# Litter training....again!



## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Ok so I thought there was some progress with litter training since the boys came back from board, as they weren't peeing around the edges of the room much at all. But they did pee all over a new bed I got them (have since removed it) and have still been peeing in their cage all over the place  They have three big litter trays which they do use, but they also soak the cage. I lifted the vetbed and the towel underneath is really wet since I changed it all on Monday.

Could it be because they are caged for 5-6 hours at night? (Between 11-12 when I go to bed and 5am when my partner gets up) I'm trying to keep this to an absolute minimum but it's my OH's condition 

They were neutered 5 weeks ago and have lived with me for a month. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## hazyreality (Jan 11, 2009)

Mine are impossible with anything like vetbed, plush beds, blankets and towels! They just pee all over them, no matter what I try so I have just given up and they have the bog standard straw, strip shreaded paper, hay etc for bedding! 
Carpet lasts better, it takes them a few weeks to decide to pee on it!

I know thats not much use as advice but wanted to say that you are not alone in peeing bunnies!

*Heidi*


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2011)

It will take a couple more weeks for their hormones to die down so that might have an effect.

The key to litter training is patience, patience and more patience I'm afraid but it is possible. I have a 100% success rate with litter training including 3 entire bucks 
What do you use to clean up any accidents?


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## zowie (Apr 3, 2011)

I'm struggling at the minute too. 
All 4 were fine for a while and now I have poo's everywhere. They still wee in the litter tray (touch wood,I don't want to jinx it!! ) but they don't care where they poo. I know they are easy to sweep up but I spend ages morning and night sweeping poo up!! It does only seem to have happened since I started using the megazorb,so I don't know if that's got something to do with it. But I quite like the megazorb so I'd really like them to just go back to their old litter trained ways!!


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Well when they pee on the floor I wipe it up with kitchen towel and then spray with water and white vinegar and wipe again. In the cage I obviously just chuck the towel and vetbed in the washing machine and then spray the cage with water and white vinegar again and wipe. Then replace with clean towel and vetbed.

Heidi maybe mine are the same as yours! Although I imagine if I just put hay/straw in their cage they would still pee all over it....hmmm!


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Zowie, if poop was the only problem I'd be a happy woman! Sweeping poop all day doesn't bother me, it's just the pee!


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2011)

I use megazorb too zowie so I doubt it is that


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2011)

Chez87 said:


> Zowie, if poop was the only problem I'd be a happy woman! Sweeping poop all day doesn't bother me, it's just the pee!


For now I would say to take out the vet bed (my nethies will pee on vet bed if they can get to it and they are litter trained lol) and replace with newspaper so that when they have an accident you can change the paper and place the wet bit in their litter tray so it gives them a bit more of a reminder.


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## hazyreality (Jan 11, 2009)

Chez87 said:


> Well when they pee on the floor I wipe it up with kitchen towel and then spray with water and white vinegar and wipe again. In the cage I obviously just chuck the towel and vetbed in the washing machine and then spray the cage with water and white vinegar again and wipe. Then replace with clean towel and vetbed.
> 
> Heidi maybe mine are the same as yours! Although I imagine if I just put hay/straw in their cage they would still pee all over it....hmmm!


Ah, well one shelf is pee'd on and they have a VERY large litter area inside behind the fly door and a 2.5ft x 1ft tray in the run with woodshaving/straw mix. They are useless with poo in the run, they will do it anywhere, not so bad in the shed!
Anything I put for them to dig in (earth, sand etc) takes priority over any litter tray for pee's and poo's!
Everywhere else stays reasonable now 

*Heidi*


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

B3rnie said:


> For now I would say to take out the vet bed (my nethies will pee on vet bed if they can get to it and they are litter trained lol) and replace with newspaper so that when they have an accident you can change the paper and place the wet bit in their litter tray so it gives them a bit more of a reminder.


Really? That's interesting. Ok I'll remove it in the morning and see what happens! Thanks for the advice.


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2011)

Chez87 said:


> Really? That's interesting. Ok I'll remove it in the morning and see what happens! Thanks for the advice.


Yup, my nethies will pee on anything soft and nice


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Will they be ok with just newspaper and litter trays in their crate?


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2011)

Yes they will be fine 
Inside you don't have to worry about them getting cold so basic crate until they learn where to pee


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

B3rnie said:


> Yes they will be fine
> Inside you don't have to worry about them getting cold so basic crate until they learn where to pee


Ok, thanks again. 
From googling it, it seems quite common! I'm glad my bunnies aren't just exceptionally norty! :lol:


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2011)

Yep you're not alone hun


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Right. Vetbed and towel removed, crate cleaned with water and white vinegar, and newspaper put down instead, will let you know how it goes with the peeing!


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Two wees in the crate as well as one on a fleece and one by the door....also some in the litter tray *sigh* I will persevere!


