Bunny Dislikes WSP? – Ideas?

[Eucalyptus]

Hi guys. I just purchased one of these hay savers: http://www.etsy.com/listing/67290023/saveabunnys-three-hole-hay-saver-box?ref=sr_gallery_2&ga_search_query=hay+saver&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all which is AMAZING.

But to the real point – we use wood stove pellets for Java’s litter (it’s incredibly cheap and useful). When we first got him, we had a big box of WSP and hay on one end. Java would immediately pull all the hay and scatter it through the box, which was problematic because so much got used as litter that we tossed out heaps of it daily (which was a waste!). 

So we got that hay saver. Now, it seems like Java hates the WSP on his feet or something because he jumps into his box and then immediately back out. He would lean over his box to eat hay from the saver, so he was definitely wanting to use it, but didn’t want to get in his box. He’d only bear through the WSP to pee (such a good boy), and I felt bad. I took the time to manually cut up a lot of newspaper into pieces to be a “bedding” to comfort his feet since it seemed like he really didn’t like the feel of the WSP. 

I did that, and he started going in more, but would end up digging out tons of hay from the saver. He eats a lot of hay, but digs out a bunch into the box. What can I do? I’ve considered shredding even more newspapers and adding that as bedding to the WSP (I get free newspapers from work so I pretty much have an unlimited source), but is the litter even the problem? Is there anyway I could stop him from digging out all his hay? The hay saver is definitely saving us a ton of hay, but it still frustrates me when a decent bit is still getting soiled overnight because I’m not awake to clean up what he digs out and then he pees on it. >.< I'm wondering if it's even the WSP that make him dig, or if he's just going to dig some out no matter what. Agh. D:

Any ideas? If we just have to deal with some hay getting wasted, then so be it, but if there’s any hope, please let me know! Thanks for any information.

[Stickerbunny]

Most bunny owners put hay in the litter box, they like to be comfy and eat and go potty at same time. And yeah the pellets prolly don’t feel awesome on his feet, so that could be one reason too. I put a thin layer of hay over the grate in my litter boxes and a larger pile in one corner so they can eat and use the box.

[Monkeybun]

Hay isn’t absorbent, so urine will drip right off of it, and not soak it up. I wouldn’t worry about if he pees on it, if its icky, he just won’t eat it. The humane society I volunteer at uses just hay in the litter boxes, and the buns love it

[peppypoo]

I use WSP with a grate on top, so my bunnies don’t come in contact with the litter at all. Actually, I find that this makes things a lot cleaner..before, they would track the sawdust everywhere and make a mess.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Mine drag their hay all over their box, they’ll pick through it and eat what’s good.

[Eucalyptus]

The main reason that I dislike using hay for litter (and why we got the hay saver) is because we have to buy hay more often – more money.

I guess if it’s unavoidable, that’s just the way it is then. But he just digs the majority of the hay from the hay saver into his box. Granted he eats a ton, a lot of the hay he pulls out will get peed on.

I shredded a huge amount of newspaper as bedding for him this last time I dumped his box, but he still pulls out all the hay. No matter what. Maybe he just enjoys it … he does like to dig on our pillows and stuff.

[tanlover14]

How about Care Fresh?? It’s quite expensive but PetCo has a great deal where if you buy on-line they are $16 for the big bags instead of $27 when bought in bags of three. A big bag lasts about 2 weeks for me with my three buns so I’m sure it would last much longer for you. Just an idea. And it’s really soft on their feeties if that’s the problem he is having!

[BinkyBunny]

I don’t think that anyone was suggesting that you use hay as litter, but just to sort of top off the WSP — a thin covering of it with hay. I do that even with Yesterday’s News. It doesn’t take much hay at all to sort of soften up the top and the litter underneath still absorbs it as the urine just sort of passes through the hay for the post part. So you don’t waste much hay either.

[Author]

Messages