Cage floors covering or bedding?

[michelejc7]

Growing up I had outdoor dutch rabbits (I would save a baby from my grandfather who raised bunnies for meat), we always loaded the hutch with hay. Now I have gotten a baby Lionhead for my children(and me) but not sure about what is best for cage floor. I know from research, to not use any pine or cedar shaving(toxic), so I've tried the carefresh bedding(paper) it works great on odors, but is really sticking in her fur. So after 2 weeks I bought all natural corn cob bedding, but it will be expensive. I'm trying to use what will be comfortable, but notice a lot of you just use solid surface, or carpet ? Is this what works best, she now 2 1/2 months old, using litter box for most urine(getting better every week) and I would say about 60% of poops go in litter box too. She is in a solid surface indoor cage, should I try carpet? she has one corner she prefers for sleeping should it be padded more? I want her to enjoy her cage and be comfortable. Please offer you suggestion. She is a total furball now so it would be great if I don't have to pay for all the expensive beddings.

 

[Imbrium]

corn cob bedding is a big no-no with rabbits. carefresh + lionhead fur is GODAWFUL (been there, done that, lol). bedding in the cage in general tends to confuse them into thinking the whole cage is a toilet, making litter training quite difficult. carpet can be very dangerous if your bunny decides to chew on it.

back when I used carefresh in the cage, my bunnies would actually push it all out of their sleeping corner so they could sleep on the hard floor, lol.

my recommendations:
~ for litter box substrate, pick up a bag of wood pellets from a feed store or wood stove pellets (as long as they don't say they have an accelerant added) from a hardware store - it'll cost you around $5-8 for 40 lbs; way cheaper than any litter you can buy at a pet store and it does a really nice job with odor control. (the pellets are often pine; however, pine pellets are safe because they're kiln-dried which removes the harmful phenols)
~ for the cage itself, either skip the bedding entirely or line the cage with fleece (taking the fleece out and tossing it in the wash whenever it gets dirty)

(oh, and if you really feel bad about her not having a "soft" sleeping spot, you could invest in a cheap cat bed... just make sure she's not chewing on it and make sure it's washable, as many bunns think soft bedding screams "come pee on me!")

 

[whitelop]

My bun doesn't have bedding or even a blanket right now, she's being bad so she got the blanket rights taken away.
She uses wood pellets for litter, like the ones from TSC and most of the time a fleece blanket, when she's not being bad.
Fleece is better because it has shorter fibers and if they chew it and ingest it, its easier for them to pass.

 

[Blue eyes]

Bedding over the whole cage floor just makes lots of work for you. For now, solid flooring will encourage her to do her business in the litter box. Loose bedding tends to confuse them, as Imbrium said.

Once bunny is fully litter trained, you'll have even more options. Just be aware that sometimes buns will regress on their litter habits once hormones kick in. But once she's spayed, training is a breeze.

What flooring you ultimately choose will depend alot on your bunny. I've successfully used carpet with a number of my rabbits and chewing has not been an issue. Obviously, if yours does chew the carpet, then that option is out.

Have you looked through some of our cages here? That may give you some ideas as well.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f69/2013-cages-youve-made-73877/

(I use the wood stove pellets now and love them -- great odor control and cheap! I top the pellets with hay in the litter box [which is another way you can encourage yours to go more in the box])

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We use kiln dried pine--the kiln drying removes the harmful phenols.