Sammy has the floor

[RabbitPam]

After being so very pleased with my cotton sheet across an area rug solution to Sammy’s xpen 4’x4′ habitat, it turns out the sheet is, well, Too Smooth. Like tiles, or smooth wooden floors, it has caused her to have a boo-boo (medical term for inactive and healing sore on one hock) on her back foot. Seems without her running around in carpeted rooms and halls – her idea to limit herself to her habitat – she isn’t getting a rough enough surface to keep the soles of her feet healthy. So, my vet prescribed a 3 part treatment:

1. She did a laser procedure on her foot which was wicked cool. I work there p/t lately, so she let me bring in Sammy to learn to use the new gadget. I watched wearing goggles, Sammy’s eyes were covered with a towel and my doc lasered her sore foot and the other one just for good measure.

2. Boo boo cream (that’s the generic) that I am applying twice a day, after catching her. She was great the first week. Now she’s had enough and is not the new cooperative girl I was getting used to.

3. My reason for posting in Habitats: get a new floor. Preferably a slightly textured surface, ie. seagrass mattes. So with BB’s help I just stocked up on a half dozen rectangular mattes and they will overlap a bit to cover a 4×4 area. I also got soft beds for sleeping on.

 Which brings me to my quest for tips:

I have bought sisal rope to tie these mattes together to make one large, flat floor cover. I am thinking that I will punch holes in each matte where they overlap, and tie them together. Sisel is edible, as are the mattes, but if they were not anchored they will slip off the area rug they need to be on underneath and she will be on exposed rug (bad to nibble).Am I nuts to come up with this solution? I considered velcro, but it won’t stick to the rug. I ruled out staples, and ruled out duct tapeing the bottom of the mattes together since she could still pull them up and chew on tape.

So, if anyone has created something similar, or has a better idea, or can tweak my idea, or just generally can offer encouragement at this turn of events, I welcome my BB pals’ input. For a treat, here are pix of Herself:

 

The boo boo.                                                      The flop.

[MimzMum]

Aww…the poor wee mite. That looks painful.
I wonder, can you attach one end of the mattes to the side of her pen with a few zip ties? At least enough to steady it? Or does she go at speeds that could cause the mattes to shift and pull down the pen?

I may not be properly getting the whole picture here but didn’t want to read and run.
Did you and Herself have a Happy Hanukkah?

[RabbitPam]

Hi, MM, That’s a pretty good idea. I got the sisal and will attempt to connect the interior edges of the mattes (just a tie here and there at corners to start), but that would hold the whole pile in place.

Yes, we had a very nice Hanukkah. We lit our candles on the counter in her area, so she dined in the evening by candlelight. Our greatest present last week was that my brother, who was being treated for an illness, was fully recovered. As in ‘blood test showed fine’ kind of recovered. So that day we all breathed easier.

How are you feeling up there? What’s going on with you and the rest of the gang?

[jerseygirl]

That’s great news about your brother.

RP, you weren’t tempted to let the vet trial the laser on you? Got any tattoos you’ve always regretted? :p It sounds interesting, does it seal the wound? What else do they use it for?

Only things I can think might work is 1) double sided carpet tape or 2) that rubber anti-slip matting normally used underneath rugs.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I must’ve missed it, why isn’t she running around the house anymore? Is she ok?

[Sarita]

Well if it fits snuggly then you may not need to put any kind of anchor for it.

[peppypoo]

If you can tie the matts together, would it be possible to very loosely pass a few large stitches through the matts and the rug as well to secure the matt to the rug? I hope that doesn’t sound crazy! Sew the matts to the rug, essentially, just anchoring a few points.

Very interesting about the laser! Do you know what it did exactly?

[RabbitPam]

Here’s the finished result as of this morning. 

The mattes are tied at 2 corners to each other, with 4 attached together after that. I shoved sisal strands through

the weave (used Dad’s awl to make an opening) and triple-knotted the strands underneath. She could chew them, but they are few and fairly smooth across the mattes. 4 are placed on top of the rug (better, lower pile than I’d remembered) and not anchored to it. The other 2 are slipped under the 4 for the overlap, and comes past the edge of the xpen. I put her blankie fabric (green) beneath her basket and tent, which she is laying on. She has walked on the mattes so far normally, but is staying under her basket for her daily nap. So far no particular notice (nor complaints, ie. peeing, chewing, pulling, redecorating) by Sammy. It looks better than I’d hoped, and went down more smoothly than I’d thought so also. What a pain to attach with the sisal! I’m hoping the weight of the stuff will keep it stationary at least until she starts experimenting with the edges.

[RabbitPam]

Oh, sorry. About the lasar. It’s really cool. My vet got it a few months ago and is using it to treat a variety of ailments. It did not close the wound, but is said to speed up healing significantly – though I didn’t see a dramatic visible difference in 48 hours. However, it is supposed to ease pain considerably, and is being used for arthritis with some noticeable success my vet reports. (On other patients.) No anesthesia required, just all eyes covered because it’s higher than the visible range if you look right at it. (Like an eclipse maybe?)
The site is http://www.companiontherapy.com.

Me? Tattoo removal? That would imply that I had the guts to get one. I’m the character in the movie that gets one dot and runs out screaming from the imagined pain LOL.

Sam&Lady’s – my bunny has not come out of her xpen since we moved in with my parent’s last Spring. She hates walking on tile. I worry about her not getting exercise, but she has clearly been very happy here, so gets enough to keep her seeming quite healthy. I do carry her now and then into the dining room where she runs on a large area rug under the table.

[Sarita]

I’ve used laser treatment on arthritis as well for my rabbits – it’s so cool!

[MimzMum]

Ah, THOSE sea grass mats. Lol…for some reason I was thinking of the heavier mats that BB sells. Silly me, those would be to rough on her wee feet. But it looks really good and I hope Sammy will not mess with your handiwork.

I’m glad to hear that your brother has a clean bill of health. I’m sorry I didn’t realize there was this worry in your family. (((((((Hugs)))))))))

I have far too much upheaval going on in my life to post here, most of it personal. But Mimzy is plugging away, little soldier that he is, however I don’t know how much longer for. He is probably in need of a dental and has been worrying his down ear for a few days. Our weather is such that driving him in is currently impossible. As soon as it eases up though I need to try and get him in for a recheck, but I don’t know when that will be.
The other buns are okay but not enjoying the higher heat in the house. I already can’t wait for spring and winter hasn’t officially started yet!
Jenna also got a wee bit of frostbite on her thigh. It has me concerned because two weeks past and it’s not healed yet.
It’s going to be a blue xmas.

[RabbitPam]

Those are also sold by BB. She got a new shipment of the xtra large in just as I needed them. (Hopefully I didn’t snarf them all up.)

I’m sorry things are not going well for you, MM. Drop me an email?
Sending all of you big Xmas {{{{{{{{{{{{{Healing Hugs}}}}}}}}}.

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