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Forum HABITATS AND TOYS how often do you people change out your litter boxes?

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    • DutchRabbitsFtw
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         i use pelleted (paper) litter from exquisicat but im going to try out yesterday’s news since its just a tad cheaper than exquisicat (cause it has 5 more lbs and only 4$ more expensive, and plussss i would like to try out other brands even though they are basically the same thing lol) 

        i am having to empty most of it out everyday, i dont empty everything out but i empty 3/4 of the litter in the litter box out; because by the time i get back from school the litter box is SOAKED with pee and poo. only 1/4 of the litter in the entire litter box is dry. i add around 2-3 maybe 4 inches of litter in the litter box but still more than half of the litter is soaked. do you experience the same thing? how often do you clean out your litter and add new litter? (including spot cleanings, which is what i mean). i use a strainer when getting the litter out of the bag because its a little dusty. i am thinking about mixing some wood stove pellets into his litter box. i originally got those but turns out i was very allergic. i dont want to risk having an allergic reaction but eh… i dont know… i was thinking i could mix.. 85% paper pellets and 15% wood stove pellets. i also use a normal cat litter box. he can easily get in and turn around. so i would say it is sort of a lot of litter but i was just wondering if everyone does this? or am i doing something wrong? any tips would be greatly appreciated! 


      • Monkeybun
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          you only really need about an inch of litter in the box, definitely not up to 4! The paper pellets are good because they keep absorbing even after getting wet.

          Using carefresh, I change my litter boxes about twice a week. I know some people using wood or paper pellets change it at the same rate I do


        • DutchRabbitsFtw
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            once a week! what about spot cleaning? if i use 1inch then the pee will be all over in the litter box, i tried that for a few days when i first got him…


          • Stickerbunny
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              You only have to have a thin layer at the bottom,it will absorb fine… then when you dump it, just wipe it down with a paper towel and vinegar to get any urine that got into the plastic. I scoop out the wet spots with a litter scoop once a day, but I only change it completely about once a week. I just put litter screens on my boxes to help keep the solids out of the litter, since it isn’t like with a cat, so I just dump the solids out once in the morning and once at night and scoop the wet litter out of the bottom and the buns seem much happier with that arrangement. I use paper pellets as well.


            • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                i’ll try adding less litter next time. i just added a little bit of pine pellets mixed in with the paper. i’ll add less though, i’ve had my rabbit for 2 weeks and i barely have any litter left! (25lbs bag). i might have to buy some more tomorrow or the next day


              • Monkeybun
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                  yeah, thats alot of litter to go through so quickly.


                • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                    i knew something was a little off i have also been adding some orchard grass so my rabbit is ALWAYS in his litter box eating hay. and also the pine pellets seem to aggravate my allergies which is not good so i might pick out the pine pellets tonight cause its getting sort of bad -.-


                  • LoveChaCha
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                      I use wood stove pellets and change it every 3 – 4 days. Since somebunny has been having nice, huge sized poos lately, make that every 2 days. I guess that is what I get for ordering 3 different types of hay, hahaha.

                      Yes to the thin layer of litter I believe pelleted litter puffs up.


                    • kinggoblin
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                        I use yesterdays news or cozy n fresh, cozy n fresh is only $6.99 for a 20lb bag that lasts ~6 weeks but they only sell it at tractor supply and its really out of the way so I now get yesterday news which is $14 at petsmart for a 30lb bag. Cozy n Fresh has more of a pine smell but they both turn to dirt when it gets wet.

                        I change the litter twice a week, they are the only ones I like, I’ve used carefresh, fibercore & freshworld but the smell was so bad I had to change it 1-2x a day and my rabbits paws were always stained yellow, now they are nice and white.


                      • Stickerbunny
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                          Yeah that is a lot of litter to go through – a 30lb bag lasts me a few months and my buns have three litter boxes.


                        • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                            i dont understand… at alll… can you please tell me how to not clean to litter box everyday? i mean i dont mind but it does seem to waste a lot of litter!

