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Why does my rabbit refuse to use the wood chips toilet?
We ran out of hay, so as the pet store close to our house, will get some soon so we are using what's left of it for meals and replaced the toilet floor with wood chips.
But my rabbit got violent about using it. Actually, he peed right next to it on the floor!
We tempted him with carrots and rabbits' treats. He goes around the letter box. I lifted him to it and patted him in there but he jumps off. He freaks out for no reason. The box is new, wood chips are used for the first time as flooring.
WHY? And WHAT can i do to make it use the letter box?
2 Answers
- defend libertyLv 78 years agoFavorite Answer
Don't force it. Those look like pine shavings. Pine (& cedar) emit toxic phenols that are harmful to a rabbit's respiratory system. Unless it's aspen, remove it. You'd be better off trying shredded newspaper until you get the hay.
If you have to drive a little farther to get hay, then do so. Hay is just so essential for a bunny. It was, at least, a good idea to be sure he would have enough hay to eat until you get more, so I understand why you put something else down for litter. Hopefully, you can get some hay today.
But if bunny had good litter habits and you suddenly switched the type of litter in his box, don't blame him. It really isn't fair to expect him to accept the new stuff. It might've worked if you had put some of the soiled old stuff in with the new, but it's too late for that now. He's just rebelling and rightly so. Just get the hay and you won't have to worry about it.
I would like to offer a couple suggestions that will help prevent this in the future. One is to not use hay exclusively in his litter box. It doesn't absorb the odor well anyway. Use the hay on top of an odor absorbing litter (like Yesterdays News unscented litter or wood pellets). Then, if your hay runs low, there is still litter to absorb the urine.
Second suggestion would be to consider finding a feed store that sells timothy (or other grass hay) by the bale or by the half-bale. You won't believe how much cheaper it is to get it this way. I am overly generous with my hay for my 2 rabbits -- they eat loads of it and I use it to top their litter box. Since I buy hay by the bale, I spend about $25 PER YEAR on hay!
Source(s): http://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/ - ?Lv 68 years ago
The wood chips probably smell and feel real strange to him. Being he has not used it yet, put some of his droppings (poo) in the litter box, don't give up, hopefully he will get the idea with his scent there. When he jumps in or out the wood chips scatter and make a noise and that startles him. See if you can contact a breeder or pet store for other safe things to use instead of the chips. Good Luck!
