Cage lining?

[Kits_Lucky]

Hey everyone,

We recently got Kits a 12 week old english (with a bit of lop) and are trying to litter train her. I know shes young and hasn’t been spayed yet so it’s early days but Im curious as to what the best material to line her cage/use as litter is?

She has one of these plastic bottomed wire top cages and at the moment im using wood shavings to line it with hay as bedding and a bit of both in the litter tray, but it’s occured to me that this might be confusing her and is the reason she just piddles anywhere! and after what i’ve been reading im not sure I even should be using wood shavings?!

I’d appreciate any tips you guys have?

should i just be putting the hay everywhere and something else in the litter box?

 

Thanks,

Ally & Kits

[Monkeybun]

If it is pine or cedar shavings, definitely stop as it is harmful to bunnies.

You really only need to have anything int he litterbox, anything anywhere else will confuse her. If you want something soft for her to lay on, pick up some fleece at a fabric store, its bunny safe if she nibbles it as it doesn’t have long strands that can cause issues.

[Stickerbunny]

Pine shavings are not good to use with bunnies, as it can give them respiratory issues. Aspen shavings would be OK. You shouldn’t be using any litter or lining for the CAGE just for the litter box. It confuses them with material all over the place – it basically is saying “this whole area is one big litter box!”. So take all the bedding out and put litter just in the box, then clean as she has accidents and put the stray poops and urine soaked paper towels into the litter box so it smells like her toilet. Clean the plastic bottom with vinegar / water to descent it. Eventually she’ll figure it out. And hay should go either in a rack near the box or in the box too, cause most bunnies like to eat and poop at the same time.

The plastic bottom is fine, for now. Once she’s trained you can put a fleece blanket or something down to soften the bottom for her (make it an option, some buns prefer the hard surfaces) but for now, you don’t want absorbent materials anywhere but her box.

[KytKattin]

Yes, wood shavings are bad. I personally use wood stove pellets, though certain paper cat litters are fine, such as Yesterdays News.

She is likely confused by all the bedding. How big is her litter tray? That might also be a problem if it is one of those tiny corner ones.

You only need litter in the litterbox. Since she is not on wire, you don’t need to cover the entire bottom of the cage. I will get a picture of how I have mine set up. Keep in mind that my bunny does not spend very much time in this cage as it is much too small.

[KytKattin]

Here is Nova’s cage. Sorry for the dirty litterbox, it is cleaning day!

[Kits_Lucky]

Great advice thanks for your help everyone. Im giving it a go atm and it’s looking promising!

I was worried that the plastic would be too hard for her, but she has a blanket to lie on and we’ll put down some fleece once shes more trained.

Ally

[peppypoo]

Welcome to the forums!

A lot of new bunny owners tend to be concerned about their bunnies having something nice and soft to lay on, but frankly, I’ve found that my bunnies actually scoot towels and fleece out of the way and prefer to lay on hard flat surfaces (or their litter boxes), silly things. Like you said, the shavings on the bottom do tend to be kind of confusing for a bun learning to use the litter box.

As for litter, wood shavings not only can be harmful to the bunny (depending on the type of wood used), but really aren’t the best in terms of absorption and ease of cleaning. Some popular litter brands that many members here use are Carefresh (a paper product) or Yesterday’s News (the cat kind, non-clumping and unscented). Personally I find that the easiest and most inexpensive option is wood stove pellets, which is sometimes sold as horse stall bedding.

[Pandorachik]

I used to use ‘Hartz absorbant Cage Liners’ I bought then at walmart for 30 liners for 5 dollars (?)

[KytKattin]

Yeah, seriously don’t worry about her having something soft to lay on. Nova prefers a cardboard box to a soft, plush dog bed. Wire is definitely too hard for a rabbits feet, but as long as the surface is solid you should be just fine.

[bellemarie]

Carefresh works for me! They have a store brand, too, so it’s cheap!

[Mr.Buck]

You guys post about wood stove pellets – can someone who lives in the US post a picture of the bag? I can’t find them..

[Elrohwen]

MrBuck, it’s easiest to find them if you go to a local feed store and just ask an employee. The bags are heavy so they’re usually not on the shelves and must be picked up from the dock. There are also different brands in different parts of the country – I get Hamer.

