Modern animal lovers are increasingly keeping rabbits as pets. These cute and intelligent animals are suitable for living in a residential environment. Caring for them has its own characteristics, but it is no more difficult than caring for a dog. It is important to feed your pet on time and correctly and keep its cage clean. Not all people know how to train a rabbit to use a litter tray in order to make cleaning after it easier.
Suitable age for training
You can toilet train a decorative rabbit from the moment it appears in the house. It is worth remembering that rabbits at 3-4 weeks, although they look independent, at this age they should not be taken away from their mother and they should not develop toilet behavior. This is due to the fact that young animals of this age are very vulnerable. He can die from the slightest errors in care.
It is incredibly difficult, almost impossible, to potty train an adult animal. Such rabbits have already developed a stereotype of behavior, and they will fulfill their physiological needs wherever they want. When choosing a pet for your home, it is better to opt for rabbits 45-60 days old. They develop new skills the fastest. Animals no older than 3-4 months can be easily toilet trained.
Subtleties of choosing a tray and location
The formation of toilet behavior begins with the choice of a tray and a place for it. These processes have their own characteristics.
Tray selection
Currently, manufacturers offer animal lovers trays of various sizes, shapes and designs. When choosing a container for toilet needs, take into account the following characteristics:
- the material of the product must be safe for animals;
- it can be easily washed and disinfected;
- the dimensions of the container must correspond to the size of an adult animal;
- The design of the product should not contain dangerous elements that could injure the animal.
Each type of rabbit tray has its own advantages:
- Triangular trays are convenient to place in the corner of the cage. Very often they have special fastenings, which makes the structure more stable. Sometimes they are equipped with a special mesh. As a rule, such a tray has two corner sides higher than the side located at the front. This makes the toilet convenient for smaller individuals.Even a small rabbit can easily climb inside through the low side. The disadvantage of a triangular tray is that it is convenient to place it only in a corner.
- Rectangular trays are quite popular among rabbit lovers. They are very stable. They are convenient to place anywhere in the cage or room. They have low sides, which makes them convenient for your rabbit to use the toilet.
Considering that rabbit stool is quite caustic, you should not choose metal products for them. They oxidize quite quickly and become unusable.
The filler is of great importance. It is selected individually. This can be in granular form, sawdust, or plain newsprint. You cannot use the same materials to fill the tray that are used in the cage as bedding.
Selecting a location
When choosing a place to place the pot, you need to observe the animal for several days. As a rule, they relieve themselves in one place. The tray is placed where the pet does it most often. In cage conditions, most often they place one container for the rabbit’s needs. If the animal lives in a room or walks around it for a long time and often, then in this case you can place two toilets in convenient places.
Step-by-step instructions for toilet training
Potty training a indoor rabbit is not difficult, but the process will require patience and some time. When purchasing a baby rabbit from a breeder, take a closer look at where the rabbit litter box is located. This will help in choosing a location for the litter box in your home. The following step-by-step instructions will make your actions correct:
- The purchased animal must be tamed.It should not be afraid of human hands and voices.
- Take a closer look at the places where the rabbit defecates most often. Place a tray or trays there.
- Place containers for the toilet both in the cage and in the apartment where the animal will walk.
- As soon as the rabbit relieves itself, transfer a small amount of its excrement to the tray.
- After that, put your pet in it.
- Repeat the procedure several times. After several such landings, the rabbit will understand where to relieve itself.
- If the pet does not want to do its business in the tray, it should be encouraged with treats and affection after each successful case.
To prevent a dirty toilet from scaring away the animal, it needs to be cleaned once a day, but this should not be done right away. Rabbits sometimes eat droppings, which contain enzymes necessary for digestion. A young animal will potty train faster if it is fed at the same time and the tray is placed not very far from the feeder. After developing the necessary skill, the toilet can be moved further away.
If the animal walks around the room, it needs to be transferred to the tray several times during the walk.
Prohibited tricks
Not all rabbits quickly become litter trained. When the animal has done its business in the wrong place, you can talk to it in a stern tone if this happened before your eyes. If a lot of time has passed between the incident and its discovery, then talking and shouting does not matter. The pet will not understand why he is being scolded, since rabbits have no association between passing their natural needs by the potty and your dissatisfaction with his behavior. He may be completely frightened by a loud scream.
If the animal continues to relieve itself wherever necessary, it should not be poked with its nose in puddles and droppings. This will not lead to a positive result.The very last thing to do is to use physical force on the rabbit and beat it. This will intimidate the pet and cause retaliatory aggression. In some cases, punishment can cause injury.
Why did a trained rabbit stop going to the litter box?
One of the reasons for refusal to go to the litter box lies in the sexual behavior of the animal. Once a pet has matured, the desire to mark territory is its normal state. This is especially true for uncastrated rabbits. If you do not plan to use the animal for breeding, it is better to castrate it. A castrated rabbit rarely marks its territory with urine or droppings; usually it is enough for it to rub its muzzle on objects for this purpose.
Sometimes the cause of toilet behavior disorder is other people visiting your apartment. After such an event, the rabbit tries to mark with its feces all the places where guests walked or sat. The appearance of a new animal, even if it is not a rabbit, can also provoke your pet to relieve itself everywhere but in the litter box.
Problems that may arise
Problems with toilet behavior may arise if the animal changes its owner and (or) place of residence. He needs time to get over the stress. When an animal is bothered by parasites, diseases of the genitourinary and digestive systems, problems may arise with toilet training. In this case, it is advisable to show the rabbit to a veterinarian.
