Litter Box Training for Small Animals
Teach Rabbits, Ferrets and Guinea Pigs to Use a Litter Box
Sep 26, 2009
When people think of a litter box, cats usually come to mind. But many small animal pets can also be trained to go to the litter box, too. A cleaner cage and home mean a happier animal and owner. Here are some tips to make litter training easy on both owner and pet.
Arrange the Cage to Encourage Litter Box Use
Training small animals to use a litter box is usually pretty easy if the box is located in a specific section of their cage. Animals such as rabbits and ferrets tend to always choose to eliminate in a corner. They instinctively will not go to the bathroom where they eat, sleep or drink. Owners can take advantage of these natural instincts by arranging the cage to have food in one corner, water in a second, and a pet bed or bedding in the third corner. The fourth corner is for the litter box, which encourages the pet to use it.
It's a good idea to note whether the pet typically goes in one particular corner already and choose that as the "litter box corner" to make the transition easier on everyone.
Pet owners trying to litter box train their small animals should also scoop up a small bit of droppings to put in the box to seed it. When the pet smells its droppings in the box, it will recognize the scent and choose to use the same place the next time it needs to go.
Liberty Train Pets to Use Litter
Liberty training, used with larger animals such as rabbits and ferrets, teaches the pet to return to its cage whenever it needs to use the litter box. Liberty training works by watching the animal and moving it to the litter box whenever it tries to go anywhere else.
Owners should watch their pet for signs of elimination, such as when the pet backs into a place or squats. The owner then quickly moves the pet back to the litter pan, helping the animal associate the box with using the bathroom.
Alternately, owners can watch the pet for a while before letting it out of its cage to play, waiting until it has used the litter box inside the cage before releasing the animal. This trains the pet to see using the box as a means to the reward of being let out to have fun. The best time to try this kind of training is when the animal first wakes up, since that’s when the animal is most likely to go to the bathroom.
Liberty training takes longer than basic in-cage training, and consistency and repetition are key to making it work.
Choosing Litter for Small Animals
For a pet learning to use a litter box, owners can look into specific litters designed for these small critters. These litters are not like the clay based or clumping litters for cats, which can be dangerous for smaller pets, but are digestible litters.
Critter Litter, made by Super Pet, is one example of a small animal litter. It is made of bentonite, a natural type of clay material, and was created with small animals in mind. Particles are the size of a large pebble, so it is safe for small animals and doesn’t tend to stick to their fur.
Marshall Pet Products makes a highly absorbent compressed recycled paper litter marketed to ferret owners and designed to be used in a litter pan in a corner of the animal’s cage. The litter could also be used for rabbits or other small animals, even though it was designed with the ferret owner in mind.
Manufacturers also make corner litter boxes that are sloped in the back and fit in a corner of the animal's cage. Aim for a litter box that is not too large. Less than 1/3 the size of the cage is ideal.
With litter box and liberty training, any owner can make his pet a litter box pro, making life with a small animal much more enjoyable.
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