[Mr.Buck]

When I went to the local one – they just showed me shavings. And had no idea what I was talking about.

[Elrohwen]

Do you live somewhere that is warm year round? Warm climates are less likely to stock wood stove pellets. If you’re in a climate where people would actually use them, I’d just try a different store.

[Stickerbunny]

Were you asking for litter? WSP are used for wood burning stoves – not litter. There is also WSP horse stall bedding. You have to know what type of product you are looking for, cause the store employees won’t know. The litter WSP is Feline Pine, but it is about $10 a bag over priced for being marketed to pets. Make sure if you do find it to get the kind WITHOUT any chemicals in it (if you go for the wood burning stove ones). So ask for the wood burning pellets, or horse stall bedding is probably your best bet for finding them at a feed store.

[Mr.Buck]

Thanks Stickerbunny! Elrohwen – I live in Illinois – so no we have all 4 seasons all the time, We’ve already experienced 60 degree wheather this year! It’s been crazy though. I don’t remember what I specifically asked for though so I’ll try calling to see if they do. I thought for sure they would, but he just pointed to shavings. Glad that I know what to ask specifically now.
Thanks guys – right now he’s got something that’s like tight paper pellets and they work great – but if there’s something that is better I’d like to try it. He sometimes jumps out and splashes. But I also like the litter box with the guard on it, might go look for one of those.

I love BB – such a great site with so much help!

[Elrohwen]

In my experience the paper pellets and WSP work about the same, but the wood stove pellets are soooo much cheaper.

[KytKattin]

I typically buy my WSP at Lowes or Home Depot. They stock them at Osh year round. If you go to a store like that they should know what you are asking for.

[Stickerbunny]

WSP are a little bit better at keeping the smell away, as they have their own scent to them when they break up, whereas the paper has none so absorbs the smell of urine really easily. The boxes when I used WSP smelled fresher much longer than now that I use Yesterdays News, but Powder won’t accept WSP for any reason (picky bun!), so I have to use the paper for mine. Both are pretty good though. And WSP are cheaper, as Elroh said.

[Mr.Buck]

Sounds good – price is always at least a little factor, I find that I only need to really change the litter once a week and even then it isn’t bad for our 1 bun but if WSP smells better, is more liked and stays in the box more it wins. I really like trying new things especially with animals just to figure out their favorite – not too many times that it confuses them but enough to know what they like.
He doesn’t really hang out in his box too much though so that’s not really a problem! He’s idk what it’s called but I say calico and I refuse to let his hocks turn yellow.
They’re white and bright so I’m happy.

[Elrohwen]

Sounds like he’s harlequin in color, or tri-colored (harlequin patches on a white background). You should start a thread with pics if you haven’t already – we always love to see new bunny faces.

[Mr.Buck]

deff not harlequin – gotta be tri-colored. Sounds dumb but I only got him because of his coloring. haha. I’ll try to get pics on here it’s just kinda hard sometimes because I’m usually on here through my nook and dnt have pics on there. Got a really cute picture of him while I was in the bathtub Saturday sitting up on his legs looking at me like “whatcha doin?”

[mvr168]

Hello everyone. I am getting two 7 week old bunnies this week. A holland lop and a mini rex. I just want to make sure for litter that this product in my local hardware store is safe? Also want if they ingest it? I haven’t owned a bunny since I was 9 so I am nervous I will do the wrong thing and make it sick

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Heating-Ventilation-Cooling-Home-Comfort/Heating/Stove-Fireplace-Supp/Fuel/40lb-Regular-Wood-Pellets/_/N-ntimd/R-I5515114?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIx92bqNeT1QIVT5N-Ch3OUA9BEAAYAiAAEgKEnPD_BwE

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hi and welcome to BB! We ask that members please not respond to old threads (this one is from 2012) as it can cause confusion.

I will answer your question as best I can. Wood pellets are fine as long as there are no added chemicals. Pine is okay but I’m actually not sure about spruce. There may be other members familiar with this particular brand. Please make a new thread with your question and you will get more answers and more attention to your post. Thanks.

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