What is the best Bedding for my bunnie

[Cadburys_mom]

As some of u know I got Cadbury on Monday and heis adjusting SO WELL Im so surprised..still hates to be held..even fora second but in time he'll adjust..anyway..before I got him I went toPetco and bought everything needed to take care of a bunnie..but I wasrather confused on what bedding would be best..because when he was atthe animal shelter he was in a wire cage and they had cut up news paperunder him I wasnt to fond of that so I decided on the biodegradablebedding..because I thought that it would be soft and comfy..now I dontknow if he's just not used to it or if he doesnt like it..and I do knowthat rabbits like to dig but he digs in it all day long..he may verywell be playing but I just wanna make sure that the bedding I have isokay for him..any feedback would be greatly appreciated

 

[dixonsrabbitry]

I use pine for my rabbits.

 

[DuncanTheDutch]

Never use pine or cedar! I use aspen but alot ofthe members use woody pet. But remember to never use pine or cedar, itis bad for them, these products arethoughtto cause liver damage in rabbits. I asked the samequestion a few weeks ago I can bump up the post for you if you wouldlike.

Sara and Duncan

 

[Alice]

He may very well never get used to being held... a lot of rabbits don't (it's a prey thing).

What sort of biodegradable bedding are you using? Recyclednewspaper (Carefresh, Yesterdays News, etc) is popular for bunnybedding, as is pelleted pine (Feline Pine, Woody Pet, wood stovepellets, etc). Aspen shavings are okay, too.There's some debate over whether or not pine shavings are safe (somesay absolutely not, others have used it for years w/o any apparent illeffect). Everyone seems to agree that cedar shavings are badnews for any small animal. Personally, I line Meat Bunny'slitterbox w/ several layers of newspaper, then cover that w/ cheaplybought local coastal hay... it's cheap & edible, & thecombination is absorbant & relatively good at masking odor(though I do change it out daily... I imagine this wouldn't be a goodlitterbox filler if you changed the litterbox(es) less frequently).

Cadbury'sdigging is almost certainly playing. Meathas two litterboxes, one of which she uses as a litterbox, one of whichshe digs in, shreds the newspaper, & flings the paper bits& hay around her cage. I feel very lucky that sheonly shreds & flings stuff out of the box that she *doesn't*use as a toilet. ;}

 

[dixonsrabbitry]

The pine thing is a myth. Most pine beddingnowadays is kiln dried which makes it safe to use for rabbits and otheranimals. Ive used pine bedding for many years now without any problems.Cedar, on the other hand has been known to cause respiratory problems.Not liver problems.

 

[Alinda]

Hi, Cadbury's Mom!

The best bedding is Care Fresh. It's recycled paper and is 100% safe. Don't use cedar...or cat litter ; ).

I adopted a rescue bunny at 3 years old. His name is Busterthe Cantankerous, so you can imagine what having him was like atfirst. Everyone on the message board who said to havepatience was right.I think it took about 6 months beforeIrealized how different he was.Remember,Cadbury's probably been through a lot and rabbits*do not* like change. Just sit with your bun. Imade up a song I hum just to Buster. I also have one sound Imake to him all the time. And when I'm finished petting him Itouch him on the bridge above his nose and make the sound so he knowswe're done.

He's been with us for almost 2 years now and is a totally differentbun. He trusts us so he'srarely cranky.But he also has more of a serious personality. No runningaround, no jumping (his back legs were hurt or malformed so he doesn'thave full range of motion). But he's the best bunny I couldever want. Oh, he doesn't like to be picked upeither. But I just remember how much he gives me in otherways.

I figure that to bunnies, where they live should mimic their life inthe wild. Things to burrow in, lots of timothy, oat andalfalfa hays (get from horse breeders), lots of different levels,places to hide. Oxbow pellets are the best forrabbits. If you change pellets do it slowly by mixing in withold until you've switched to 100% new stuff. It should takeabout 2 weeks.Their digestive tracts are very sensitive, soonce you have Cadbury on a particular diet, stick with it.Very little fruit. Buster loves a piece of carrot and/or someparsley or dandelion for a treat twice aday.He developed enteritis once becausewe fed him cereal flakes and cheerios. Big no-no. Ialso found an exotic animal vet. They know more about unusualanimals instead of just dogs and cats. I live in Los Angeles,so it's big enough to find vets like that. Just read, read,read. You'll know your stuff. I know Cadbury'sfound a great mom!

