I have been waiting eagerly for someone to reply on litter box training for
several days now.  The writer sounded concerned and rather desperate.  God
is laughing for me responding to this one, but this is what I do:
 
First:All my guys but Wolf go in cages at night.  In the morning, my radio
goes off and plays rather loud music.  I turn on the lights, remove the
blankets over the cages, and nudge the deaf guys awake, and turn on the
heat for about 20 minutes.  Then I rearrange their toys, boxes, blankets,
slide, tent, rolled carpets and tubes in the family room every morning so
they will be greeted with a whole new play area, eat my breakfast, fix and
heat up their formula, turn off the heat, and THEN I let them out.
 
Now they have had noise, light, warmth,my voice, and the smell of breakfast
to wake them up, and time for all of them to poop in their litter box.  I
now have 2 1/2 to 3 hours before they poop again.  By then, they are back
in their cages and I am off to work.Yes, it means waking up 3 hours before
I leave for work.  But I didn't get these guys just so I could ignore them.
We spend at least an hour together playing every morning.  They continue
playing while I clean cages and syringe feed the sickies.
 
Secondly, I know that when i see green slime poops, black tar, or bloody
poops--THIS is not the time to think about getting a second smaller cage
so I can isolate the sick guy.Time is critical when you see these poops.
Get a small cage now.  Each fert gets a turn in it.  It is only big enough
for litter, food and water, and place to sleep.  They never poop on their
bedding.  If fert is sick, he won't flip out going in a strange small cage.
And bathroom manners are reinforced.!!!  I let other ferts out of big cages
first.  Many times they run over to small cage and try to all pile in to
get fert in there before running into family room together.
 
At night, I make noise, get my dinner, remove their blankets over cages:
same thing I do in morning.  If 20 minutes is not enough, wait 30.
 
I get piled with poop when I feel sorry for them and let them out all day.
The longer I let mine out, the worse their litter manners are.
 
My first three were trained consistently and well.  But after they had
green slime for six months, and then when I brought home other
unfortunates: the habits got worse and worse.  It only takes one trouble
maker to lead the others astray.
 
I would start doing these things before the baby comes, so ferts won't
blame changes on baby and get jealous.[Writer was going to have a baby.]
And I clean out all my litter boxes twice a day.  I have 17.  All pans
are emptied totally and disinfected at least once every 10 days.No self
respecting fert wants to poop in a stinky box.[Especially when they can
poop right in front of it.]
 
You can stop laughing now God.  I'm done,
Lisette
[Posted in FML issue 2674]