X-pen Flooring Questions: Vinyl, Linoleum, etc.

[Jenk]

Can anyone verify if vinyl or laminate flooring allows enough traction for buns to exercise on it?

Currently, our buns are housed on laminate, which is too slippery and doesn't allow them to binky. But they eat non-edible stuff,which means that no textured flooring, seams, edges, etc., can be exposed to them.

DH and I are considering buying cheap sheet flooring to place over the laminate. (We'd have it extend outside of their pens to avoid chewing.) We just don't know if vinyl or linoleum are good options for rabbit traction.

Thank you,

Jenk

 

[Orchid]

Simon was always slippery in the kitchen which is vinyl...but he could walk on it ok..

I tried mats, but he would pick them apart, I tried cardboard but I think he was actually eating it and not in little amounts so we took that out.. ended up using a pee mat I had from years ago from the hospital (i was in) It worked great but he would pee on it. Seemed he had an issue with anything like towels, blankets, matts...he would pee on them and he wouldn't if they weren't there lol...

I intend on putting down grass mats for our new bun and have vinyl down over my wood floors...hoping it will work, but I will have to see what she likes...

 

[tonyshuman]

I agree that linoleum/vinyl is not the best for traction. For playtime, I like to have rugs down. I have a big room rug that wasn't in great shape when it was handed down to me, and my decorating style is "grad school poor plus animals", so that's what I do without shame. However, I understand that those who want a nicer looking home may not want that look. At the shelter, I make sure to put down a rug for our binky-master bunnies when they're out playing. It's just a throw rug, but they time their jumps to make full use of it! The floor in there is also vinyl. I have had my guys on laminate and honestly it's not any better than linoelum.

I've just made a new cage, and instead of lino for the floors, I'm going to use an indoor-outdoor carpet, the kind that absorbs mess but you can put it in the washing machine. It's the kind of thing you can put right inside your front door and will absorb water from your shoes, etc. It's very low pile but will still afford some traction, and it's grey. I don't think they'll chew on it because it's so low pile.

So, I think throw rugs and old/cheap rugs are great (unless they have fringe--Tony loves to eat fringe), and I also think indoor/outdoor carpet is a good idea.

 

[Jenk]

tonyshuman wrote:

I agree that linoleum/vinyl is not the best for traction. For playtime, I like to have rugs down.

My problem is that we devote soooo much time to watching/exercising them while they're out of their pens each day. We humans would like a bit of a break in the sense that we could maybe cut down their "out" time 1-2 nights a week if they had more traction in their x-pen areas (essentially full bedrooms).

When they're out, they run/binky down our hallway. (It has traction rugs, which are also covered with a painter's canvas.)

I understand that those who want a nicer looking home may not want that look. At the shelter, I make sure to put down a rug for our binky-master bunnies when they're out playing. It's just a throw rug, but they time their jumps to make full use of it!

I'm not worried aboutmy home's appearance; I just care aboutthe fact that our crew plucks even at closely-cropped carpeting. And for Zoe--usually our biggest chewer--that's especially bad, since her megacolon gut can't process inedible things the way that a normal bunny gutcan.

I have had my guys on laminate and honestly it's not any better than linoelum.

Actually, I'm of the opinion that laminate is more slick than linoleum--although the latter isn't a huge improvement in terms of traction.

I've just made a new cage, and instead of lino for the floors, I'm going to use an indoor-outdoor carpet, the kind that absorbs mess but you can put it in the washing machine. It's the kind of thing you can put right inside your front door and will absorb water from your shoes, etc. It's very low pile but will still afford some traction, and it's grey. I don't think they'll chew on it because it's so low pile.

I've seen it but am unsure that we can trust our crew with it. They chew everything, no matter how low-pile it is. I'd hate to spend the money on such large areas of material only to find out that it's getting destroyed and causing more vet appointments.

So, I think throw rugs and old/cheap rugs are great (unless they have fringe--Tony loves to eat fringe), and I also think indoor/outdoor carpet is a good idea.

The crummy part is that we don't dare leave any material seams/edges within their penned areas. It must be one continuous piece. And since their x-pen areas are so large, whatever material I might put down would be too large to put into the washer/dryer.