                            so heres the problem, everyday after school or whatever my rabbits litter box is SOAKED with urine, and some poops. he usually sits down in it and eats his hay and whenever i change it out daily i can see that some of the poops were mashed down into the wet litter and that some of the litter was “mushed” by him sitting in the litter box. but like 87% of the litter in the litter box is soiled. i dont want my rabbit to not use his litter box because its so dirty? (i read that on BB) and i definitely dont want him to get poop stuck on his bum or paws. i dont really mind the stained paws since his paws are already stained? but yeah…. should i just leave the litter box alone for a couple of days? it doesnt smell or anything i just feel like its soo dirty.

                            also i re-fill the hay the same time i change out his litter. (i re-fill it 1-2x a day though since ive been mixing in orchard grass and he loves it and surprisingly my allergies arent acting up). also, with such a thin layer of litter, what if there isnt enough clean litter to absorb the urine? with 2-4 inches of litter there is barely any clean litter left to absorb any more urine by the next day!


                          • Beka27
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                              Has he been to a vet yet? That seems like pretty excessive urination if the box is that soaked. I change boxes twice a week usually, never more than three times a week.


                            • kamdynandsunshinesmom
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                                I clean my bunnies litterbox everyday this means I scoop out all the soiled parts and replace new pellets and hay on top of that. Once a week I disenfect the litterbox with vinegar and water. So once a week I dump out all the litter. I never smell my rabbits litter and I also use yesterdays news which last me about 6-8 weeks and if you have seen pictures of my buns cage she has a big litterbox I think exactly what your bunny has.


                              • kamdynandsunshinesmom
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                                  I also forgot to mention is your bunny neutered? That could be a reason. Sunshine normally just pees in 2 spots in her litterbox. Also I did use a pine litter for about 3 months and didn’t like it at all. The smell got to me yes it was cheap I felt I used alot more and it was messy. I find that yesterdays news is not messy at all and isn’t dusty at all it is a little more in price. I do buy it when I have coupons and it is on sale. I try if you can buy a couple bags of it when you have a coupon because you will save more. Rabbits don’t have to spend all there time in there litterbox. Sunshine does spend alot of time in there she also spends alot of her time outside her litterbox as well. Maybe if your rabbit hasn’t been to the vet it might be a good idea to get him checked out. When i rescued sunshine the day I adopted her she actually just came back from the vet and I have the vet papers stating she was healthy. YOu might want to check on that. Hope things work out!


                                • bunnnnnnie!
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                                    I use wood pellets, and both my bunnies are primadonnas.. unless the box is immaculate, they’ll pee outside of it. .  So I clean it at LEAST twice a day, sometimes 3x a day.  But that’s just spot cleaning.  Actually taking everything out and replacing it with new stuff is maybe once a week.


                                  • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                      he is neutered, he was neutered 3 weeks ago. i adopted him from a rescue so i am assuming that he was already “vet-checked” when he got neutered. my rabbit pees in only 1 spot in his litter box. sometimes 2. he normally pees in the very back on the right side but sometimes he pees in the front of his litter box. he pees a LOT though, whenever i am on my bed i can hear him urinate like atleast once or twice. he pees a lot more though since he is usually out of his cage and likes to play and run around when he is out of his cage.

                                      whenever i am scooping out the soiled litter the bottom of the litter box is wet with urine. it isnt soaked but it is moist.. which is normal? since the litter was wet to start with? he is acting fine, so i dont know what it could be IF he is sick?


                                    • Monkeybun
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                                        never assume It’s best to get a check up done at your vet anyway so you can establish a relationship with your vet, and get a baseline health record there.


                                      • Stickerbunny
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                                          My bunnies pee in two spots – front right corner and back right corner, a chunk of the litter gets wet, so I scoop out that wet section (there may be a few stray pellets that are wet, but you don’t have to take every piece out, just the corner chunks). With two buns, the litter box is never “soaked” – just those two corners. If he’s peeing A LOT and actually soaking the entire litter box in the course of a day (paper pellets are very absorbent, so it’s fine if some get a little wet), it could be his kidneys are working over time for some reason.

                                          You could try scooping the wet corner out a little more often, it might help the moisture from spreading if he’s peeing so much the corner can’t absorb it any more. That should save you litter in the long run, since you can just scoop out a small portion, push the litter around to cover the corner again, then when it’s too wet scoop it out again.


