Peeing and pooping around the cage

Question
Hi i just recently got my rabbit and when i bought him he was relatively litter-trained. My main problem till last night was trying to get him to come out of his cage voluntarily so he could exercise. Last night he finally did it, all by himself and i thought everything would be ok. But it almost seems that now he has forgotten his litter-training habits and is just peeing around the cage, which he has never done before; he steps in is own pee too. Is this normal? Do i have to litter-train him all over again? Or is this like a phase that will pass and he'll eventually return to his litterbox? Because even though i'm happy that he finally decided to come out i'm a bit reluctant to let him wander around my room when he's not fully litter-trained (all of a sudden). Thanks(:

Answer
Hi Michelle,

he's just marking territory.  It's not a bathroom issue, its a territory issue.  He's never been in these spaces before, he's just claiming things as his.  Marking also serves to help him identify he's already been there and claimed it.  It's about boundaries and stuff.  Wild rabbits do this, and domestic rabbits do it.  It's part of who they are.

That said, if your rabbit hasn't been neutered yet and he's sexually mature, he'll mark more than a fixed rabbit.  It's because the hormones 'take control' over the personality, to put things broadly.  But even altered rabbits will still mark places they have never been before, especially if other animals' scents are on things and surfaces, they will 'overmark' the other animals' scents.  you probably also saw him chinning a lot of things last night as well, and rabbits have a scent gland under their chin they will rub across items to mark them.

You will have to see that the places he marks the most, may require a litterpan down for him in that/those spots.  Generally they will not excessively mark every single time being out.  they generally tend to find one or two places they always like to mark, and generally they are places that (to them) define a boundary edge of their territory.  Could be a gated off doorway, could be a spot along a gate, could be a corner of a room, etc.  that's where a litterpan goes.  Put a little fresh hay in it every day when they are out to entice them to hop in and eat and mark while munching hay in the box.

So it's not really a litter-training thing, it's being in a new space the first time and setting boundaries by marking.   It will go down and he'll probably just do it in a couple of regular spots and litterpans down in those spots will probably take care of it.  Any other places can be spot cleaned when he's up for the night with som Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution cleaners (very pet safe, can get at pet supply stores).

And also if/when he's neutered this marking will become more 'reliable' in the sense they tend to go in the same places all the time, and those can be easily handled by litterpans in those spots.