Rabbits: Bringing in the hops

[TTFosterProgram]

Hey you guys!!

On 4/8, I brought my rabbit home with me to my new place. My mother had been carring for him since august in his outside hutch ( I know you dun like em )
So I'm coming upon a few issues that I want to over-come in the next month before I make this move permanent. If not than finding a sanctuary would be the best for him.

My Questions/Senarios:

• A un-Nuetered male= spraying. So I need to paten a design of some sorts for a diaper. I've tested a few ideas and find that if the diaper is like a baby diaper, He doesn't hop well. So I'm thinking of designing a simple cloth diaper/underwear that has oval legs for his knees. In order to keep it on, I'm going to find some way to clip it to a bunny harness.

Anyone have any thoughts of putting poop/pee containers on a bunny?

• Litter Training Success for a old bunny?

I got serie when I was 13-14. He was an outside bunny most of his life with some days brought inside for baths, trims, grooming, etc. What are your favorit tips on potty training?
I have a potty box(LARGE) under a basket of hay. I picked up the pieces he missed and put them back in the box.

• Age Wize. How long do they live?

I havn't read up on bunnys in a few years. My boys 6-7 years old and looking great.

• What kind of bunnys are white with blk/grey nose, ears, tail and spots on their feet? He's roughly 8-10lbs in weight but not fat.

[amandacv86]

Hey you guys!!

On 4/8, I brought my rabbit home with me to my new place. My mother had been carring for him since august in his outside hutch ( I know you dun like em )
So I'm coming upon a few issues that I want to over-come in the next month before I make this move permanent. If not than finding a sanctuary would be the best for him.


My Questions/Senarios:

• A un-Nuetered male= spraying. So I need to paten a design of some sorts for a diaper. I've tested a few ideas and find that if the diaper is like a baby diaper, He doesn't hop well. So I'm thinking of designing a simple cloth diaper/underwear that has oval legs for his knees. In order to keep it on, I'm going to find some way to clip it to a bunny harness.

Anyone have any thoughts of putting poop/pee containers on a bunny?

• Litter Training Success for a old bunny?

I got serie when I was 13-14. He was an outside bunny most of his life with some days brought inside for baths, trims, grooming, etc. What are your favorit tips on potty training?

I have a potty box(LARGE) under a basket of hay. I picked up the pieces he missed and put them back in the box.

• Age Wize. How long do they live?

I havn't read up on bunnys in a few years. My boys 6-7 years old and looking great.

• What kind of bunnys are white with blk/grey nose, ears, tail and spots on their feet? He's roughly 8-10lbs in weight but not fat.

I wouldn't put a diaper on a rabbit. If he's neutered, he'll be easier to potty train. I had mine on fleece until just recently and now I just have him on plain floors with some newspaper and if he pees or poos out of the litter box I pick it up and put it in the box. I'm not expecting miracles because he isn't neutered(soon will be) and I'm sure a lot of it is just scent marking. He does have a fleece bed and a "curtain" instead of a hidey house but he usually just lays on the plastic.

My female is a lot better about potty training. I've had her for less than a week and while I've had to re-train her because of the small cage she was in at the shelter, she's really good about it now.

Buns live about 8-10 years I believe. You may want to check with a vet that knows a lot about rabbits and get their opinion on a neuter.

If you took a picture of him someone might be able to tell you what breed he is.

[TTFosterProgram]

Right now I have a big neuter bill coming for me 60lb mastador pup, and he's kind of old. So I don't think I want to neuter him. At one time, They told me it would be like 300 to fix him. Eh...Not happening.

At the moment I don't have a way for him to free-roam unless I get a sort of diaper that wouldn't restrict his movement. It's ether diaper, or limited roaming in a bathroom. And whats fun about that?

[Djakarta]

I think a diaper would put your bunny at risk for urine scald. A more workable solution might be to put down an absorbent and washable floor covering.

A good rule of thumb when introducing a rabbit into a new environment is to slowly expand the free play area. You may want to start out with an x pen with mattress pads and fleece or towels as flooring. The mattress pads are waterproof and will protect your floor. Watch to make sure your rabbit doesn't chew and ingest the fabrics.

Provide multiple litter boxes and understand that your rabbit may prefer a particular location. If your rabbit moves a box, that may be the preferred location.

If your rabbit pees somewhere outside the litter box or leaves piles of droppings in one place, put a litter box in that location. You can use plain white paper towels to blot up any urine from the floor and then put the urine marked towels at the bottom of the litter box.

Once your rabbit begins to use the litter box more consistently, you can begin to expand the area. It helps to place additional litter boxes in the new area.

When a rabbit is learning to use the litter box, I always leave a little bit of dirty/wet bedding at the bottom when I change the box. I don't try to completely clean the box- I want the rabbit to be able to smell that he is in the right place.

Any time a rabbit is introduced to a new area, he may leave dry droppings scattered around, at least initially. If the rabbit doesn't encounter any other animal scents, he will gradually stop leaving the scattered droppings.

I volunteer at the local humane society. Most of the rabbits that come in to the shelter aren't neutered. Despite this, some demonstrate good litter box habits, right from the start. Others don't use the box consistently until after they are neutered.

So while it might not be impossible to litter box train an un-neutered male, it certainly would be easier if he were neutered.

This web page from HRS shows how to set up a litter box:

Setting Up Your Bunny's Litterbox

[amandacv86]

I've been just using newspaper and hay in my rabbits and GP's litter boxes and so far it's been great. I change the guinea pigs at least once a day and the rabbits so far have been 1 1/2-2 days, and it only takes about 1 minute each!

[CavyCrazyLady]

Please do not put a diaper on your rabbit. They will likely just rip it off, but if they do not you must understand that rabbits are constantly peeing and pooping. The diaper would get filled very fast and you would need to constantly change it. The suggestions that others have given regarding how to litter train are great and you should definalty look into the House Rabbit Society's website.

On another note, since your boys are 6 or 7 years old, please take them to a very experianced vet if you are considering getting them neutered. Getting them fixed would be the easiest way to litter train, though.

You can try giving them supervised outside time in a pen in the yard, so that you won't have to worry about accidents in the house. You can also put a tarp down in your living room when the bunnies are out. This is what I do for my pigs and it works great.