Wednesday, May 12, 2010

How do I litter train my rabbit?

I got a dwarf rabbit yesterday and i want to litter train him so his cage is easier to clean (and so he's not eating feces-covered food). So far he's peed in his water dish and pooped in his hay. How do I get him to use his litter box?How do I litter train my rabbit?
move the soiled bedding to the litter tray.


A new rabbit will mark everywhere in frustration and once he is settled in about a month he should tidy his toilet habits up.


a mature un castrated rabbit will mess anywhere to mark his space for does to find. castrate him at maturity 16 weeks


I suggest you get a hay rack and have they hay off the floor for the time being and get an off the floor dish until he knows his homeHow do I litter train my rabbit?
You can totally litter train a rabbit. All four of mine are litter trained.





Firstly, a new bunny will want to mark his territory by peeing and pooping. This is normal and will subside once he gets settled in. Also, spayed and neutered rabbits are easier to train because they are less hormonal and not as territorial.





Watch where your bunny poops and pees. Put a litter box there. Put one everywhere they go. You may end up with a few around your house - don't worry. Once they get the idea of eliminating in the bins, start removing one bin at a time until you are down to just one. Voila - litter trained bunny! Bunnies are very tidy by nature so they learn quickly.





Bunnies also tend to poop as they eat hay, so get a nice big litter bin (like a cat litter bin or I use a Rubbermaid under-the-bed container) and put hay in the corner - this way, they will munch on the hay and leave a big pile of poop there too.





Good luck!
I really don't think that you can train a rabbit to use a litter box. They just hop %26amp; drop. The cage should have a raised mash screen at the bottom, allowing it to fall on the tray. I tried as hard as I could to keep my first dwarf rabbit in the house, but could not, keep the odor under control, No matter how much I cleaned the cage. I finally built a nice cage with hutch, outdoors. One year later I picked up a male dwarf and within a few months, they had babies, then more babies, even more babies. If it wasn't for the pet store taking the babies where I brought there feed. I would have had to keep them separated. That first year, the female had 108 babies, with the younger male still in the cage, which is unusual, because the male, is said, to kill babies if left in the cage, but, this male took care of the babies while she was getting ready for the next batch. Two different sets of babies in the cage at the same time. Each set that I took to the pet store, sold within a day, because they were so tiny %26amp; cute with very shinny coats! I only got to enjoy the first two sets, but, then they started coming faster %26amp; faster. Only 5- 6 wks old, the size of the palm, of your hand.


They love alfalfa for eating and for nesting


That is not rasins on your floor! :)
Rabbits actually like to be tidy. If you provide a litterpbox for him try putting his hay in or above the litterbox where he can reach it...bunnies like to munch hay while they use their litterbox so this can encourage him to use it. If you notice that he seems to pee in one area of his cage rather than the litterbox try moving the litterbox to that spot and see if it helps. When he does make a mistake and misses...try cleaning up the mess and putting it in the box. Mopping up the urine with a Kleenex and putting it in the litterbox where it is supposed to go helps redirect him!


As bunny matures, being a male it will be natural for him to try to mark out his territory...you have to remember that rabbits are driven by their hormones as they get older! Neutering can help greatly reduce the amount of territorial marking and the smell of his urine!


Check out our website for more tips and ideas!


www.ontariorabbits.org


Hope this helps! :)

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