What kind of litter box setup should I get my bunny? He likes to dig!

[Tina H]

I’m wondering what you guys think would be best in terms of litter material and set up. If possible, I’d like to be able to keep my bunny clean and not sitting in his poop or pee so I’m thinking perhaps with a grate? But not sure if he will like that. What are your suggestions! Pictures are very welcome too! Thank you everyone, this will be my first time as a bunny mama!

[Mocha]

Welcome!!!!!!

I like using big cat litterboxes (the biggest you can find). I’ve never tried one for rabbits, but they are too small to my liking.

I usually put a couple sheets of newspaper to line the box, with about 1/2-1 inch of wood pellets (you can get them at petstores, known as a type of cat litter, but I find it really cheap at my feed bin, and it’s made for horses). I finish it off with a nice thick layer and pile of hay. If your bunny really digs, you can buy those (sorry, I have no idea what they are called), maybe litterbox screens. They have nice small holes so your rabbit won’t get sorehocks too. I think you can buy them of the BinkyBunny store here.

Also, get your rabbit/spayed or neutered for health and behavioral issues if you haven’t already.

[JackRabbit]

We use Carefresh Natural in xl cat litter boxes for the lops and med. size for Kieko (not a digger). Moshi is a major digger which is why we had to size up to the xl (taller sides). We recently added velcro to the underside of the litterbox since he also like to drag the litterboxes around! I’ve been considering screens, but Moshi is such an intense digger that I’ve bee afraid he might break a nail or get a nail caught on the screen. The Carefresh is super absorbant so even without hay or a screen in the boxes, they’ve never had wet feet (and the lops pee alot!). They don’t seem to mind the poop (the litter sucks any moisture out of that too), but Moshi tends to mix the litterbox up too. For some reason, he likes to move all of the litter from one side of the box to the other so there are litter mountains.

[Mocha]

JackRabbit- Do your rabbit’s eat the carefresh? I as well used the Carefresh Natural a while ago, but the bunnies went crazy for it. I tried putting lots of hay on top, but they kept digging to the litter.

[JackRabbit]

Marlee takes an occasional bite of it, but then again, Marlee also eats stray poop lying around. A few bites won’t hurt, as long as they don’t make a meal of it. I have noticed that Marlee is more likely to take a bite if it’s a stiffer darker batch (has the consistency of shredded cardboard). Its more expensive, but she doesn’t eat the Carefresh Ultra (white and super soft) but all of mine will lounge on that kind more.

[Tina H]

Thanks everyone! And thank you for the warm welcome can anyone tell me a little more about hardwood pellets? I’ve heard that a lot of bunny owners use it with lots of success. That, and the carefresh!

[Brandywine]

I have made my buns a litter box with a cake cooling rack on top. It’s one that has thick coated wires going both vertically and horizontally, making a grid about 1cm – perfect size for poohs to fall through while being really supportive under their hocks. Not all cake cooling racks would work, cheaper ones only have wires going one way.

My buns don’t dig, but Jess is fastidious and won’t re-enter the litter box if her feet will get dirty 🙂

[litheandgraphic]

Posted By Tina H on 10/03/2014 12:46 AM
Thanks everyone! And thank you for the warm welcome can anyone tell me a little more about hardwood pellets? I’ve heard that a lot of bunny owners use it with lots of success. That, and the carefresh!

Welcome!!
My own vet told me not to use them due to the risk of ingesting and swelling up and causing a blockage, but HRS says the aspen pellets (untreated with any chemicals of course) are typically safe. However, if you try them and your bun(nies) start eating it, then switch to a paper based litter such as CareFresh or Yesterday’s News.

I usually use CareFresh ultra in a large plastic cat litterbox for Theodore, but recently due to a fluke I’ve ended up trying Kaytee Clean & Cozy and I really like it. It’s very similar to CareFresh but seems to be more absorbent and allows me yo see the contents of the box more clearly. C:

[Tina H]

Hi jackrabbit! How deep you usually fill your litter box with the litter that you use?

[JackRabbit]

The xl litterboxes are just under 7 inches deep so I’d say @ 3.5 inches deep, but my hubby does get carried away and puts in more sometimes! We have 2 of these in the lops’ area. Kieko has a med cat litterbox, and hers gets @ 2.5 inches or so, but she is a very tidy bunny, doesn’t dig in the litterbox, only pees in the corners and only poops in one pile. I have been known to toss a couple handfuls more on the lops’ litterboxes in the AM if they’ve had an especially eventful night poop-wise, but haven’t needed to since we moved to the xl size a couple months ago.

[JackRabbit]

FLR — the Carefresh Ultra is white, so how are you able to see the contents better with the Kaytee? I’ve glanced at the Kaytee brand but haven’t tried it yet.

[Mocha]

Tina H- When I used carefresh, I usually filled it about 2 inches high and cleaned it every other day.

[JackRabbit]

I just posted this on another thread, but here’s our whole litterbox and hay setup.  Moshi had already begun working on building his hay mountains in the corners of the litterboxes:

[Megabunny]

I’m with Mocha. The horse pellet bedding is wonderful. Gus chews everything, but not these pellets. When he poops I can just throw a handful more over the pile. I start with enough to cover the bottom of the litter box, then cover cover cover clean. OK I don’t really count but you get the idea. Gus doesn’t dig so no need to start with a deep bunch of litter. Loved it when we lived in the country. Just stop at the compost and dump wash dry refill. Now I have to put it all in the landfill in w/ a garbage bag 🙁

[litheandgraphic]

Posted By JackRabbit on 10/03/2014 5:14 PM

FLR — the Carefresh Ultra is white, so how are you able to see the contents better with the Kaytee? I’ve glanced at the Kaytee brand but haven’t tried it yet.

For some reason, the poops and pee would always sink to the bottom with CareFresh Ultra, but the Kaytee is a little bit more plush and so the poops especially stay more visible. Obviously the urine soaks in, but for some reason it’s like I can see everything a little bit better. I think also because the Kaytee is denser – smaller pieces clustered closer together, I mean – the hay in the box stays more on top, which means I can see things more clearly. I hope this made sense.

[JackRabbit]

OK, I wasn’t thinking about hay being there.

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