Is Rabbit Sand Box Safe? Is children's play sand safe for rabbits?

[MopsyLops]

Our neutered male bunny has started to dig the floorboards. We saw this in a store: Rabbit sand box It is expensive and very small so we have just purchased Wood, Plexiglass and children's play sand to make our own.

But now we are concerned...

Is children's play sand safe or healthy for Rabbits?
Should we use soil instead?
Or Chinchilla sand instead of children's play sand?
If we use soil, is finding a field and digging up some soil good enough? I ask this because my garden center just sells compost/fertilizer kind soil.

What should I do? I do not want to risk harming my bunny.

 

[JBun]

If this is an outdoor dig box, I would go for something open and use soil. I would be concerned about ingested sand leading to digestive problems, and some of it will get ingested when your rabbit grooms. If you use soil, you want plain soil, not garden center soil that has any added fertilizers, as that could be dangerous for your rabbit when ingested.

If this is for indoors, I would use something like hay, straw, or shredded paper. But with paper, only if your rabbit doesn't like to eat more than tiny bits of the paper. Soil or sand will get tracked out of the box and around your home.

Does it happen to be warm at all where you're at, and inside your home too? A rabbit digging at the floor can sometimes be because they're too warm, and rabbits in nature will dig down into the dirt to a cool spot to lay on. This might be why your rabbit is digging at the floor.

 

[MopsyLops]

If this is an outdoor dig box, I would go for something open and use soil. I would be concerned about ingested sand leading to digestive problems, and some of it will get ingested when your rabbit grooms. If you use soil, you want plain soil, not garden center soil that has any added fertilizers, as that could be dangerous for your rabbit when ingested.

If this is for indoors, I would use something like hay, straw, or shredded paper. But with paper, only if your rabbit doesn't like to eat more than tiny bits of the paper. Soil or sand will get tracked out of the box and around your home.

Does it happen to be warm at all where you're at, and inside your home too? A rabbit digging at the floor can sometimes be because they're too warm, and rabbits in nature will dig down into the dirt to a cool spot to lay on. This might be why your rabbit is digging at the floor.

Thank you so much for your response! Yes, it is hot here, what you said about digging makes a lot of sense, thanks for the insight! This is for indoors. We live in a 3d floor apartment so do not have a garden, so it needs to be an indoor dig box. Also because we don't have a garden, where can we find clean soil? We know soil could make our apartment dirty but we would do anything for him. We already tried making a dig box out of a cardboard box with hay straw and shredded paper and he just wasn't interested. So we want to try soil now but not sure where to find it?

 

[Catlyn]

Thank you so much for your response! Yes, it is hot here, what you said about digging makes a lot of sense, thanks for the insight! This is for indoors. We live in a 3d floor apartment so do not have a garden, so it needs to be an indoor dig box. Also because we don't have a garden, where can we find clean soil? We know soil could make our apartment dirty but we would do anything for him. We already tried making a dig box out of a cardboard box with hay straw and shredded paper and he just wasn't interested. So we want to try soil now but not sure where to find it?

Have you asked around if some of your family members or neighbours have a plot of land where they wouldn't mind a chunk of land missing? I am not sure, but i don't think that any place would mind if you scooped off some from mole holes.
In my country, soil (and also gravel) are sold by the ton and not relatively expensive, but it is always negotiable to just get a bucket of it instead. Might not be where you're from though.
If you go for natural soil, it is a good idea to sift through it for stones, pieces of plastic, shards of glass and any other various items found in it, so it would be safer for your bun. (Our land is so full of old junk we find glass n plastic n old cloth n stones n vials n even bullet shells when plowing land, every single year)

 

[JBun]

If his digging does have to do with heat, one thing you can do to help him keep cool is provide stone or porcelain tiles for him to lay on. They stay cooler and buns usually seem to like laying on them on warm days. I prefer the larger 18 inch tiles. If you freeze 2 L plastic coke bottles filled with water, and lay them on part of the tile, this can keep the tile cool for longer. There was also a good idea in this link about creating a box under the tile to hold a cold pack to help keep the tile cool.

