Bunny cage smell?

[hvanwyk28]

My mom is complaining about the bunny cage smelling. We clean it often, but she says that if it continues to smell we have to get rid of scruffles. Any suggestions?

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Is it the cage that smells or is it the rabbit?
What do you clean the cage with? How often?
Is your bunny peeing in a pan or all over the cage?
Is it just the hay perhaps that she's smelling? Some people don't like the smell although I think it's fabulous lol.

 

[missyscove]

My rabbit cage smells like hay and that's it. If I can smell the litterbox that means it needs to be changed.

Is your rabbit spayed or neutered? How long have you had Scruffles? Sometimes when rabbits are being territorial they may smell a bit more musky.

 

[HiddlesKenway]

Unfixed males have a tendency to smell like their territory marking urine. Wipe him over with a nappy wipe and when that dries over put dry shampoo and clean his cage, I usually with mine use pine bench top cleaner, urine remover and vinegar and rinse them thoroughly with hot/boiling water (Plastic bottom cages.) If she's still complaining then she's like my dad and just looking for an excuse to complain!

All my rabbits are unaltered and my bucks let off the most foul smell sometimes especially when their cages have been cleaned. The only cage I have that gets dirty faster and needs cleaning more times a week (With my rabbits.) is the cage I have two does in one at four and a half months and the other five and a half months. Just find the source of the smell and fix it and if there isn't anything causing it, she's just complaining to complain like my dad, unfortunately. He's just not the biggest fan of animals at all which probably doesn't make him happy with the lot I have! Over 40+ but most are rabbits and piggies!

 

[hvanwyk28]

Scruffles was recently fixed, so I'm hoping the smell will improve. He is 6 months old. I've had him for about 4 months

 

[hvanwyk28]

It the cage that smelled. We scrub down the cage once a week with a vinegar solution.

 

[hvanwyk28]

He was peeing in two specific spots not in his litter pan. I am working on litter training now that he is fixed

 

[HiddlesKenway]

Try putting trays in both spots he uses if he doesn't get that's what the toilet looks like than try other method or deterring him with something, remove his scent from the spots by rubbing it down with straight vinegar.

 

[PaGal]

You may have to clean the cage more than once per week if you want to be able to keep him, at least until he is litter trained and his hormones have settled after the neuter.

Also, if you are cleaning with vinegar which is good then you may want to wipe down the cage with some damp paper towels or rag using just water after first cleaning with the vinegar. I can't stand the smell of vinegar and doing this helps to dissipate the vinegar smell yet the vinegar still was able to break down any urine, etc smells first.

What kind of cage do you have and what is in the cage besides your bun?

 

[hvanwyk28]

His cage is plastic on the bottom. The stuff in his cage is his bedding, 2 litter pans, his litter, hay and food

 

[hvanwyk28]

And some toys

 

[mjpeter]

I would remove his bedding or any other soft items until he's completely trained to avoid confusion for him.

 

[PaGal]

I would also remove the bedding and other soft materials until after being litter trained.

If he has been spraying at all you want to make sure everything near gets a good cleaning with white vinegar. Have you moved the cage just to make sure no urine got under it somehow?

 

[hvanwyk28]

The cage was moved. We cleaned the cage right before we brought him home from getting fixed so he hasn't sprayed. He has been picking up really quickly on litter training now that he is fixed. He hasn't peed out of the litter box at all

 

[missyscove]

I agree, it's confusing for them if there's bedding outside the litterbox and the litterbox. Just give him the litterbox with your rabbit-safe litter of choice and leave the rest of his cage with just the plastic bottom; that should help him figure things out.

 

[hvanwyk28]

Thanks! But I think he is figuring it out pretty quickly