Serious behavioural changes in BOTH rabbits.....

Hello everyone!
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A while back i posted about my two rabbits, bambi and skipper. I relied heavily on this forum for advice concerning bonding and such and had amazing results! so i've decided to come with another question..

Both bunnies are so happy together, they cuddle all day and groom eachother often as well. i see them playing and they just seem happier overall..

....HOWEVER.. since the bond, they have been pooping EVERYWHERE! they poo and pee in the litterbox, however they also pee and poo everywhere in front of the litter box.... I've taken away ALL the bedding and only put it in the litter box, still they just kick out the litter and continue to do their business all over the dog crate which their litter box is in.... FURTHERMORE.. I have dramatically increased their space, as the bond is about 8 weeks in. They were in a 48" dog crate together with daily run time which varies depending on my work schedule.. Now i have moved them out into my living room where they have much more interaction with the family (they were in my bedroom before), They have the dog crate (which i removed the door from) a large pen, and a purple two level cage all connected for them to run all over, its probably about a twelve square feet enclosure all together.

They choose to squish together on the second level of the cage ALL DAY ... i rarely see them run around, move, eat, do ANYTHING! my mom (who is up early in the morning) says she sees them running around and i have nothing to worry about, but i KNOW they used to play and do things during the day before....... i want to know why they stopped obviously i know they do sleep and like to chill out during the day and they are most active at night and morning but.... i can definitely tell their activity level has changed, i added toys and tunnels and things and no reactions!!

any advice? ... i feel like i've tried everything

It sounds like they're marking their territory with the poo, being in a new place with a new bunny. How long have they been there? It might stop in time, otherwise I'm sure people will come up with helpful solutions.

Awesome job with the extra space though.
I think them snuggling together for most of the day is just another sign of happiness. My buns stay in one place for most of the day and are much more active at night, which is normal. Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk which is why your mum will see them when she's awake early. :wave:

they've been out in the living room for about a week. and they also seem to want to move the litter box to anywhere BUT where i put it.

Jenova said:

It sounds like they're marking their territory with the poo, being in a new place with a new bunny. How long have they been there? It might stop in time, otherwise I'm sure people will come up with helpful solutions.

Awesome job with the extra space though.
I think them snuggling together for most of the day is just another sign of happiness. My buns stay in one place for most of the day and are much more active at night, which is normal. Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk which is why your mum will see them when she's awake early. :wave:

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definatley this!

mine chill all day but early morning and later at night they 'wake up'
also when my 3 were bonded all their litter training went out of the window for a while.. i was told it is terratorial too. i actually screwed my litter tray to the side of the shed as they were constantly tipping it over.

You might find the pooping settles down, you could try a few extra trays temporarily if it's a bigger space than before.

Activity wise, bonding tends to relax bunnies so you might have to give them more encouragement. Make them work a bit to get their food, swap about their toys etc.

Thanks for the advice everyone! i went out to the local petsmart and bought a giant litter tray that latches onto the sides of the crate, little monkies figured out how to detach it in about five minutes!! jeez. i went in today and cleaned up all the extra poop, put it all back into the litter tray, and then sprayed the whole area with this special "bunny pee" spray deodorizer... lets see if it works!

Our rabbits wee just in (or occasionally next to) the tray, but they do poop all over the place - I think they're marking their territory in relation to the humans. They're making sure everything they own smells of rabbit, even though they're neutered. We sweep up once a day to keep the room vaguely habitable for humans - luckily the poo is dry and not smelly for us.

You say they're not active - well, they definitely enjoy re-arranging the furniture, i.e. the litter tray!