Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Rabbits > Litter training my baby rabbit

Litter training my baby rabbit

22 10:39:45

Question
Hi I got a rabbit about 2 months ago and have had the greatest time with him.
However, he is not litter trained and so it is very annoying to take him out of
his cage because he goes anywhere. from the very beginning, I put his food &
water in his litter box because I was told that rabbits like to eat & eliminate at
the same time, but he goes anywhere anyway. Am i supposed to be doing
something more? Is it a problem with his age? i have no idea how old he is,
except that he hasnt reached puberty, but a couple of days ago he started
rubbing everything with his chin (marking territory?). is it too early or too late
to litter train him? also, he has not been neutered.

Answer
Congratulations on having such a fun time with your bunny!

In terms of his litter habits, it's not too early to get him used to the idea of a litter box.  

Rabbits are like puppies and they have to grow up a little bit before they learn what we want them to do.

However, once a rabbit reaches puberty, any litter training they may have learned often goes away due to territorial marking behavior with urine and poop.

Once he's been neutered, you should see a marked improvement in his litter habits.  

These sites give tips on litter training:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/litter.html
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/litterboxtrain.html
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/training.html

Be patient, keep trying, and he'll get better with it as he ages.