Just wait till he starts grooming you! That first lick is a thrill. You've arrived in rabbit land!

I'm brand new to the forum. I'm glad I found all of you. Nice to hear how much we all love our bunnies.

Yack, yack, yack, yack, yack...jeesh.

Warmly,

Alinda

 

[dajeti2]

I agree Alinda, Care Fresh is about the best one to use.

Buster is Adorable. What a lucky boy just Like Cadbury to find such wonderful moms, very lucky boys.

I wouldn't use any pine. I'd be worried about health issues andI'd be afraid to make my bunny sick. I could never live with myself ifI was the reason he got sick.

Tina

 

[Cadburys_mom]

Im so happy because carefresh is what I got..Ididnt get the white kind tho I got the grayish color..so that makes mefeel good that he's comfy..we had our first "no no" today too..hechewed up my earphones cord(the ones we use for the pc) I tried to saveit but low and behold it was gone:X..good thing they were only about 5bucks..so he got grounded and I put him back in his cage (i mean he hadalreadybeen out 4 hours)...he wasnt happy to say the least heturned his back on me like he was sayin "hmph u have some nerve"..heforgave me later on (I had to bribe him with an apple)..I just wantedto make sure he was comfy and now I see that he is..thanks so much..andTina I must say I have never in my life seen a rabbit as big asyours..lol..he's so cute..and buster is a cutie too

 

[dajeti2]

I'm glad he's comfy. Little stinkerchewing those nasty cords. Apollo has chewed two game controllersalready. His boy puts them way high now lol.

Thank you. I think Cadbury is adorable.

Tina

 

[DuncanTheDutch]

Duncan chewed up one of my speaker cords on mycomputer, oooo.. I was upset but at least one of them works. But thenext day me and my mom put everything out of reach. He is such a pain,but so adorable, and nosey too.

Tina~ Cadburys_mom is right, Apollo is a cutie. A flemish giant isactually the breed im going to get next, but after Duncan has been herea while and is neutered. I ve been reading all about them so Im prettysure thats what I want to get next.

Cadburys_mom~ Im glad thoes headphones werent that expensive he probally would have been in more trouble huh?

Sara and Duncan

 

[bluebird]

I use woody pet.I feed cheerios to all 30 plus of my rabbbits.bluebird

 

[JimD]

Woody Pet is great to use for litter.....

But I don't use it for bedding. CareFresh would probably be my choice......cha-ching tho! I use timothy hay.

I have wire bottom cages so I only use bedding in their sleepy boxes.And not all of them like or have boxes. I have given them all boxes atone time and then let them decide if they want them or not. Benji,Chippy, and Rosie don't have boxes and lounge/sleep on blankies andsometimes seem to prefer laying on the wire. Brindle and Binkie don'thave boxes and they simply take every piece of timothy I give them andpromply spread it all around their cages. They make such a mess...butit keeps them happy.

S'more and MooShu have sleepie boxes. In the boxes I just use thetimothy hay. The buns keep their boxesvery clean and tidy soI very rarely have to change them. Every once in a while I just throw ahandful of fresh hay in their boxes and let them arrange it as theywish.

~Jim

 

[Almi]

bluebird wrote:

I use woody pet.I feed cheerios to all 30 plus of my rabbbits.bluebird

You shouldn't be feeding your rabbit cheerios. A rabbit's body isn't made to digest those kinds of carbohydrates.

I use kiln-dried pine for my buns. I've heard that this issafe, but it's not proven to be safe. *shrugs* My rabbitshaven't had any ill effects from it. I also use CritterCountry and Yesterday's News for litter boxes.

What you want to be careful for with pine and cedar especially is whenyou go to get a rabbit fixed. Since these kinds of beddingscontain phenols, it will make the liver enzymes go up, and this is notharmful - unless under the effects of an anesthetic. Manyrabbits have died during an operation due to liver failure.

 

[dixonsrabbitry]

Also when I use pine I keep my rabbits in a wellventilated area. So i don't really have any problems with it. I thinkalot of problems come with poor ventilation, and direct contact withthe bedding. Thats just my opinion though.