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## zowie (Apr 3, 2011)

Sorry chez,i must seem like im moaning about poo!! I really feel for you having wee everywhere though,i guess iv got the less of the two evils!!

So what can i do about the poo?? Its not even like they are in one area,they are everywhere but i think its only 1 of them thats doing it. Iv tried sweeping them up and putting them in the litter tray but that needs cleaning out morning and night so they arnt in there long enough to teach the culprit that that is where they belong!! 
Also im getting through my big bag of megazorb like its going out of fashion. I didnt think i was using too much of it,just enough for the guinea pigs hutch and the rabbits litter tray but its not lasting as long as i thought it would have.


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2011)

Chez87 said:


> Two wees in the crate as well as one on a fleece and one by the door....also some in the litter tray *sigh* I will persevere!


They will get there hun, some just take longer than others 



zowie said:


> Sorry chez,i must seem like im moaning about poo!! I really feel for you having wee everywhere though,i guess iv got the less of the two evils!!
> 
> So what can i do about the poo?? Its not even like they are in one area,they are everywhere but i think its only 1 of them thats doing it. Iv tried sweeping them up and putting them in the litter tray but that needs cleaning out morning and night so they arnt in there long enough to teach the culprit that that is where they belong!!
> Also im getting through my big bag of megazorb like its going out of fashion. I didnt think i was using too much of it,just enough for the guinea pigs hutch and the rabbits litter tray but its not lasting as long as i thought it would have.


I take it both are neutered? (sorry can't remember if they are or not )
How long ago were they neutered?
Do you have any other entire rabbits?
Not sure on the megazorb, it works really well for me  Do you clean the entire litter tray out morning and night or just take out the wet bits?


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

More wees on the paper. I have cleaned out all the litter trays and put the wet paper towel in the tray to encourage them. Think I'm doing everything right. Annoying thing is they tend to wee NEXT to the tray!


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2011)

Chez87 said:


> More wees on the paper. I have cleaned out all the litter trays and put the wet paper towel in the tray to encourage them. Think I'm doing everything right. Annoying thing is they tend to wee NEXT to the tray!


Just a query but how big are your litter trays?


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

They were too small when I first got them, (Which I thought was causing the problem) but I have got much bigger ones now. Much deeper and large enough for both to get in and munch together.


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## zowie (Apr 3, 2011)

B3rnie said:


> They will get there hun, some just take longer than others
> 
> I take it both are neutered? (sorry can't remember if they are or not )
> How long ago were they neutered?
> ...


Iv got 4  2 boys,2 girls. They have all been neutered,Elf was neutered over a year and a half ago,so was Tink,Rosie is only 9ish months old and was spayed as soon as she was ready at the beginning of the year and I recently got Jim,who the previous owners had got him neutered,he's supposed to be about a year old but im not sure when he had his op,it doesnt look recent,it all looks well healed,he's very obviously a boy (i had a good old look when i got him to double check ) When i first got Jim,i noticed that he only used the litter tray if it was in a small,enclosed space,my litter tray is one of those plastic storage boxes,so its quite large and iv been blaming him,so i had a little shelf/enclosure made to go over the tray to see if that would help,i picked it up yesterday and this morning when i went out to them,i caught Elfie weeing on it!!! He is the cleanest of them all and i was extremely shocked to see him do this. I got my trusty water/vinegar spray out,cleaned it up and then he went back and pooed all on the shelf,so now i dont know who keeps doing it. They cant carry on like this!! I hate having a dirty shed!!
I try and clean just the wet patches but i also find that the poo mixes with the megazorb,so i do end up taking quite a bit out every morning and night i suppose,but i dont put masses of it in,just enough to cover the bottom of the tray and i put a layer of hay in too. I do like it though.:001_smile:


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## joanna1984 (Jun 14, 2010)

hi, i hope its ok to post here, didnt want to start a new thread about litter training. I have recently brought my bunny inside after i lost my other bunny, Bean. She uses a litter tray when shes out but when shes in her cage, which has a tray in aswell, she goes in another corner under a platform thing thats in there. She also throws her litter tray about, shes so small but chucks this tray about!! What can i do to get her to use her tray when shes in her cage? Thanks for your help x Jo


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## joanna1984 (Jun 14, 2010)

hi, i hope its ok to post here, didnt want to start a new thread about litter training. I have recently brought my bunny inside after i lost my other bunny, Bean. She uses a litter tray when shes out but when shes in her cage, which has a tray in aswell, she goes in another corner under a platform thing thats in there. She also throws her litter tray about, shes so small but chucks this tray about!! What can i do to get her to use her tray when shes in her cage? Thanks for your help x Jo


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## joanna1984 (Jun 14, 2010)

hi, i hope its ok to post here, didnt want to start a new thread about litter training. I have recently brought my bunny inside after i lost my other bunny, Bean. She uses a litter tray when shes out but when shes in her cage, which has a tray in aswell, she goes in another corner under a platform thing thats in there. She also throws her litter tray about, shes so small but chucks this tray about!! What can i do to get her to use her tray when shes in her cage? Thanks for your help x Jo


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2011)

Chez87 said:


> They were too small when I first got them, (Which I thought was causing the problem) but I have got much bigger ones now. Much deeper and large enough for both to get in and munch together.


