Cleaning/Disinfecting Advice

[henry2809]

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice to help me improve how I clean and disinfect my rabbit’s area to keep him happy and healthy. He is completely free roam 24/7 in my bedroom that has been bunny-proofed. The bedroom has hardwood floors, so I have about 8 large fleece blankets laying around the room for him. He has a cage in the corner of the bedroom that acts as his “home base.” The cage includes his litter box, water bottle, hay, and pellets. I use small fleece blankets for the bedding inside of the cage. He also has two cardboard “hidey houses” in the room that he loves to nap in. I use pine pellets for his litter box and I dump the entire litter box and give him fresh litter every single morning. He also has a water bowl available that I rinse and refill every morning. I tidy up his cage and refill his hay, pellets, and water daily, but I do a “deep clean” of the room every 10-14 days. It doesn’t necessarily get dirty, but there is usually hay and fur everywhere (he is a lionhead so he sheds a lot). During this “deep clean,” I place him in another room, shake all of the large fleece blankets out onto the floor and then use a broom to sweep up all of the hay and fur. I then use the vacuum to vacuum the entire bedroom. I then lay out all of the large fleece blankets onto the clean floor and replace his cage, toys, etc. I usually don’t actually wash and dry the blankets that are on the floor because I don’t really feel like they need to be washed (I washed all of them one time and it took about 16 hours since I had to wash and dry each of the blankets individually since they are so large), however they usually still have a significant amount of fur and small pieces of hay on them even after I have shaken them out. My main concern is that the dust from the hay and the fur will build up in the bedroom and it will irritate his respiratory tract and cause him to develop a respiratory infection. There is a ceiling fan in the bedroom that is on most of the time, so I’m not sure if that helps to keep the air circulating or if it just makes it worse by moving around and the hair and dust. Should I be disinfecting the floors with something when I clean the room or is this unnecessary? If anybody has any suggestions regarding how I can improve my cleaning routine, please let me know!

[Wick & Fable]

I recommend getting a reusable lint roller to more easily lift fur from surfaces on a routine basis: https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/pd9y9i/cleaning_reusable_lint_remover_to_reduce_fur/

Re: hay bits, where and how you present hay can impact how much will track everywhere. The larger the litterboxes, hypothetically the better hay is contained.

Re: the fur everywhere, your lionhead is likely molting right now so ideally it won’t be such high volume for too much longer.

Re: hay dust, if agreeable with your circumstance, you can always switch to a less dusty hay like orchard instead.

What will cause a respiratory infection is bacteria paired with a rabbit having a weakened immune system — I would not get concerned over the mere presence of dusty hay and fur causing a respiratory infection (especially when those are the two things arguably impossible to completely remove from the environment). Remember rabbits actively, throughout the day, plunge their head in hay to eat, going nose-first into it, and they also groom themselves daily, actively eating that fur.

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 agree that I don’t anything sounds like a sanitary concern, but I have found a rubber hand broom to be really helpful for getting excess fur and hay off of blankets, especially fluffy ones.  I also have a lint remover like Wick linked, it works great for fur. You could also wash the blankets in a rotation (like maybe 1 each week) rather than all in one day.

I also made a cheap HEPA filter by taping a 20 x 20 MERV 13 HVAC filter to a box fan. It works really well and it helps keep the dust down in the room (and is much less expensive than most pre-made HEPA filters).

For floors, I don’t think you need to disinfect, but mopping occasionally will keep things fresher. I have wood flooring too and I just use a spray bottle to spritz the floor and then use a mop that’s sort of like a swiffer but with washable cloths.  I spot clean with a dilute vinegar solution often, because one of my buns is a senior and his box habits aren’t the best these days. I tend to vacuum once a week and mop about once a month, realistically!

 

. . . 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.  

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