Bunny proof bedding for finicky bun?

[MimzMum]

Poor Mimzy! While trying to check his teeth and nose yester-night, I found a little sore on one of his front toes. His confinement is starting to cause more problems. (Trying to keep him away from the other bunnies so they don’t get whatever he has-which may be moot as Fiver starting sneezing too last night.)

So, I tried putting a soft pad in with him to keep his feet off the plastic floor. He proceeded to try to tear it into teensy pieces. Fearful that he’d swallow something and go into stasis, I took it out after trying to get him to calm down with it for about 30 minutes. He promptly slumped into his favorite sleeping spot and there was no more irritable bunny.

I can’t use Carefresh, it aggravates his nasal problems, plus he just pushes it out of the way anyway. I can’t give him a towel for reasons mentioned above. Even Cuddl-E Cups do not survive the tantrum he throws when there is something in his pen besides the floor.

So, yes, he needs more time out of there on a soft surface (and a good nail trim), but I’d like to find something he might accept as bedding in his night pen, that hopefully will not make him sneeze or tear easily into swallow-sized pieces.

Suggestions, please? Many thankies in advance!

 

[Moonlight_Wolf]

You could try that Fake lamb fur bed thingy. It might work. We have one for our dogs and they dig it and it is still as good as new, we got it at a dog show place so I am not sure if you could find one anywhere I know of. There are those similar ones that have the puffy rim around them but I don’t know it it would last for Mimzy.
(You know every time I think of Mimzy, I think of the poem, “Jabberwocky”

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.)

That is what I think of when I think of Mimzy even though the Mimzy in the poem is spelt Mimsy.

 

Edit: There is a site that has these beds called palace pet beds, that could be a option. (It is the kind of bed our dogs have)

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hmm this is a tough one. I would suggest trying hay or straw but it may break the litterbox habits, however it could be worth a try. Have you tried old towels at all?

[BunnyMuffin]

When Noelle had a plastic bottomed cage, I went to the hardware store and got a really cheap low-pile carpet/doormat thing. Cut it to size and lined the bottom with that. Not sure if that would work out for you or not. Might best to find one that will fit in the size it is so you don’t create any frayed edges by cutting it that could tempt him to chew.

[RabbitPam]

I don’t know if this is fast enough, but I really love flat seagrass mats. BB sells some in different sizes, and they are perfectly healthy – like chewing up woven hay. Sammy had one on her floor, and she steadily devoured it over a couple of months. A large one would cover most of the cage bottom – maybe two.

[BunnyMuffin]

Ah – good call on the grass mats! I always forget about those, probably because I’ve never gotten around to buying one!

[MimzMum]

Hm…yes Mimzy will eat those seagrass mats, but they do last pretty long. And I don’t have to worry about him ingesting that stuff. I will have to look into that. Thanks for reminding me, Pam. (of course, what the vet charges me tomorrow will determine how many I get)

The Cuddl-E Cups I use are that fake lamb’s wool material, that stuff worries me that they could eat enough of it to block their insides up. Am I just being paranoid there? I used to put those in their xpens…until they’d just pee all over them to make me remove them…lolz. (I think it was a territorial thing.)
I DO love Lewis Carroll, Wolfie. ^_^ There’s a good set of books out now called “The Looking Glass Wars” that are a spinoff of the Wonderland story by Frank Beddor. The Jabberwocky is so much fun to mess with, I actually wrote a spoof poem using the basic idea of it that regaled the perils of gardening in Alaska…I think it started with “Beware the dandelion” I’ll have to find it and post it somewhere in the Lounge.

If Mimzy didn’t just shove loose bedding out of his way, I’d go ahead and put hay all over his floor, Rose. (especially if it would encourage him to eat more of it) But I did try some Carefresh yesterday, just to see what he would do, and he shoved the whole load over to the litter box end of the cage and scratched incessantly at the floor until it was all gone…then he tipped and threw his litter box until I took the stuff out. I mean, what a little snot! 0_o I was angry that I had just wasted all that. The minute it was out of the pen, he flopped right down on the floor and took a snooze. >.< Spoiled bun. Bigtime.

Anyway, thank you everyone, I will give these ideas serious consideration. That toe blister has me concerned.

[BinkyBunny]

Jack does the same thing with soft pads and he will chew up carpet pieces EXCEPT for ones that are very tightly woven. Most carpet stores have extra “sample” squares that you can buy for a couple of bucks. Of course, I had to make sure to pick the ones that were very tightly woven.

The rugs in their bunny room are also the same way.

[MimzMum]

Well I wound up finding a sisal rope mat at PETCO the other day. I posted pix in my Mimzy update thread. I like it, except for the edges that seem to be some kind of satiny rope binding, but I don’t see him chewing on that yet.
He seems to like it. I did order some straw mats though, just in case. ^_^

OH, and the toes appear to the vet to be calloused, not blistered. So that was a bit of a relief.

[Author]

Messages