Keeping the smell down?

[OhTisLove]

Hi all,

My bunny's cage is in the room next to my bedroom (what was originally designed as a walk-in closet but is now a small office with a desk, spare bed, and the 3x5 NIC cage) but the door between them is almost always open. Unfortunately, I've started to notice that my room is smelling a bit....rabbity.

It isn't a bad smell, really...it's certainly not rabbit pee. It just smells like a mix of wood pellets, rabbit, hay, rabbit food, and rabbit poops. Like I said, it's not bad, but it's also not something I want my bedroom (and everything in it, including the clothes) to smell like. (Similarly, I'm a horse owner and love the smell of my barn....but that doesn't mean everyone else does.)

I clean her litter box daily, and keep her cage swept up and her blankie is laundered weekly. The windows are closed right now because it's freezing outside, and they'll be closed for most of the summer because of the AC.

Should I just get an air freshener? Is there something else I could be doing with/in her cage to keep it smelling fresh?

Thanks in advance! She's my first bunny, so I apologize for the silly questions!

 

[iluvbunnies]

I think air freshner is bad for our bunnies. But you should open your windows and stuff.

 

[delusional]

I wouldn't have thought that the smell from the wood pellets would be that strong, and bunny poops don't really smell of anything unless they're excess cecals. If you're cleaning out every day then I can't see how her waste can be the cause. The only thing I would think could smell that strong would be the hay.

I don't find the smell of hay too offensive. In fact I quite like it, it's sweet and fresh. Air fresheners come in "Meadow Fresh" varieties don't they?

If the smell you're getting is an unpleasent smell, and is coming from the rabbit or her cecals, then it sounds like she may either be ill or need her scent glands cleaning.

 

[OhTisLove]

delusional wrote:

If the smell you're getting is an unpleasent smell, and is coming from the rabbit or her cecals, then it sounds like she may either be ill or need her scent glands cleaning.

Like I said, it's not an unpleasant smell, but there is A smell. :lol: Very clear, I know, sorry!

I actually can't even use air freshener because I'm allergic to artificial scents, but I could heat essential oils or something. Perhaps that's just what I'll have to do.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

Is your bunny spayed or neutered?

I know my bun was spayed a little over a week ago and the smell is already down.

I hope that helps.

Kat

 

[undergunfire]

I just bought a new brand of wood pellets for litter and they are stinky! They are compressed pine and they sure do smell very strong the first 2 days after giving my foster bun a fresh litter box....he is housed in the living room right behind our computer desks, so its a very strong smell that we can't get away from!

I do burn inscents and it doesn't seem to upset the bunnies at all (even my 4 in the other room). After burning an inscent, I can only smell it and not the litter smell .

I don't know how one bunny can smell that strong, though. All I can smell is the fresh (can't ever smell them when they are "dirty") wood pellet litter and wiff of hay every now and then...but thats with 5 rabbits, LOL.

 

[Amy27]

I know what smell you are talking about. I have that issue too. It isn't a dirty smell. It just smells like animals. In my case I think it is the hay and the litter. Even clean litter has a smell. I don't use air freshners as I am afraid they will bother the bunnies or my cats. I usually just open the windows when I can. I have also tried an air purifier and that seemed to help a little bit. But I was afraid of leaving it on while I was at work so I stopped using it.

 

[todd131]

there are a couple products that i recommend: the first is the ONA Breeze gel product with refillable liquid scent solutions.
http://www.onaonline.com/prod-onagel.html
http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/ona-breeze-dispenser-p-2693.html

it is meant for indoor gardening setups however, it is very strong and non -toxic (to my knowledge) unlike aerosol sprays and 'plug in' scents. additionally, it REALLY works!

if that doesn't work you could get an ozone generator however, you do NOT want to run ozone constantly in your home. it is harmless if you follow some simple instructions.

check this out:

http://www.jenesco.com/index.html?gclid=CLfgxILpkaECFdlw5QodqjlLOA

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN-gGbOrQbA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN-gGbOrQbA[/ame]


edited to add: i have used the ONA product with fantastic results! i have never owned an ozone generator however, i know others who have and they are quite powerful and every person who had one loved it. good luck!

 

[BethM]

I use pelleted pine litter, too, and it does have a wood scent. I can also smell the hay. At first, the smell bothered me, but now I am used to it, it just smells like home. I can smell it when I walk in the door, but after a few minutes I don't notice it anymore. (I have been in people's houses where it smells nasty and musty, and they don't seem to notice. My rabbity house smells much nicer than that!)

I don't use any kind of air fresheners or anything. I am sensitive to scents, so anything like that, or candles/oils/incense, etc., gives me a really bad headache and sometimes nausea. I just open windows when the weather is nice for it. I love the smell of fresh air!

ETA: I have 4 rabbits, and the only time there is an actual bad smell is when litter boxes are in the middle of being cleaned, then I can smell the ammonia. Also, when Amelia's scent glands need cleaning, she's a bit stinky but even that's only if my nose is right up against her.

 

[kirbyultra]

I use pine wood pellets as litter too and I find that without it, the litter box stinks of urine/ammonia. When my new bunny came home, she was used to just peeing in the box with newspapers lining it, so she woudln't use the box if it had pine in it. I eventually got her used to it but when I had to use *no* litter at all, it really smelled bad.