                                        • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                            i’ll see if i can make an appointment soon! and hmm… i mean it isnt SOAKED. but more than half of the litter is wet. and usually the bottom of the litter pan is “moist” – wherever the soiled litter was… which is normal? i mean common sense right?


                                          • Lazee
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                                              I change litter about every 3 days. sometimes I can spot clean and push it an extra day, but I keep it as dry as practical. I also put newpapers under to ad in absorption.  I like cozy and fresh and add it to the paper pellets I use the most. I like carefresh and use it sometimes. One of my girls likes to lounge in her box so the hay is there also but she keeps the pee off to one corner her box is xtra long, the other 2 don’t lounge. they go to potty and out.
                                               


                                            • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                                thanks for the pic! cute rabbit. im gonna have to figure out a way to not use up so much litter >_<. i was thinking of putting an extremely thin layer of pine pellets on the bottom and then covering it with paper pellets but eh… i dont like pine pellets because it completely turns into sawdust and it got all over the cage so yeah.. probably not ever going to use that…

                                                i was thinking of maybe buying a screen for the litter box? from BB? that way whenever my rabbit is in his litter box his paws wont get too wet from the soiled litter (his paws dont get wet but i want to change out the litter every other day just to start saving on litter) and i can take out the poop daily.

                                                i have an average sized cat litter box and i usually give my rabbit 2 handfuls and then re-fill it whenever it gets low.


                                              • Stickerbunny
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                                                  I have the litter screens and my buns like it and it does make cleaning easier.


                                                • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                                    thanks, i’ll be sure to get that soon!


                                                  • Deleted User
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                                                      Hmm. What I do for my buns’ litter bins is (1) good layer of wood pellets on the bottom and (2) place some newspaper on top. The newspaper acts like a cheap litter screen. (Works only for non-paper chewers.)

                                                      I change and remove the newspaper everyday (and spot clean the wood pellets). I take everything out and replace everything perhaps 1-2 weeks depending on how well I spot cleaned.


                                                    • Nibbler
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                                                        I change out my the litter box once a week, while occasionally sweeping up whatever my bunny likes to push over the edge. When its time to clean I just dump the soiled litter out, wipe down the smaller bits into the trash & soak the litter box in warm water & white vinegar to get the smell & urine stains out. I use a thin layer of Yesterday’s News unscented litter, which you should be able to get at any regular pet store. Nibbler, my bun, is a Californian and I hardly notice anything on her behind or feet, so this set up works nicely for us.

                                                        Having a bunny also introduced me to the powers of white vinegar for cleaning most things! It works so well while being cheap & safe.


                                                      • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                                          ha wow, maybe its just the brand… i got yesterday’s news (unscented kind) yesterday and i plan to open the bag tomorrow or the day after tomorrow since i have a tiny bit of litter left in the old bag. i might use some newspaper! i already used up a 25lb bag of litter in a little under 3 weeks…


                                                        • longhairmike
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                                                            i fill up my litterbox daily,,

                                                            but the buns have 3 big boxes for the two of them, and they can get by with once a week in the winter time.


                                                          • Monkeybun
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                                                              newspaper on its own isn’t at all absorbent, and does nothing for odor. I’d skip using it, and just use less of the litter to save it. You don’t need to clean it the second it gets wet


                                                            • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                                                ever since i changed my litter to yesterday’s news (yesterday ) it has been very absorbent! way more absorbent then exquisicat! i guess it was just the brand… i changed out the litter yesterday morning and he has gone to the bathroom multiple times but the litter still looks good (way better than before anyway).


                                                              • kamdynandsunshinesmom
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                                                                  I am glad you like yesterdays news I wont use anything else!


                                                                • HappyHopperz
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                                                                    It mostly depends on if your rabbit is neutered, and the type of bedding. Corn cob bedding is not very absorbent at all. I use CareFresh for my two unneutered male lops, and change it out every two days. They mostly do it in one corner, so I am sure to layer the paper well there. There is no smell and the bedding works perfectly for me.

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                                                                Forum HABITATS AND TOYS how often do you people change out your litter boxes?