We choose rabbits as pet animals because of many things. They are cute, silent, and friendly. Still, there are some cons of pet rabbits too. One of those cons is- rabbits pee and poop much which is disturbing.
But there is a solution to every problem. We can not lessen their poop or pee but we can train them where to pee and poop. Yes, today I am going to talk about how to litter train a rabbit.
How to Litter Train a Rabbit?
By using a fresh litter box, with the supply of hays, a hay feeder, a mat that can absorb odor you can litter train a rabbit. A litter box is an amazing thing to train your rabbits for dropping at a definite place.
We will learn what things to use, how to use and if is there any disadvantage of using the litter box. Let’s start with this article.
Why should You Litter Train Your Rabbit?
There is a prejudice that rabbits are nasty animals. They poop and pee a lot. They smell bad.
Well, I am not saying these are completely wrong. But rabbits are not stupid. They pee and poop mostly in a specific place. Their pee has a strong and bad smell for sure, but this can be controlled too.
And to control or try to lessen these problems, a litter box can be an awesome option. Litter training will help you to keep your place clean and also good for your rabbit’s health.
How to Start Litter Train a Rabbit?
There are some steps that need to be followed before starting litter train your rabbits. As this would also be their first time, so they also take time to be familiar with it.
First of all, you need to set up the litter box and train your rabbit. Let’s see how to do that.
Safe Litter Box: You need a safe litter box for training your rabbits. You can buy them from online or from a physical store. The box must be in medium size which can afford the size and weight of your rabbit.
Hay Rack: Use a hay rack to keep hay, grass, or other pellets. Because rabbits have a basic instinct of having food and pooping at the same place. Make sure their foods don’t get wasted by their droppings.
Floor Mat: Sometimes they poop or pee so much that the litter box gets filled up and then your floor gets dirty. Who wants that! So to keep your floor clean, use a mat under the litter box.
Pet Playpen: If you can use a pet playpen then it would be amazing. This will help your rabbits to understand their space to play, poop and rest.
Where should I Keep Litter Box?
Naturally, rabbits choose a specific place for themselves to pee and poop. You can call it their basic instinct or territorial behavior.
Notice where your rabbits poop generally. They prefer a corner for pooping or any place which is kind of hidden.
Keep the litter box there and still, if they don’t use the litterbox then you can train them. So here comes the steps for how to litter train a rabbit.
Steps to Litter Train a Rabbit
Here are some steps to litter train your rabbit. These are common and pretty much easy steps to follow.
Take it Easy: Remember, rabbits are curious and they take a while to be familiar with new things and foods. So, take it easy and be patient. Notice if your rabbits are curious about the litter box or not.
Foods on Racks: Keep their food on the rack of the litter box. Keep foods there for a while. Rabbits will automatically find the foods and while they eat them, they will pee and poop.
Droppings will fall inside of litterbox and rabbits may understand it easily after two or three days.
Easy Access: Buy a litter box that has easy access. Rabbits should not find to enter into the box in a difficult way. Try those litterboxes which are not higher and a bit larger.
Use Tap Sounds: Rabbits can understand tapping easily. If they don’t understand the litterbox even when it is ready, then you should tap inside the litterbox when they are close to it.
Provide Reward: Your rabbits will take some time before get easy with the litterbox as they don’t get this kind of box in wild. So, they need time. You should reward them first when they use the box. This will make them happy and create an eagerness to use the box again.
Mistakes of Litter Training
There are some common mistakes of litter training. But they can be taken care of easily if are already informed.
- Don’t push your rabbits or show persistence to your rabbits to use the litterbox. This is totally new to them. If you do so, they will start fearing the box and never try to use that.
- Keep in Mind, Don’t use a wooden litterbox. Rabbit tries to chew woods. A wooden litterbox can be very harmful to their health if they chew woods from the box on what they peed and pooped. This can lead them to death.
- Don’t bring a smaller size litterbox. Rabbits grow fast. So, if they can’t fit in the litterbox, they might not able to use that after passing some weeks or months.
- Don’t give baby rabbits and grown-up rabbits the same litterbox. Use individual litterbox for babies and grown-ups.
How Many Litterboxes are needed for Rabbits?
Well, I would recommend you to buy more than one litterbox. Because sometimes rabbits could break any part of the box or there is a chance of getting damaged of a litterbox.
Moreover, you need to clean the box. So while you clean one box, you can use the other one. That reminds me! You need to know how to clean a litterbox.
How to Clean a Rabbit’s Litterbox?
It is not that hard. Just take the box outside, dispose of the droppings of rabbits and wash off the pan of the litterbox with white vinegar or use any detergent.
Dried urine will create a strong bad smell. So you can use well-fragranced washing powder or liquid and dry the box under the sunray. This will kill the germs and remove the smell.
What If Rabbits don’t Use Litterbox?
There is a chance of rabbits don’t use the litterbox at all or pee or poop outside the litterbox. Sometimes they sit in the box but poop or pee at the edge of the litterbox which makes dirty the floor.
If this happens then you just need to wait and be patient. Do the same tricks as the article says and we can hope you will get the result gradually.
However, all rabbits are not the same. Some of them may take more time than others. Don’t worry.
Benefits of Litter Tarin a Rabit
If you can train your rabbits with a litterbox, then you may get a clean place inside of your house. Your rabbits will also find fun to do it.
Some rabbits lay on their own urine and that creates skin disease or infection. Litterbox removes that possibility.
Litterbox helps you to save the foods you give the rabbits. As foods are kept in a rack, so rabbits can’t waste food while eating.
Things to Consider
I have said again and again that a litterbox is totally new to your rabbits. But have you ever thought that it may be the first time for you too who is setting up litterboxes for rabbits?
So, don’t be impatient. Take time and follow the steps to train your cute pet rabbits and you can get a happy life for both of you.
Conclusion
Rabbits are kind of social animals. They follow each other while doing anything. So if you become an expert on how to litter train a rabbit, you can easily train other rabbits too.
