How to potty train a rabbit at home and what not to do

Modern animal lovers are increasingly adopting rabbits as pets. These cute and intelligent animals are suitable for keeping 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 properly, to maintain cleanliness in his cage. Not all people know how to teach a rabbit to a tray to make it easier to clean up after him.

The right age for learning

You can teach a decorative rabbit to the toilet from the moment he 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 develop toilet behavior from them.This is due to the fact that young animals of this age are very vulnerable. He can die from the slightest error in care.

To potty train an adult animal is incredibly difficult, almost impossible. Such rabbits have already developed a stereotype of behavior, and they will fulfill their physiological needs wherever they want. When choosing a pet for the home, it is better to opt for rabbits aged 45-60 days. They develop new skills the fastest. It is easy to toilet train animals no older than 3-4 months.

The subtleties of choosing a tray and place

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, the following characteristics are taken into account:

product material must be safe for animals;
it can be easily washed and disinfected;
the size of the container must correspond to the size of an adult animal;
the design of the product should not contain dangerous elements that can injure the animal.

Each shape of rabbit tray has its own advantages:

Triangular trays are convenient to put in the corner of the cage. Very often they have special fasteners, 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 placed in front. This makes the toilet convenient for medium-sized individuals. Even a small rabbit can easily climb in through the low side. The disadvantage of the triangular tray is that it is convenient to place it only in the corner.
Rectangular trays are quite popular with rabbit lovers. They are very stable. They are convenient to put anywhere in the cage or room. They have low sides, which makes them convenient for the rabbit to visit the toilet.

Given that the feces of rabbits are quite caustic, you should not choose metal products for them. They quickly oxidize and become useless.

Important! The tray material must be durable. Otherwise, the animal will be able to damage it with its teeth and try to gnaw it.

Filling matters a lot. It is selected individually. It can be a granular form, sawdust or plain newsprint. Do not use the same materials for filling the tray that are used as bedding in the cage.

Choosing a seat

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 put one container for rabbit needs. If the animal lives in a room or walks around it for a long time and often, then in this case two toilets can be placed in convenient places.

Step by step toilet training guide

Potty training a rabbit at home is easy, but the process will take patience and some time. When purchasing a rabbit from a breeder, take a closer look at where he has a rabbit toilet. This will help in choosing a location for the tray in your home. The following step-by-step instructions will make your actions correct:

Acquired 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. Put a tray or trays there.
Place toilet containers both in the cage and in the apartment where the animal will walk.
As soon as the rabbit has passed a pee, move a small amount of his feces to the tray.
After that, put your pet in it.
Repeat this several times. After a few such landings, the rabbit will understand where to relieve himself.
If the pet does not want to do his business in the tray, he should be encouraged with treats and affection after each successful occasion.

So that the dirty toilet does not scare away the animal, it must be cleaned once a day, but this should not be done immediately. Rabbits sometimes eat droppings, which contain enzymes necessary for digestion. A young animal will learn to potty faster if it is fed at the same time, and the tray is placed not too far from the feeder. After developing the desired skill, the toilet can be moved further away.

If the animal walks around the room, it needs to be transplanted into the tray several times during the walk.

Forbidden moves

Not all rabbits are quick to litter box. When the animal has done its business in the wrong place, you can talk to it in a strict tone if it happened in front of your eyes. If a lot of time has passed between the incident and its discovery, then the conversation and shouting do not matter.The pet will not understand why he is scolded, since the rabbits have no association between the administration of natural needs past the pot and your dissatisfaction with his behavior. He may even be frightened by a loud cry.

If the animal continues to defecate where it is necessary, it should not be poked with its nose into puddles and droppings. This will not lead to a positive result. The very last thing is to apply physical force to the rabbit and beat him. This will intimidate the pet, cause retaliatory aggression. In some cases, punishment can cause injury.

Why the trained rabbit stopped going to the tray

One of the reasons for refusal to go to the tray lies in the sexual behavior of the animal. As soon as the pet has matured, the desire to mark the territory is its normal state. This is especially true of uncastrated rabbits. If it is not planned to use the animal in breeding work, it is better to castrate it.A castrated rabbit rarely marks its territory with urine or droppings, usually rubbing its muzzle against objects is enough 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 his feces all the places where the guests walked or sat. The arrival of a new animal, even if it's not a rabbit, can also provoke your pet to pee everywhere but in the litter box.

Problems that may arise

Problems with toilet behavior may arise if the animal has changed its owner and (or) place of residence. He needs time to get out of 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 take the rabbit to the veterinarian.