Aspen Bedding? Or Cedar?

[MimzMum]

I’m sorry guys, I can’t remember…is aspen or cedar chip bedding okay for bunnies? I want to use something to keep Fiver’s heels off the Good Mews litter (which is hard on his sore feet) and I want to get away from Carefresh. One reason is, he tends to eat pieces of it and I’m afraid of impaction and another reason is when I put Carefresh in his box he tends to lift his little bum up high enough over the side that he squirts pee over the edge and onto the pen floor.  I’ve tried putting less litter in there, and then it just gets too messy too quick.

Hay is no good as a topping either. He gets angry when I put hay in his litter box and will take it piece by piece and put it outside the box…if it didn’t aggravate me to see him do it, it would be hilarious.

[Thearina]

Aspen is okay but not cedar. As for using in his litterbox, if he eats pieces of carefresh than he may do the same with the aspen. I know that 2 of mine would eat piece of the carefresh and the aspen, but actually where worse with the aspen. So used us the equine pine with hay in the corner of the litterbox. But you could just get some aspen and see how he does with. Hope I’ve helped you a little bit.

Edit: If he has longish fur than you may not want to use aspen because it will probably give in his fur and cause some problems.

[RabbitPam]

Been going through the litter changes with Sammy, too. Now she’s using Yesterday’s News, which turn soft pretty quickly, but she’s kicking it over the sides if it’s too deep.  Weird thing: she didn’t do it with the YN in the small orange bag, but is with the big, purple bag. No idea what the diff. is.

Feline Pine is good for them, and cheap in grocery stores, but is hard pellets to start that soften with pee. YN is slightly gentler pellets, though I can see she is confused by the color and shape matching her food pellets. She only nibbled once, though.

NO cedar chips, no pine chips or shavings. The FP, Equine Pine, and Wood Stove Pellets all have the chemical additives and excellerents removed.

An idea: at U-haul for example, you can buy a box of plain newsprint for clean packing. You could cut it, shred it, or make strips and line the pan with it, or place it on top in a layer for softness. Actually, you could do that with phone book paper too. take a page a day and just cover his litter for a softer feel. I’d make strips for the urine to go through, but he might like it. And if he doesn’t….

P.S. Spockie had the same pink callouses on his feet bottoms most of his life. The vets all said he was fine, but I did switch to the Care Fresh because of it. They were healed, and only covered with a bit of fur in the last year of his life when he could no longer stand on his hind legs. So I was pleased to hear your vet’s diagnosis. Not to worry. (Though I would expect it of Fiver, the mini-rex.)

[Balefulregards]

I also use a Hemp bedding which seems to work all right – I mix the hemp and carefresh with a light layer or the YN underneath for accidents. Sometimes if there is no Hemp, I use Aspen.

[Royce&Abby]

I have a perfect solution for you!  Like you, I used to use Carefresh but I found myself always cleaning up a mess as this stuff gets EVERYWHERE!  A rabbit savy friend of mine was looking after my rabbit for a couple months during some rough times I was experiencing and had to move.  She has 8 rabbits and has taught me A LOT!

For my litter box, I now line the bottom with 8 or so pages of newspaper.  Then I put in three big scoops of compressed pine pellets (or enough to fill the box about 1.5 cm deep.  And then I put in some hay along the back wall of the litter box.  sometimes they have these pellets at the pet store for birds or cats.  When moisture hits the pellets, they expand but don’t clump.  You can pick a 40 lb bag from Home Depot or another hardware store for aroun $6!!!!  I’m not sure what the actual usage for this is but it has something to do with fireplaces.  Recently both hardware stores in my area were out and I needed some badly so I bought a 14 lb bag at Pet Smart for $7.

When I went to the SPCA to adopt my newest little one, they were using the exact same thing in all of the rabbit litter boxes.  They even use it for the cats.  It’s cheap and clean!

My bf was also worried about the possible smell when I moved in with my rabbits, and he was surprised that there wasn’t a bad smell…just the faint smell of pine on some days but that’s about it.

As for the bottom of the entire cage, I cut a large door mat down to fit in the bottom (I’m using a dog crate because I think that the store bought rabbit cages are MUCH too small). The mat helps with their traction and there is nothing that gets kicked out onto the floor…well except the occasional poo ball.  Every few days I just take everything out of the cage and vacuum it out.

[MimzMum]

Those are all very good ideas, thank you! I never knew that about the plain newsprint, Pam, that sounds great! (If I start tearing up old phonebooks here, the hubby will kill me…he’s one of those who writes ‘important numbers’ all over the pages and then ten years down the line he needs that obscure number and if it’s not where he left it….hooboy!) 0_o

I do get Feline Pine here, but my store is so inconsistent with stock, sometimes it’s just not there. Same thing with my Good News.

I would LOVE to get the cats off clay litter too, as Feline Pine smells so much better and clumps easier, making spot cleans a breeze, but they don’t like it. Picky things.

Thanks everyone!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

It’s aspen that’s ok, pine and cedar no good

How often do you change the litter box Mimz-I think you do it fairly often…you could use news print if you change it often enough-just shred by hand or with a shredder-then it’s free

[Lily]

I like carefresh, ive heard to much about any wood chips to risk XD

[RabbitPam]

I’m really frustrated this morning with the litter issue. Spockie was so easy. He liked the first kind I bought him, then he settled right in with the allergy-free softer care fresh and I was set for years. Sigh. Comparing the two kids, right?

Sammy rejected the new bag of Yesterday’s News yesterday (pardon the pun) totally. As in, AM – she dug and kicked out piles of it around her cage. Ruined the water in the dish. Cleaned before work. Again, when I got home. Again, after she went to bed. Third cleaning of water dish, she drank out of the final bowl like someone stuck in the desert. So I caved, and cleaned out the YN completely and put in – Feline Pine! I have a feeling that the smell wasn’t coming from her litter box 2 weeks ago, and it’s not in the apt. or hall anymore. I’ve had the AC fixed plus the exterminator over, and it’s noticeably better in here. So it was worth a try.

Of course, she is perfectly content with it. I have a huge bag of YN now. Need to buy more FPine, and have to exchange a huge bag of care fresh at Petsmart for a supply of Bunny Basics T. I hate their prices, but I can get a pretty even swap and will be stuck with all this litter otherwise. Good grief.

Mimzy, stop calling Sammy while I’m at work you bad boy. I know you’re giving her lessons in pulling up carpet, too. Yes, she’s cute and I’m sure you love her pix on line (maybe it’s drool, not sneezes) but you’re too old for her and she’s getting snipped next week. So desist the bad influence. (Your mother is blind to your faults, but we know better, you scamp.)

[MimzMum]

Hm. I sure hope Mimzy is not calling Samantha behind Fiver’s back…there would be some serious male bunny posturing if so. 0_o

Yup. I have those same troubles with my bunnies. Put something in the pen they don’t want and you are doing extra housekeeping for the next few days, just to be sure they get the point across. >.<

[RabbitPam]

Sigh. I brought back both CF and YN to Petsmart yesterday and did get my refunds and exchanges for pellets. Also got the Rabbits USA mag. Fine.

She’s scattered Feline Pine in the night, and now it’s messy too, though clearly not as much. Must now get more, and figure out why this new prptest/play is going on. Unless it’s the obvious hormonal stuff. Well, it’s why I bought the small shop vac. Less than a week to snippy snip.

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