Waterhog Mats

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 5sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 6 months ago by jerseygirl.

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- 09/26/2011 at 5:43 PM
  Deleted User
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  22064 posts
  I have two bunnies, and I have been wrestling with the flooring situation in their pen for months. One of my bunnies is very neat and clean, but the other one is a bit of a “dirty” bun. For some reason she loves to pee in her pen outside of the TWO large litter boxes that take up the majority of the floor (Initially we had one, but her refusal to use the litterbox in the cage for pee….arg….).
  
  We tried linoleum, coroplast, fleece, showerboard, and cardboard. It doesn’t make any difference she will pee on the floor and then lay in it. The cardboard seems to work the best (at least it absorbs some of it, but it dies her fur). Plus she is slightly uncoordinated and gets overly excited when food comes into the pen causing her to slip and slide most of the other surfaces.
  
  Tonight, while looking at LLBean, I suddenly had the idea of waterhog mats. Has anyone triied this for flooring? I was thinking the carpet like consistency might dissuade her from peeing on it (she doesn’t pee outside of her pen), but if she did it might be easy to clean.
- 09/26/2011 at 9:52 PM
  Molzy
  Participant
  161 posts
  I don’t know anything about those mats, but have you considered some fleece from your local fabric store? It would absorb the pee, it is safe if they chew on it, and you can throw it in the wash machine every few days to keep it clean (better yet, have a couple to swap between).
  
  I’ve used indoor-outdoor carpeting that I got at Menards, and it was great since I could take it outside and power wash it in the summer. But then Riley took a liking to eating it so we had to go back to tile floors for a few months until we moved.
  
  Good luck!
- 09/26/2011 at 10:46 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  I don’t know if they’d help. If she lies where she peed, her fur will still probably get in the pee even with those mats.
  
  Plus she is slightly uncoordinated and gets overly excited when food comes into the pen causing her to slip and slide most of the other surfaces
  
  Maybe she has some medical issue behind this peeing habit. How old is she? Does she completely avoid the litter box? What type of litter do you have in there?
  
  One member here found once her bunny had some anti-inflammatory meds, her habits improved. Another found it was the litter her rabbit had trouble standing on, changed that over and problem solved.
  
  I believe people with guinea pigs favour fleece. I read you wash it 3 times before 1st use so its effective at wicking. Also avoid using softners when washing after it’s soiled.
- 09/27/2011 at 5:03 AM
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  22064 posts
  Posted By Molzy on 09/26/2011 09:52 PM
  I don’t know anything about those mats, but have you considered some fleece from your local fabric store? It would absorb the pee, it is safe if they chew on it, and you can throw it in the wash machine every few days to keep it clean (better yet, have a couple to swap between).
  
  I’ve used indoor-outdoor carpeting that I got at Menards, and it was great since I could take it outside and power wash it in the summer. But then Riley took a liking to eating it so we had to go back to tile floors for a few months until we moved.
  
  Good luck!
  
  We first tried fleece, but unfortunately the other bun loves to chew on fabric. She can systematically destroy it in no time. The mats are like indoor/outdoor carpeting but with a heavy duty back to prevent leaks and a rim that keeps liquid from running out the edges.
- 09/27/2011 at 5:15 AM
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  22064 posts
  Maybe she has some medical issue behind this peeing habit. How old is she? Does she completely avoid the litter box? What type of litter do you have in there?
  
  One member here found once her bunny had some anti-inflammatory meds, her habits improved. Another found it was the litter her rabbit had trouble standing on, changed that over and problem solved.
  
  I believe people with guinea pigs favour fleece. I read you wash it 3 times before 1st use so its effective at wicking. Also avoid using softners when washing after it’s soiled.
  
  She is 1.5. She has some “emotional” issues–can be skittish, easily terrified of unusual or loud noises, etc. She is a rescue bun (from a bad breeder), and she only has one ear. The ear canal is closed also, causing her not to hear well and we think causes her to be our little slightly unccordinated clown bunny. We’ve taken her to the vet about it, and he says physically she’s in excellent health. We think her peeing problems might just be a psychological after-effect from being the odd bun out at a bad breeder.
- 09/27/2011 at 9:20 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Is she spayed?
  
  How long have she and the other rabbit being bonded? I didn’t notice before that you’d said she doesn’t do this outside of the pen. So perhaps it’s territorial. Or being penned… if that was new since becoming a pair.
  
  Sorry to ask again; what litter are you using? Did she always have this issue with the litter box?
  
  By the way, I have a bun who is like this also. Her habits deteriorated after I brought a 2nd rabbit home. They bonded but her litter habits never returned to what they’d been.
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