Fleece as bedding? Litter training?

[rmv1983]

I was wondering if Fleece was okay to use as bedding for my buns. I recently switched my rats over to fleece, and change it every couple of days due to mites they got from their bedding. It seems to reduce sneezing in them, but my buns are in the same room, and I do not want the dust from the aspen to aggravate my ratties lungs. I purchased some huge fleece blankets from Walmart and have started using them with my buns, and giving them a litter box, even though they are not litter trained. It seems so far they are doing most of the urination in the box, but continue to poo on the blanket. Their cage is a CC cage, so the bottom is choroplast. Plus, how do you go about litter training? Thanks a bunch!

 

[Malexis]

Im sure its fine to use fleece.. I use it for my rats too helps their little bodies also. With my buns i use sheets or other fabrics, i have used fleece a couple times so i see no reason why not.. If your buns are chewers then that is probably a different story..

They wont do 100% of poos in the litter box, but continue to pick it up and put it in their tray. hopefully they'll catch on..

 

[PixieStixxxx]

Have you tried compressed wooden pellets as litter? They don't contain any harmful ingredients that pine has. And they're not dusty. They look like wood pellets, and when liquid touches it, they expand and turn into fine shavings that you can sift out. They're also quite cheap to buy.

I don't know if you have a Rona in the US, but I buy mine for $4 for a 40 lbs bag.

 

[undergunfire]

I use fleece for my ratties, too. I have a CN and a FN, so it is the best option. I would never use "bedding" again, even if I had a cage that could hold it.

As for the bunnies, a choroplast base should be fine on it's own. I just have vinyl tiles stuck on a sheet of peg board for my bunnies. I do give them a towel, though, so they can sleep on it/dig at it. I just watch to make sure they aren't eating at the towel.

 

[missyscove]

You shouldn't actually need any bedding in the bun's cages as long as they're on a solid bottom (which yours are). They usually figure out the litterbox pretty quickly, especially for where to pee. You may never get all the poo's in the box, but those are easy to clean up anyway.

 

[Michaela]

I use fleece on the upper levels of my NIC cage, and it works well as long as your rabbit doesn't pee on it, or eat it. But I agree with the others, bedding in the whole cage is not necessary.

Here is the Library thread on litter training, lots of good tips in there for training them. Once they are trained, you will only need to put litter in the tray. I use wood pellet litter and it works well for me, but there are other kinds you can use.