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Forum DIET & CARE Bunny eats EVERY bedding/litter I’ve tried

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    • motherofdragons
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        I’ve tried wood shavings, she ate them but I stopped using it anyway because I’ve read it’s bad in general, she has ate hemp, she has ate carefresh, and the new bedding I’ve just bought is an equinola type bedding that has a lemon scented tea tree oil and has something specifically to stop animals from eating it and she is eating it.. only thing she doesn’t eat is fleece blankets/towels but pees all over them and doesn’t pee in a litter tray when I have fleece in the cage. Would love to know if any of these beddings mentioned are safe to eat, or is there any bedding out there that I can buy that I don’t need to worry about her eating? ANY advice would be appreciated, thanks  


      • Lily
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          Since you said you don’t have problems with fleece I think you should check out fleece liners, they are often sold for guinea pigs but you can see them yourself too if your able too


        • Wick & Fable
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            If you intend to use the bedding as litter, I’d suggest going with whatever works best for absorption, then place a fitted plastic mesh on top so your rabbit cannot get to the litter. I use small paper granule by Kaytee, and a 7count plastic mesh on top. I cut the mesh (regular scissors do it easily) soit fits perfectly in the litter boxes. The granules are small so they work as a good foundation for stepping on and esting.

            If you want to use the bedding as actual bedding, I think using the fleece blankets is still the best bet both environmentally and hassle-wise. You could just remove it entirely until your bun has improved litter habits!

            The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


          • DesertBunny
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              Could you use hay? I use newspaper that I shred. He eats some of it but nothing excessive. Hay would be good because it would encourage nibbling. Aspen bark? That is supposed to be rabbit safe as well.


            • tobyluv
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                You can use hay. You can also use straw. If it’s fresh straw it would be safe if nibbled, it just wouldn’t contain the nutrients that hay has, and probably has very little flavor so rabbits wouldn’t want to eat it that much. You can use aspen pellets, one brand is Aspen Supreme, which is what I use. That’s sold at Petco. You can also use aspen shavings. Have you tried pine pellets, such as Feline Pine?


              • DesertBunny
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                  Pine is a No No for rabbits! Or so I have always been told!

                  http://www.rabbit.org/care/shavings.html


                • motherofdragons
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                    I’ll look into fleece liners! And if I tried mesh how would I secure it, or would I just cut it and place it on top of the bedding, think she would pull it through though? And can I use hay just on it’s on? I feel like she would eat it even if she pee’d on it lol. I’ll look into straw as well! And no I haven’t tried pellets yet. Thanks everyone for the suggestions!x


                  • Paige
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                      Desert Bunny
                      Pine shavings are not safe since they are not compressed like pellets so they release dangerous gases(oils?). Pine pellets are fine as well as untreated pine wood that people use to make their bunny condos with. Thanks for the article on shavings though.


                    • Azerane
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                        Pine in a pelleted form are safe because they are kiln dried. Apollo used to eat the previous litter I was on when I adopted him, I use wood pellets (pine ones) for them now and while he did sample one or two (which is safe) after he tried those ones he never showed an interest in eating it again. So wood pellets are a good option, otherwise a grate over the litter tray is a good solution that allows you to use any kind of litter that you like.


                      • Wick & Fable
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                          Here are some photos! Wick has never been a digger or chewer, so I can’t attest to it staying, but it seems like if it’s covering the entire box (like below), it’d be a bit difficult to pull it up and eat it. I cut the corners to be diagonal for the rounded litter box, but you can get more exact if needed. Again, it’s really easy to cut with scissors and it’s a smooth cut as well; no sharp edges at all! I also save the scraps because it you cut a singular thread off it, you can use it as string to tie the mesh onto a cage wall or something.

                          The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


                        • motherofdragons
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                            Posted By Wick on 4/12/2017 7:48 PM

                            Here are some photos! Wick has never been a digger or chewer, so I can’t attest to it staying, but it seems like if it’s covering the entire box (like below), it’d be a bit difficult to pull it up and eat it. I cut the corners to be diagonal for the rounded litter box, but you can get more exact if needed. Again, it’s really easy to cut with scissors and it’s a smooth cut as well; no sharp edges at all! I also save the scraps because it you cut a singular thread off it, you can use it as string to tie the mesh onto a cage wall or something.