Just silly buns then :lol: I'm sure they will get the hang of it 



zowie said:


> Iv got 4  2 boys,2 girls. They have all been neutered,Elf was neutered over a year and a half ago,so was Tink,Rosie is only 9ish months old and was spayed as soon as she was ready at the beginning of the year and I recently got Jim,who the previous owners had got him neutered,he's supposed to be about a year old but im not sure when he had his op,it doesnt look recent,it all looks well healed,he's very obviously a boy (i had a good old look when i got him to double check ) When i first got Jim,i noticed that he only used the litter tray if it was in a small,enclosed space,my litter tray is one of those plastic storage boxes,so its quite large and iv been blaming him,so i had a little shelf/enclosure made to go over the tray to see if that would help,i picked it up yesterday and this morning when i went out to them,i caught Elfie weeing on it!!! He is the cleanest of them all and i was extremely shocked to see him do this. I got my trusty water/vinegar spray out,cleaned it up and then he went back and pooed all on the shelf,so now i dont know who keeps doing it. They cant carry on like this!! I hate having a dirty shed!!
> I try and clean just the wet patches but i also find that the poo mixes with the megazorb,so i do end up taking quite a bit out every morning and night i suppose,but i dont put masses of it in,just enough to cover the bottom of the tray and i put a layer of hay in too. I do like it though.:001_smile:


Hmm, all I can say is when Rhythm and Reed(rip) were still outside they were litter trained but did leave poo's scattered around, but this stopped when they came inside. So it looks like it will just be a case of sweeping up the poo's until they get the hang of it 



joanna1984 said:


> hi, i hope its ok to post here, didnt want to start a new thread about litter training. I have recently brought my bunny inside after i lost my other bunny, Bean. She uses a litter tray when shes out but when shes in her cage, which has a tray in aswell, she goes in another corner under a platform thing thats in there. She also throws her litter tray about, shes so small but chucks this tray about!! What can i do to get her to use her tray when shes in her cage? Thanks for your help x Jo


How old is she?
Is she neutered?
How big is her cage?


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## joanna1984 (Jun 14, 2010)

shes nearly 4, shes not neutered and her cage is about 1 meter long. Shes fine when shes out its only when shes in her cage, just not sure what bedding is best to use so she uses her box. Thanks x


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2011)

joanna1984 said:


> shes nearly 4, shes not neutered and her cage is about 1 meter long. Shes fine when shes out its only when shes in her cage, just not sure what bedding is best to use so she uses her box. Thanks x


That will be your problem then, her cage is far, far too small (imagine being locked in your toilet until someone let you out, I'm sure you'd get pretty annoyed to) and her not being neutered won't help at all.
Can I ask why isn't she neutered?
Why doesn't she have a friend? (although please don't get another rabbit until you have assessed her living accommodation)


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## joanna1984 (Jun 14, 2010)

I have redone her whole cage. I was using nice soft cushy blankets and sawdust in her litter tray. I have now taken the blankets out and put sawdust and straw in her cage and just sawdust in her litter tray. I have been cleaning it out regularly but keeping a bit of soiled sawdust in there so she knows thats where to go and she seems to be using it now. We keep her in her cage while we are out at work as she can be a bit of a nibbler!! (even though she has problems with her teeth because her jaw doesnt line up right), she is in there for about 4 hours then she is out around the house with us. Her friend, my little baby Bean, died last sunday (18th Sept) which is why she doesnt have a friend. He was about 20 weeks when we got her, she was too young to be neutered so we had him done and never had her done. Also she won't be getting another friend (sounds so horrible when i say it like that), i would love her to have a little playmate as i know rabbits are social animals but i was completely heartbroken when Bean died and dont want to go through it again, obviously at some point i'll have to as i know she wont live forever, so its for selfish reasons really, i dont want the pain of losing an animal so she has to be lonely...........god im a horrible person.


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

So the weeing in the cage has got better, only one wee every couple days, but now back to weeing (and pooing) randomly all round the room.  it's 6 weeks since they were neutered now, do you still think it's hormonal? Or they are just taking their time?


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2011)

Chez87 said:


> So the weeing in the cage has got better, only one wee every couple days, but now back to weeing (and pooing) randomly all round the room.  it's 6 weeks since they were neutered now, do you still think it's hormonal? Or they are just taking their time?


They still have a couple of weeks before the hormones are definitely out of their system, just give them time hun they will get there


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Sorry I must sound so impatient and grumpy!


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