new pet bunny

Question
I have two bunnies, one 4 years old and the other 4 months.  The 4 month old is having a very hard time litter training unlike my 4 year old.  She drinks excessively and does not seem to care where she urinates.  I have trained bunnies before and never had this problem.  Also, her stool is very soft which I know is not good but all her other activities are normal.  What is going on and is there something differentI should do?  Thank you for your time.  Chelsea

Answer
Hi Chelsea,

There could be several things happening here.  Is the older rabbit spayed/neutered?  This could be caused by territorial issues.  The younger bunny is attempting to mark her territory.  We have had much better success with litter box training after spaying/neutering.  I suspect this is mainly a territorial issue....and the younger bunny is just beginning to start to enter sexual maturity.  This will most likely result in additional territorial behavior.  I suggest having her spayed when she turns six months. You didn't mention the sex of the other rabbit but sometimes same sex couples are not the easiest to bond....not impossible, just challenging with some individuals.

The soft stool could be the result of stress due to the relationship with the older rabbit, it could be diet related or it could be some intestinal issue like worms or other parasites.  At her age, she should be getting unlimited pellets (high quality of course) as well as unlimited hay and she should still be able to handle all alfalfa.  I would probably start converting her over to a more adult diet (unlimited grass hays and limited pellets)....assuming she is healthy and well conditioned.  Make any diet changes slowly and over a period of several days.  If she is getting any treats, I would remove them.  We have found that most GI issues are diet related.  High fiber diets....lots of hay and limited pellets usually takes care of these issues.  I am concerned over your comment on drinking excessively and her urinating habits.  That can be a sign of a urinary tract infection....or it can also be the signs of a very misunderstood disease known as E Cuniculi.

At this point, I would look closely at her diet first.  If her friend isn't spayed/neutered...that might have an effect here.  And closely monitor her water intake.  If she is getting a proper diet, I would suggest having a rabbit savvy vet check her out.  I would suggest performing a fecal...or at least taking a look under a scope (same with a urine specimen) to see if any parasites or unusual bacteria is present.  If lots of bacteria is found, a full culture.  But I would start looking at diet first.

Randy