Tuesday, January 5, 2010

How do I potty train my pet rabbit?

How do I potty train my pet rabbit? Sorry for the graphic description, but whenever my rabbit poops he just sits on it and we have to wash him almost everyday.How do I potty train my pet rabbit?
The steps are





1. Dont give them too much space to start with, it can be a little too much and he wont know what to do.





2. Put him in his cage with the litter tray for a few days. When he poops or wees clean it up and put the poop and wee covered tissues in the litter tray so he learns where its supposed to go.





3. After hes got this down slowly increase the living area until he has the full run of the house (if you want to go that far).





4. Never clean the tray with scented dissinfectant, always clean with animal safe dissinfectant. This way his scent of where to wee will remain.





Thats it, can take 1-2 weeks. Using this my rabbit has a totally free run of the house when were there and the huge hallway when were not and weve never had wees where they shouldnt, the poops (dry rasin ones) can be found but normally they are just ones stuck to him.





If hes in the living room with us and needs a wee he will run out and head straight for his box. We tried moving the box once and he still knows where to go, it has his scent on.How do I potty train my pet rabbit?
You Train him like you would a Cat use a Litter Box a Friend of mine has a rabbit %26amp; uses this method.Good Luck
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/litte鈥?/a>
Most rabbits prefer to poop in the same place which makes it easier. I originally put a litter box wherever he went to the bathroom until he got used to the idea of using that only, then I started reducing the amount of litter boxes until there is only one and his cage. He now lives loose and never has an 'accident'.
If there is a room where the rabbit goes most often put their food in the room. They don't want to have their droppings and food in the same area. Use a litter box to train the rabbit, it probably wants a place to use the restroom but is confused. Try that, and good luck! :)
Try putting a litterbox over his potty corner in the cage.





This is a bit graphic, but here's a dissertation on rabbit poop:





If his poop is messy, then he may either be sick or not getting a proper diet. Healthy rabbits' poop should be hard, round little balls and it shouldn't smear, unless he is just a messy rabbit and pees on it too. Some do this ;) Make sure you're feeding him only rabbit pellets, hay, and very small portions of treats. Things like oatmeal, bread, apples, carrots, or bananas in SMALL portions are great. Things with a high water content like lettuce are not.
Check out the House Rabbit Society web site. TONS of info. Search for potty training and look at the cage and diet section to make sure you are doing everything right. It is very difficult to get bunnies to poop in the box, they often go without knowing. All you can do is pick up all the mistakes and offer lots of boxes with some hay so they spend the most time in there. They usually poop most when they are eating, so I put my bunnies food dish and hay in a box with a doorway so the poop is at least all in one area. Your bunnie's poop should not be sticking to his butt, if it is he is not getting free choice timothy or grass hay and has diarrhea or constipation. May want to take him to the vet to make sure he is not impacted. Good luck!


PS: they don't usually urinate where they eat, but poop is a different story. Their poop is actually an important part of thier diet!!! Yuck.

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