Flooring Dilemma/Questions...

[Jenk]

Ourbunnies' two rooms were installed with laminate (12/08). Since then,our girls hocks are irritated,and our male has recently begun havingdifficulty moving around his pen (likely due to an injury that we're still trying to uncover).

The biggest problem:Two of our bunnies aremajor chewers/eaters of anymaterial placed on the floor, and one can't digest any strange material, (e.g., carpet fibers, etc.). I'm not sure what I could put doneto offerthem a wide area of traction and some cushioning. (Thosefoampieces that "snap" together are not an option;our guys would gouge/eat the daylights out of such material.)



Thank you,

Jenk

 

[SweetSassy]

Wow, IDK. What about cork board? Could you use some kind of wood that wouldn't hurt them? Thin pieces.

I'm curious to see what people can come up with. ..April

 

[Flashy]

Honestly? I wouldn't touch anything until you get back because if you change something it could a, raise another issue in your buns, and b, raise your stress/anxiety even higher than it already is.

My thoughts were similar to SweetSassy's. I use fibreboard in my NIC cages and the buns can run around well on the grippy side. For mine it doesn't matter if they chew or eat a bit, although it might matter for yours, so I would suggest only trying under supervision, or find a way to block the edges off (I use other bits of wood for that).

 

[Jenk]

Flashy wrote:

Honestly? I wouldn't touch anything until you get back because if you change something it could a, raise another issue in your buns, and b, raise your stress/anxiety even higher than it already is.

Oh, I've no intention of changing a single thing before we go precisely because I don't have enough time to observe their behavior with a new cage item.

My thoughts were similar to SweetSassy's. I use fibreboard in my NIC cages and the buns can run around well on the grippy side. For mine it doesn't matter if they chew or eat a bit, although it might matter for yours, so I would suggest only trying under supervision, or find a way to block the edges off (I use other bits of wood for that).

I'm unfamiliar with fiberboard. If it has any raised edges/ridges that can catch a bun's attention, though, I wouldn't trust it with my crew. (They're baseboard chewers, even, which is why they literally need someone with them whenever they're out of their pens. )

 

[Jenk]

SweetSassy wrote:

Wow, IDK. What about cork board? Could you use some kind of wood that wouldn't hurt them? Thin pieces.

I'm leery of cork board because, just like the snap-in foam flooring, a bun could still sink its teeth into it.

 

[BethM]

I have a similar problem, and I'm curious to see what people suggest. Although I haven't had any issues with irritated hocks, there is some problem with lack of traction.

I use plywood, witha piece of vinyl flooring stuck on it. The vinyl over carpet or just loosely laid down wrinkles up, and Amelia and Tobi chew big holes in it, then start chewing on whatever is underneath it.

Amelia and Nick have some small rugs in their pen, as they only occasionally chew their rugs, and don't often ingest the pieces. They have those cheap kitchen rugs with the non-skid backing, but I can't find those in stores anymore, so I will have to switch to something different when those need replacing.

Tobi instantly eats any rug I put in her pen, so she is not allowed to have a rug. She has had to acclimate. I noticed yesterday that somehow she has gotten through the vinyl in her pen, and is peeling the top layer off. I can't find bits anywhere, so she seems to be eating them. She has hay all the time, plenty of pellets, and lots of toys that she ignores. *sigh*

I have tried the fiberboard/pegboard as people here have suggested, but it doesn't work for me. Even with the rough side up, my bunnies slip around on it, and can't get enough traction to jump. My girls also occasionally pee on the floor, so the vinyl can be wiped up, where the urine would soak into the fiber/pegboard.

 

[Flashy]

Ah, the reason I thought you might be thinking of changing it was because your sub heading was about before going on vacation, that's all.

Fibreboard is just flat. Obviously it has edges, but if you can do it so the edges are out of reach, or maybe even just stick a line of wood on the edge then they won't get to it.

Mine seem to have a healthy gut and have chewed lots of it, but obviously, with your crazy buns, there is no guarantee they will be ok.

 

[Jenk]

Flashy wrote:

Ah, the reason I thought you might be thinking of changing it was because your sub heading was about before going on vacation, that's all.

DOH! I forgot that I'd written that. Sorry for the confusion. There is a part of me that would like to have something "safe" that I could put down for them before we leave for vacation but realize that it would be a risky move, at best. I'll leave things as-is and hope for the best.

Mine seem to have a healthy gut and have chewed lots of it, but obviously, with your crazy buns, there is no guarantee they will be ok.

My bunners aren't crazy; their digestive systems are.

It's just frustrating, since my girls have sore hocks. And my bigger guy has trouble moving around on the laminate at times. I'd love for them to have good traction that lets them do binkies at will, but from a material they can't manage to ingest. Until that day comes, I must devote 1 hour each night to bun-sitting them while they're out of their pens to exercise on throw rugs.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

we just opened up cardboard moving boxes and placed them on the tile floor--our bunnies love it. They can run, jump, and chew. When it gets too bad we just go to Kohl's or Penney's and ask for more boxes or cardboard, as we really don't need them as boxes. Although, our rabbits do like to play with and in the boxes too.

 

[anneq]

We use cardboard moving boxes opened up also out on our enclosed patio and works well. I keep my eye out for people getting rid of theirs, along with big boxes I see at stores that are being discarded.


Yes, they rip it up and chew a very small bit of it, but considering I had 9 bunnies running around in my patio, it was the cheapest alternative I had and it lasted a surprisingly long time for all the abuse it took.