Sometimes the pine has a funny smell that kind of grows on you, but it does hit me when I open a new bag of litter... but I find that a nice air filter does wonders. I have one that has an activated carbon filter. Helps with all kinds of excessive odors (cigarette smoke, animal odors, food aromas, etc).

 

[SunnyCait]

I don't find that Yesterday's News smells when it's new... I use that, and litter hay around in the bottom of the baby boy's cage and in Breakfast's litterbox. I never, ever smell the rabbits... I smell their hay though. I love the hay smell though! It's lovely.

 

[elrohwen]

Leaving out a dish with white vinegar in it is pretty effective at getting rid of odors. At first it will smell like vinegar, but that will dissipate and it will somehow suck up the other smells.

 

[nicolevins]

In my pet store they have a spray for rabbits and their cages. Its like a deodrant.

It has a funny smell when you spray it but after about 5 seconds your cage goes completely odour-less!

 

[ZoeyGirl]

I have alot of animals in my home and I'm always trying to make sure that it doesn't smell like I have alot of animals. I have our 11 guinea pigs down in the basement area and I run a dehumidifier that seems to help keep that area from smelling too badly. The dog has free range of the house. The hamster and bunny live in my daughters' bedroom. I clean Bella's (the hammie) cage once a week and Buddy's (the bun) potty gets cleaned out every 3-4days. I also have an air purifier in that room to help keep the odors down. Also, since we've had our heat turned off and it's too cool to run the air conditioner, I have the house fan running. That seems to help keep the air circulating throughout the entire house and doesn't let the air just sit. (We keep the windows closed on the first floor of the house.) I hope that helps!

 

[SnootyPuffs]

Now that I have rabbits, I can tell you that you better like to clean LOL! Basically, for me, the best way to keep the bad odors away completely is to dump every litter box 2x/day morning and night. Refill with clean litter. I've noticed that the pine pellets aren't that great and the pine odor is overwhelming. I'm now only using the expensive litter because it is effective (Yesterday's News, Carefresh, etc...) and it doesn't weigh a ton so your cleaning job can be quickly done.

Honestly, if you keep it clean like this, there will be zero bad smell.

If you have carpet though? or have the buns in a poorly ventilated room? that doesn't help (basically, keep your central air running!). I'm lucky, I don't have carpet anywhere (all wood flooring everywhere).

don't think that you can mask an odor with some toxic smelling "air-refresh" crap. That just doesn't work! You're merely polluting the air you all breathe LOL!

Bunnies = fastidious groomers -- We have to be fastidious cleaners.

 

[usawan]

they sell a type of 'pet air freshener' here that i find works rather well, i'm not sure about what the equivalent is in the west though, but i'm sure they have something like it. my place is one room (and small) so it unfortunately always smells of bunny, and with two of them it can get pretty strong. but the air freshener manages to keep the smell down. my friend uses the same ones in the room she keeps her ferrets in (and if they keep ferret smell down, you know they're good ) the air freshener smells like oranges (which i really don't like oranges, but it's preferable to bunny butt! ) and its filled with little chunks of orange jelly...stuff. and when the stuff runs out then you buy a new one. if you're keeping the buns in a small space, something non-aerosol like this might be beneficial.

i also used to use a wood-based bedding, but i really hated the smell of it, and when it was wet it smelled like bad, damp sand, and dry it made my house smell like a sawmill. i switched over to a kitten litter that is paper-based instead, and i love it 1000x better. the cleanup is MUCH easier, and it's half the price as the wood litter. because its paper there is no smell, and it seems to absorb liquid better than the wood litter. (i think its also flushable). plus buying kitten litter means i can get a TON of it for cheap !

 

[elrohwen]

Like usawan, I find the newspaper based litters have less smell. For odor, I prefer Yesterday's News. I've switched to wood stove pellets because they're cheap, and because my litter boxes are in the dining room where I rarely hang out. If they were in the bedroom or something, I would probably go back to Yesterday's News. That wet wood smell can get annoying, even if it doesn't smell like pee.

 

[kirbyultra]

That's so weird, because I use Feline Pine, which everyone on RO seems to agree is the same exact thing as wood stove pellets, and it doesn't smell like anything. Feline Pine rids all of the urine smells and I never have issues. Feline Pine however, is way more expensive. I've been using it for as long as I had buns because I don't have easy access to buy wood stove pellets in bulk.

 

[Dragonrain]

I use Feline Pine now too - I use to use Yesterday's News. I started using Feline Pine one week just because the grocery store I get my litter at was out of Yesterdays News - but I like the Feline Pine much better and use it all the time now. I think it does a much better job at eliminating odors.

The litter does have a smell when you open the bag but it's never bothered me when it's in the litter boxes. I was so happy that when my dad came over a couple of weeks ago, he was stunned that my bunny room didn't smell. He has a sensitive nose and always complains when things smell.

I lived in MA for 20 years before moving to NJ, so I know what you mean about it being cold! It's been pretty cold here too lately, but I do open the windows anyways - even if it's just for an hour or so a day to get in some fresh air. I think that helps - you don't have to leave the window open all day long to get some benefits. Maybe you could open then just for an hour or so a day, at the warmest part of the day on cold days or in the summer, shut the AC off in the early morning or evening for just an hour to open the window and air out the room.

I have an air filter thing in the bunny room too - we got it more to help with my hay allergies, but it does seem to help keep the room smelling fresher as well.

 

[mekkispets]

you could try something like this Ive used this and it smells lovely

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/rodents/care_grooming/litter_deodorant/126866