Rabbit Web Discussion Board

Hi everyone! I just had some questions and concerns that I was hoping someone might be able to help me with.

I have a bunny that I bought from a breeder that he said is a dwarf hotot (but the bunny is half black and half white, does that mean it is a mix breed?) that I am not sure of the sex yet. I am planning to go to the vet within the next month to find out for sure.

I also bought another bunny for company for the first one, from the pet store near my house. The new bunny is much smaller that the bunny I already had, and the pet store said she is a girl and \"between six weeks and two months\" old, which is around how old the first bunny is (born on 11/28).

So here is my question... when I got my first bunny, i observed which corner he/she wanted to use as a bathroom, and as soon as I started seeing behavior there i put the litter box in. The first bunny, Bonbon, has been urinating in the litter box ever since (although there are often poops in other places, but for the most part they are in the litter box). i was amazed at how easy it was to litter train a rabbit that was pretty young.

So I get the new bunny, Yuki, and she urinates all over the place. She also poops all over, and most of her poop is mushy and gets all over her (I read another thread on this board and have stopped giving them pellets for the next couple days and just giving hay to observe her poops then). She does not even prefer a corner to urinate in, she just goes where ever she is standing at the time. She often urinates and poops while she is eating, so it gets really messy by their food dish.

I was hoping she would use the litter box like Bonbon, because now I have to clean their cage once a day instead of every other day or every third day like before.

Should I get a litter box just for Yuki? Bonbon seems a little protective of his/her litter box. Or is Yuki just too young and small to have bladder or bowel control yet? Any advice would greatly be appreciated.. she even poops in her bed and it gets in her fur, which is white, so it looks pretty bad =(

Thanks!

Bunny bathroom habits vary greatly. Some just tend to go anywhere. I would be concerned though if her poop is very soft all the time. You may need to deworm your bunnies. We use Piperazine 17 for pinworm removal. After that is done, use Sulfaquinoxaline for coccidia removal. Directions will be on the bottle. You can get these at your local feed store. You may be right about Bonbon being protective of her litterbox. Bunnies are solitary animals. They really prefer their own space.

I agree with Maya Jordan. I have a bonded pair of rabbits that I keep in the same cage. They are a male and female pair, spayed and neurterd. My cage is large with different levels, so they can get away from each other when they want to. They are always snuggled together in the morning, but most of the time they are in different areas of the cage, and sometimes my buck challenges my doe over fresh greens, so I have to scatter the food in the cage so they won\'t get into a fight. I am not sure they would do so well together in an average size cage.

Hi everyone,
I just joined the forum and came across this posting about litter training. My bunny is about 4 and a half years old now. She learned to use the litter quickly but goes through periods when she kicks it out all over the cage. She may do this for a couple of weeks and then stop.
Currently she is going through a very long period of this infuriating behaviour. The pet store said she may be in heat as she\'s not spayed. I thought this too but it\'s lasting a long time.
Any other suggestions as to what could be wrong and how I my get her to stop?
Thanks!

Petey likes to dig out his bedding occasionally too. He\'s a male, and I know they do like to dig naturally. Here\'s what we did, and he likes it. We filled a small cardboard box with just shredded newspaper or his bedding and put it in his cage play area. Now, he just gets in there and digs like crazy. Very cute and fun to watch. The box is enclosed except for a hole for him to come in and out of so it keeps the mess contained. Good luck!