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/how-can-i-help-my-rabbit-withstand-hot-weather.102063/
For the dig box, sand might be safe, I just can't say for sure. If you do soil, maybe something like peat moss would work, if you have that there. It's lightweight and would be easy for your rabbit to dig in. Though you would probably need to keep it slightly damp so it didn't get too dusty in the dig box for your rabbit.

 

[MopsyLops]

If his digging does have to do with heat, one thing you can do to help him keep cool is provide stone or porcelain tiles for him to lay on. They stay cooler and buns usually seem to like laying on them on warm days. I prefer the larger 18 inch tiles. If you freeze 2 L plastic coke bottles filled with water, and lay them on part of the tile, this can keep the tile cool for longer. There was also a good idea in this link about creating a box under the tile to hold a cold pack to help keep the tile cool.

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/how-can-i-help-my-rabbit-withstand-hot-weather.102063/
For the dig box, sand might be safe, I just can't say for sure. If you do soil, maybe something like peat moss would work, if you have that there. It's lightweight and would be easy for your rabbit to dig in. Though you would probably need to keep it slightly damp so it didn't get too dusty in the dig box for your rabbit.

We have tried the cold tile and the frozen bottles too but he didn't really care much for it. He did agree to giving a few licks of an ice cube in a bowl we placed near him which we hoped would give of some cold but then he was up and off again. He also doesn't go near our little fan. I think maybe heat isn't the problem after all...maybe boredom? I am sad if it is boredom because all of my money goes straight to getting him things and I spend regular time giving him massages or playing with him or setting up bunny games but my partner says I am not the same as another bunny so we are planning to search for a bunny pal in a month or 2 to be his companion but until them I hoped this dig box would help make my lil boy happy
I will search for peat moss, thank you for the recommendation!

 

[MopsyLops]

Have you asked around if some of your family members or neighbours have a plot of land where they wouldn't mind a chunk of land missing? I am not sure, but i don't think that any place would mind if you scooped off some from mole holes.
In my country, soil (and also gravel) are sold by the ton and not relatively expensive, but it is always negotiable to just get a bucket of it instead. Might not be where you're from though.
If you go for natural soil, it is a good idea to sift through it for stones, pieces of plastic, shards of glass and any other various items found in it, so it would be safer for your bun. (Our land is so full of old junk we find glass n plastic n old cloth n stones n vials n even bullet shells when plowing land, every single year)

I do not have family in my country but I am sure I can find some mole holes haha! Yes, I see all kinds of things in soil, its such a shame that there is so much rubbish thrown to the floor, so we will definitely sieve through it first! Thank you for your help!

 

[MopsyLops]

If his digging does have to do with heat, one thing you can do to help him keep cool is provide stone or porcelain tiles for him to lay on. They stay cooler and buns usually seem to like laying on them on warm days. I prefer the larger 18 inch tiles. If you freeze 2 L plastic coke bottles filled with water, and lay them on part of the tile, this can keep the tile cool for longer. There was also a good idea in this link about creating a box under the tile to hold a cold pack to help keep the tile cool.

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/how-can-i-help-my-rabbit-withstand-hot-weather.102063/
For the dig box, sand might be safe, I just can't say for sure. If you do soil, maybe something like peat moss would work, if you have that there. It's lightweight and would be easy for your rabbit to dig in. Though you would probably need to keep it slightly damp so it didn't get too dusty in the dig box for your rabbit.

By the way JBun, I have noticed him also leaving his mixed salad leaves which he usually loves? Is that a heat thing? Worried about him not eating because I want him to have all his nutrients. He seems energetic and as lively as ever though and eating his pellets regularly and his hay.

 

[Diane R]

Try a garden centre, they may sell sterilised topsoil. They do in the UK.