cute little Winston returns to his previously sweet self .

 

[Haley]

Susan, is his hay where he can munch on it while he's in his litter box? Thats how it was setup at his old home and at mine so he had something to do while he was in there...

Silly boy!

If his hay is there, let me send you a pic of what he had at his old place so you can see the setup. They used two NIC panels zip tied together and then put the stitching screen over that.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Alexah, nothing has changed for the little brat (but I still LOVE him anyways), I use the wood stove pellets since we got them. He gets out twice a day for really long periods. I gave them new chew sticks he's ignoring them but Vega is haveing a field day with them (she's such a good girl).

Maybe I will try to rotate the toys. It can't hurt that's for sure.

Haley yes the hay rack is hanging in the litter box and it's always full. I fill that up in the morning annd at night. Could you send me the picture of their old setup please.

Tonyshuman I may have to think about a litter box like that.

Thanks again everyone.

Susan

 

[missyscove]

Timmy wouldn't stop destroying his screen, so he just stopped getting one. A lot of his hay falls in the box too. He just gets his cleaned out less often than Fiona does.

As for the digging though, I don't know what to tell you. If Timmy is up at 6 am and wants food and I haven't provided it, he'll dig in his litter box until I hear him and feed him.

 

[drunkenbunnyhugger]

Is he mainly digging at night or all day?

Can you put in a nightlight for him at nighttime? I had a friend whos bunny seemed to be spooked by the dark, and once she put in a nightlight, her nighttime behavior greatly improved.

Also you can adapt any current litterbox to have a grate over it like the one from the store. You can buy fluorescent lighting covering/grate, and cut it to fit in your current litterbox.

here is a picture i found online of what im talking about of the fluorescent lighting covering, as when people first told me about it online i had no idea what they were talking about. You can find it at your local Home Depot/Lowes/Ect
http://www.featurepics.com/online/Lighting-Grate-Photo-421351.aspx

Here is a picture of my bun Thumper in his litterbox with the cover in it. The grates come with a variety of sizes for the holes, so you can find a good size to let droppings in, not allow too much digging and not hurt feet too badly.

Good luck with Winston! He can always come stay at my house for a bit if that would help hehehehe. He is such a cutie pie! :biggrin2:

p/s - Im new to RO so what the heck is that screen for anyways?

 

[SOOOSKA]

DBH, thanks for that idea, i'll send the husband over to Home Depot to pick that lighting grate. Hmm on second thought I better go myself cause gods knows what he would come back with. Hee Hee

We use the screen over the litter, that way you just pick it up and dump the poo poos out. Otherwise the litter becomes really messy. With 6 rabbits I was changing the litter boxes twice a day (which gets quite expensive), now I'm doing it only once a day, but I still empty the poos twice a day.

I told Winston this morningif he doesn't smarten up I will ship him off to someone on RO. Are their any takers. See he fits in the box, Vega stays she's the good girl.

I'll fiil the box with tissue paper so he doesn't move. HA HA

Susan

 

[Haley]

Great idea on the flourescent lighting thing- I forgot about those but a lot of people use them.

A lot of us like the stitching screen because it separates the urine from the poops. So you save a lot more litter because (if you have time to do this every day) you can dump out the poops that are on top of the screen. So like clumping cat litter, you can then just scoop out the urine parts and it saves lots of litter. I used to do this when I had more time *sigh*

Susan, if you want to try this first before going out and buying something else, this is what he and Vega had at their previous home:

You'd need a bigger litter box to do something like this though. It still probably wouldnt stop him from chewing the stitching screen but it would stop the digging (and maybe make the stitching screen firmer since its supported by the NIC so maybe he couldnt chew on it as easily).

 

[slavetoabunny]

My foster Harley uses a litterbox with the lighting grate in it. It works great for him. He only goes in one particular spot in the box, so I just lift up the grate on stir some clean litter from another area over to his business area. I change the box completely every other day.

 

[TinysMom]

Winston is always welcome to come to "Lionhead Land". Of course....he may have to bring Daisy Mae with him too.....

 

[JadeIcing]

Haley wrote:

Great idea on the flourescent lighting thing- I forgot about those but a lot of people use them.

Actually I plan on using them with the knitting ones. That way poop falls through but for those who chew on it they won't be able too.

 

[JadeIcing]

Here is a picture.

I am thinking poop will fall between that one and the knit one so you can still toss the poop easy.

 

[missyscove]

Winston is welcome to come here.
He and Timmy can be litterbox buddies, and since I can already see he likes girly buns, maybe I can bond all 3 of them.
Wishful thinking, I know.

 

[drunkenbunnyhugger]

JadeIcing wrote:

Haley wrote:

Great idea on the flourescent lighting thing- I forgot about those but a lot of people use them.

Actually I plan on using them with the knitting ones. That way poop falls through but for those who chew on it they won't be able too.

Now that I understand what the screen is for (hehehe sorry, a bit slow over here!), that makes for a great idea. screen, then grate overtop of it. no digging, and still seperate pee & poos.

Good luck Susan & Winston :biggrin2:
and Winston is always welcomed here! Him and my Simba would make a gorgeous couple, dont you think?