Absolutely NOT!!!!

Pine and cedar shavings should never be used as bedding or litter box fill for any small animals but particularly for bunnies. The House Rabbit Society sponsored a study in which pine and cedar shavings, which are a soft wood, give off a cancer causing vapor when in contact with urine. Yes, it does take a couple of years of constant exposure for the cancer to develop but why take the chance?

Go to their website
www.rabbit.org
and they have links for all kinds of questions/problems. HRS is the premier experts on having rabbits as pets and they are a moving force in why rabbits are now the 3rd most popular house pet today. The site is free. They have excellent ideas on litter box training as well.

First of all the most important aspect of litter training a bunny is that the animal be spayed or neutered by a rabbit specialist vet. The rabbit vet is especially important because most vets do not take the classes in rabbit care and treatments and medicines that they would give a cat or dog will kill a rabbit. Rabbits are also highly suspectible to having problems with anesthesia, which again is why you need a rabbit specialist vet.

Rabbits are driven crazy by their hormones to reproduce and one of the ways they attract a mate is by pooping and peeing EVERYWHERE. Eliminate the hormones and about 50% of the problem is solved. For litter box fill you want to use a product such as CareFresh or Yesterday's News which is made from recycled paper. There are also litters made from corn cob (but it has no odor or absorption control in it) or there is also a wheat based and aspen based litter as well. (aspen is a hardwood and doesn't have the oil in it which causes all the problems). Cat clay litters especially are bad for rabbits...rabbits are close to the ground and can inhale the clay dust which causes respiratory problems. Worse yet, clumping litter will ball up in their gut and kill them in less than 24 hrs. It is not unusual for rabbits to eat a small amount of litter although no one knows why.

Young rabbits should be neutered at 16 wks of age, (we had a 14 wk old female give birth at the sanctuary) so they are sexually active at a very young age. I also believe that young rabbits, under 1 yr of age, are much like toddlers.....they are much to busy having fun and exploring their world to want to stop and use a litter box so they tend to go whereever they want.....and this is also the point where they end up getting dumped or being abandoned because most people will not tolerate this behavior. However we have found as they mature the bunnies figure out on their own that it's not cool to poop and pee everywhere essentially litter box train themselvers, but there is help and encouragement we can give them along the way.

The first trick is to realize that out of the cage, you DO NOT get to choose where the litterbox goes, the rabbit will. They tend to like corners though which is a plus. It's also advisable to start out with several...maybe 5 litter boxes scattered around any room the rabbit is allowed in. Then you watch and see which one(s) he uses the most and slowly remove the excess boxes as he decides which location is his favorite. And most people find that 2 litter boxes are required per room becuase fickle bunnies like to have a choice. Also another secret is to keep the litter box very clean...if it gets too dirty, they will not use it.

As I said go to the HRS website...they have a treasure trove of information about rabbits. Good luck!