                            That looks brilliant! Where do you buy it from? Had a search on ebay but nothing that looks that great is coming up, thanks for the idea, I’ll deffs do some googling to try and find a suitable mesh! 


                          • motherofdragons
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                              Found it!  What kind of count do you buy? I’m seeing a lot of 14 count but would that be too small?


                            • Wick & Fable
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                                I use 7count. I think 14count wouldn’t be large enough to provide ventilation and adequate urine drainage. It’s “plastic knitting mesh” officially; it’s used by Knitters, so if you look at some craft stores or fabric stores, you may find it! I got mine from Amazon in a pack of 12, so I have a bunch just in case one gets super soiled and I’m lazy to wipe it, or if I cut one too small, I have more to work with.

                                The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


                              • Wick & Fable
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                                  This is what I ordered: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KHB1178/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

                                  There’s different colors and such. I got the one that matched Wick’s litter, plus it’s light so I can see when it needs a wipe.

                                  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


                                • motherofdragons
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                                    Ah okay cool I’ll go with the 7 count then, thanks for your help feel so much less stressed out about it all now! Hopefully she actually pees on it 


                                  • Sam
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                                      I’m delving into the fleece bedding craze after reading a whole bunch about it on some guinea pig sites! What I plan to do is lay down a base of towels or mattress protectors (something absorbent) and then place (washed) fleece over it, and secure it in place by putting bricks at each corner. It’s important to wash the fleece in cold water with NO fabric softener (plain detergent or vinegar only) several times in order to strip away the waterproof coating on the fleece so that urine will pass through onto the absorbent layer below, leaving your bun’s bum dry! You can sew the fleece to the absorbent under layer as well for easy removal for cleaning .

                                      As for safe bedding, I used to use kiln-dried wood stove pellets for my old rabbit, she seemed to like them and they were super absorbent. I use to put a layer of carefresh over it for extra fluffy softness but since yours eats it, well, maybe nix that. There’s also this cat litter called Yesterday’s News that is safe as well. Both can also be used in a litter box in place of litter as they’re super absorbent. Though I love the mesh thing Wick suggested and may be using that for my current rabbit’s litterbox on top of the wood pellets


                                    • motherofdragons
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                                        Yeah it saves a bunch of money using fleece and towels so it’s brilliant that way, my rabbit would always dig up the fleece and move it around so the cage always looked an absolute mess  Also found the timothy hay attaching itself to the fleece a little annoying as well, but I’m excited to try the mesh 


                                      • Wick & Fable
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                                          In regards to the mesh, the smaller pieces of hay will slip through the squares/gaps on the sides, and sometimes they can stick up, so when you go to change hay, just watch your grip so you don’t accidentally get stabbed by a vertical piece of hay. I set-up new hay so it’s laying flat, so Wick doesn’t get hurt, but honestly he’s much more careful than I am because he meticulously combs through the hay pile for that perfect piece.

                                          A way to possibly alleviate this stabby-hay issue is put a small piece of mesh under the larger one, where you will be placing the hay (if you only place it to the side). This way, the holes still vent just in case your bun pees there, but the holes are smaller so hay won’t slip through as easily. Make sure it’s below the large mesh of course, or else it’ll get pushed around.

                                          The mesh makes cleaning such a breeze….. Poops are very easy to get out, so hourly poop-cleans are so much quicker, and when I want to thoroughly clean it, I simply clear out all the poos, lift the mesh and dump all the hay in my hay bin, then use a scooper to get all the wet litter/dump out all the litter. As I mentioned before, you can also wipe the mesh top every so often so nothing builds up (I haven’t had a problem with that, but I do it preemptively). A solution of water and white vinegar works really well and doesn’t harm your bun!

                                          The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


                                        • Sam
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                                            hmmm I’m almost liking Wick’s mesh set up better, in case Hobbes tries to dig up the fleece or if the hay sticking to it is too much of a hassle for my mom to clean (he’s her bunny, but I help care for him when I’m home from uni and am in the process of building him a c-and-c cage).

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                                        Forum DIET & CARE Bunny eats EVERY bedding/litter I’ve tried