Rabbit not using litter box?? any advice?

[Gen120]

We have 5 rabbits, they are indoor dwarf rabbits, and are very tame. We have 2 in 1 big cage, 2 in another big cage and 1 in another cage. The one lone rabbit is kinda mean and picks on the other rabbits. She is sweet sometimes but most of the time she is grumpy. Anyways, her big cage is in the birdroom and I she has a few bird toys in her cage that the fids don't like (lol).

She is litterbox trained and about a week ago, she stopped using it, so I moved it to the corner where she goes to the bathroom in, and she moved where the litterbox was not. So, she is using the bathroom in the tray at the bottom and it starts to smell after awhile even if I clean it every day. I don't know what to do about it. I know that the smell is not good for her, or the birds either. I cleaned her litterbox on Friday and she has not used it once, I cleaned her cage friday too and again today.

It is too hard for me to get down on the floor and clean it each day, especially with my spine being fused so I really need some advice to make her stop.

Any advice??? Is she lonely or what?

Thanks, Victoria

 

[MollyMouse]

When I had my rabbit I had to get two litter trays and put them in the areas she was going to and eventually she started using it more.Are they filled with hay?? I know what you mean about the smell it's very strong.

 

[Shadera]

I second the tip for putting hay in the box. Good luck!

 

[Gen120]

No, I use pine pellets (like people that have horses use), and that works very well. I have always used those and they last a few days before I have to change it. Any more ideas?

 

[Shadera]

The hay is for them to nibble, and encourage them to spend time in the box. The more time in the box, the more presents you may get.

 

[bookworm]

is she fixed?

 

[Gen120]

is she fixed?

No she is not fixed. She has been doing this for about a week and before that she has always used her litter box and she is about 4 years old now. She has always been really good about using the litter box until just about a week ago.

 

[love4birds]

When Tink was about a year old he stopped using his litter box as well, we have no idea why. He is not neutered.

I put all his food (hay, greens, veggies, pellets, etc) in one end of his litter box, no food is out of it. This has great reduced him peeing outside of his litter box, but he still leaves poops everywhere lol. But he is actually using his litter box now, so it is improvement!

 

[atvchick95]

the only thing i can offer (since mine were not housed inside so they were not litter box trained) is to "re-train" her

The book i had talked about litter training them and said you do it just like you do with cats, hold their front paws in your hands and scrape at the litter box do it a few times and they'll figure out thats where they're supposed to go potty - not sure how well it works Like i said none of mine were inside or litter box trained

As for it being hard to get on the floor and clean, Could you put her cage on a table or a stand? that way it's not down on the floor?

I had all my rabbits in a building outside all the ones in a all wire cage were suspended from the walls (there were boards going across the opposite direct of what the building was made of) with nails in them and we suspended the cages from the nails and the floor under them was covered in hay, and that's what i cleaned daily (along with the cage but most of their poop fell through the cage)

 

[JLcribber]

I would say it has something to do with not being spayed.

 

[Jadie]

I also think it has something to do with her being unspayed, it often causes little or sometimes big behavioral problems.
What do you use as bedding in her cage?
I would also get her a second litter box for the time being to encourage her. Try putting her food next to her litter box, bunnies tend to pee and poop as they eat. Mine will sit in his litter box and eat his veggies at the same time.
Put all the poop that she makes outside, in her litter box. It helps if the box smells like her and the fact that theres no poop in the cage other than her litter box will encourage her to use it. You can also try using a different kind of litter, I don't recommend hay as litter b/c she will probably be eating it too blech!. No matter how trained a bunny is they almost always do what you call "territorial poops" when playing outside of their cage. Good luck I know I had more to add but I can't remember lol!

 

[Billie Faye]

Also think it has to do with not being spayed...also you may be running a chance of harm to the others if she is becoming terrorial....

 

[Gen120]

This is the cage that she has, it is very very big, and she has plenty of room. In her cage she has a crock lock food bowl, a water bottle, a rabbit igloo, a litter box and several hanging bird toys. Her cage also has a tray that slides underneath the cage
Home Rig House Rabbit Cage, 30 in.x36 in. - 2179677 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[Jadie]

What do you use on the bottom of her cage as bedding?

 

[Gen120]

newspaper under the grate (in the tray)

 

[Jadie]

Oh ok I was just curious, b/c if the bedding is too much like whats in the litter box then sometimes they won't use it lol.
Is there something covering the wire bottom btw? Like blankets or something? Or is your bunny walking on the metal grate?

 

[brianimal]

Even if the problem isnt with being spayed or not, i'd get her spayed. there is an 80% chance of female rabbits getting uterine cancer. Sorry about her not using her litter box :/

 

[Gen120]

She is walking on the wire grate. I have tried putting newspaper over the top of the wire and also flat boxes so she can have something to stand on (cause I don't want her to hurt her feet), but she always uses the bathroom on them both.

 

[Jadie]

Awe, I know it sucks when they don't wanna use the litter box. But it is very very important that she does not live/walk on the metal grate it's very hard on their paws. here's a quote from the House rabbit society:
Rabbits were not designed to live on wire floors--they're hard on their feet (which have no pads on the, like cats or dogs). If you must use a cage with a wire floor, you need to provide your rabbit with a resting board or rug for her to sit on, otherwise she will spend all of her time in her litterbox. You can find cages with slatted plastic floors, which are more comfortable, or you can use a solid floor. As long as your rabbit has a litterbox in the corner that he chooses as his bathroom, there shouldn't be much of a mess to clean up.


They also have a great section on litter training!: FAQ: Litter Training

 

[Gen120]

Ok, thanks for the advice! I know, that is why I tried putting newspaper and boxes over the wire cause I knew it was not good for her/going to hurt her. We have 2 other female rabbits and they only use their litter box (and are not fixed), so I don't know why she is not using her's anymore.