Best Rabbit Litter

[JackWabbit13]

Hey y’all! Me again.

Cleaning Jumping Jack’s litter sucks. She always ruins her toys, so she gets bored fast. That makes it to where she finds entertainment in drinking. And peeing. Lots.

In other words, my bunny is the filthiest living thing ever when she uses the bathroom.

I think this would be better if she has better litter. Since it’s cheap, I use rabbit safe pine shavings as litter. It’s not absorbent at all. I know feline pine is a great rabbit-safe litter too, but it’s wood pellets so I don’t know if it’s absorbent or not.

So, what I’m looking for in a litter is something that clumps, a little more heavy so she can’t kick it out of the box, safe, and smaller (so I can use one of those scoops with holes in it to remove the dirty stuff and keep the clean stuff).

Anybody got anything?

[Cinnimon&Ollie]

I would recommend tractor supply pine pellet stall bedding. Lots of people on this forum use these bedding. It is not expensive which is great!

[JackWabbit13]

Can you get it online? I love Tractor Supply, but I have never seen one in Montana.

[DanaNM]

I’ve never found a great source online (the shipping is prohibitively expensive), but if you look for feed supply stores, or hardware stores in winter they often carry them. They are also sold as wood stove pellets (with no additives or propellants).

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

I also recommend the tractor supply pellets.

As a side note, increased drinking/peeing can be related to other things aside from boredom, so make sure to monitor if it may actually be a sign of some sort of ailment, like teeth discomfort.

Also, it is actually very positive that your rabbit is “ruining” toys — most rabbit toys are consumable and ruining them means she’s engaging with them to get energy out. As owners, we need to make sure we have a regular supply so our rabbits can consistently have that engagement.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[DanaNM]

I concur that pine pellets are awesome.

Clumping litter as a rule is not safe for rabbits, but pine pellets break apart when saturated, so it’s kind of a reverse clumping. I use a cat scoop to scoop out the wet areas and sift out any clean pellets.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

Yep, pine pellets are great. If you can’t find those, compressed paper pellets (e.g. Yesterday’s News) are good too. The pellets break down when they get wet and those wet areas can be scooped if desired.

[Cinnimon&Ollie]

Oxbow also makes pine pellets too. I don’t know much about them though.

[JackWabbit13]

I ended up getting Yesterday’s News. Works great, I just can’t seem to train my rabbit to crap in a different box. But she’s learning. Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery slowly.

All in all, it’s a great litter. But is there a good liner I can use? I know most of them are bad for rabbits if they chew them, and cardboard/paper just gets dug up and chewed no matter what. So… Any ideas?

[Wick & Fable]

I, as well as many others don’t actually line litter boxes — I may spay the bottom with vinegar and wipe it after a short soak occasionally if it seems it needs it.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LBJ10]

Most people don’t use a liner in the litter box. The litter itself should be sufficient in soaking up any liquid.

[JackWabbit13]

Yesterday’s News sure isn’t then, I always wind up with little bits of degraded litter with rabbit piss in the bottom. You wait an hour after it touches the bottom and it’s not coming off easily

[Cinnamon Bun]

I used to use puppy pads to line my bun’s litter box and I just snipped the plastic off the sides, so she couldn’t chew it. I almost never used litter, just a puppy pad and orchard hay. The puppy pads that I used to use where ultra-absorbent and made of charcoal. I used to change the litterbox every 2-3 days and there weren’t any odors at all. You could probably find them for dogs in your local pet store… I know they sell them on Amazon, but they’re soooo expensive! ♡

[Cinnamon Bun]

I used to buy her orchard hay from our local stable. It was fresh, green and good quality with long strands. It also depends on what quality food your bun is getting, so make sure she’s getting good quality hay. You definitely see a change in litterbox smell!

If you’re using litter, then I agree pine pellets are really good with odor control, but I just think buns would need something softer and more comfortable on their feet. I don’t know if using pine litter continuously would cause sore hocks or not. Again, there’s paper litter to consider too, but it’s probably not as absorbent.

[DanaNM]

Oh yeah, I’ve noticed Yesterday’s News practically turns into concrete when it gets saturated.

I have seen some people just use brown paper grocery bags on the bottom of the litter box as a liner.

Using a litter box screen can help with digging as well. I just add a lot of hay on top so it’s softer on their feet.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[ParsleyBun]

From my experience, Yesterday’s News can be dumped out side when it is soiled, so that’s a plus.

[Cinnamon Bun]

I’ve done my research and I’ve always thought pine shavings are harmful and toxic for bunnies, since it can cause liver damage. It’s not absorbent at all, anyway. Woodstove pellets crumble as soon as they get soiled, and then it sticks to the bottom of the litterbox. That’s why I just used to use a charcoal puppy pad and hay. The puppy pad was extra absorbent and padded, and I only had to change it every 2-3 days. She never chewed it, just the regular lavender pads, so I stopped using them. She had a ventilated hooded litterbox. All in all, it worked to keep odors under maximum control.

There are also eco-friendly washable puppy pads. Carefresh and recycled paper pellets are also other rabbit-safe litter options! ♡

 

[Cinnamon Bun]

I don’t think most rabbit-safe litters clump. I don’t scoop anything, I just wait 2-3 days then empty the whole litterbox out. It’s easier than constantly spot-cleaning. Hooded litterboxes are good for keeping the hay, poop and litter in so the bun doesn’t constantly keep digging it out. You would just have to make sure it’s properly ventilated, to prevent respiratory infections.

[BZOO]

Rather than a paper pellet, might try the crumbled paper litter.  This stuff is pretty awesome.  Absorbs a lot, light weight and doesn’t stick.

I use it in the area of their (open) cage they like to pee in, next to the litter box with pine pellets.  Also under the Guinea Pigs Aspen.

If you try it, the stuff marketed for cats is cheaper than the same thing marketed for small animals.

[JackWabbit13]

So, I tried the SoPhresh litter, and this stuff is comfy for her. And I don’t know why, but as soon as we switched her to this, she started only using the back of her litter box, and then gets closer to the front as it gets soiled (which isn’t often, as I keep her box cleaned regularly). This way, I can remove half of it, and then fill it back up with fresh stuff.

I will definitely try the crumbled paper, but I don’t know if it’ll work well. She always kicks little turds out, so I think a lighter litter might get kicked around a lot as well.

Thanks for all the advice y’all!

[SarahBest]

Hey all! I am new to this and planning on getting a Flemish Giant. As far as the litter, could I use the tidy cat breeze system?

[Wick & Fable]

Welcome to BinkyBunny, SarahBest!

Since this is an older topic and you’re asking a question for your situation, I recommend you create a brand new topic to get responses! I will lock this topic.

In general, you want a rabbit litterbox to be very large, especially for a Flemish Giant, and you want to make sure you’re using only rabbit-safe litters (many cat litters are not safe): https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Litter_training#Appropriate_litter_substrate

I do not know the Tidy Cat Breeze System set, but it is likely that any litterbox advertised for a cat will not be large enough for a Flemish Giant to use properly — remember that rabbit litter boxes also need additional room so the rabbit can forage and eat hay.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Author]

Messages