Floor help!

[Ollie’s mom]

My bunnies Stone and Peach are needing some ideas on flooring.

my old man Ollie (rip❤️) was.. well very old. And he has sufficiently lived on cardboard covered with pee pads and fleece for years now..

these babies are terrorists to carpet. I have layers of blankets cardboard and outdoor rugs down but the male (Stone) tries to eat everything. It’s limiting his free time.

I’ve narrowed it down to possibly vinyl?
I can’t figure out how this works. The foam puzzle pieces would be way too tempting for him to eat. But the mats I keep finding are like rubber foam or too small and he will eat the edges if they are put together.

does anyone successfully have vinyl for their enclosures? How did you do it? I need help. I’ve spent hours trying to figure this out now

[DanaNM]

I use a layer of puzzle mats with a sheet of vinyl on top (they are on hard floors so the puzzle mats just add some cushion and insulation). I got mine at Home Depot, they sell it in big rolls and can cut you whatever length you want. I have a vinyl option that textured and somewhat matte (and I think it was around 50 cents a sq ft and looks like stone tile), so it isn’t that slippery.  As long as the edge of the vinyl is outside the pen, they won’t be able to chew on it. Then I put down fleece blankets on top that I wash as needed. If eating fleece is an issue you could put down some cardboard, paper, or grass mats (or a combo) to add some more traction and interest for them.

I think that should work for you (it works for both of my pairs)! You could also just put the vinyl sheet straight on the floor, or over a sheet of plywood if you want a more solid base.

. . . 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.  

[Ollie’s mom]

Awesome Dana Thank you! I was looking at those rolls of vinyl online! I think its hard because I’m in the middle of no where with no real hardware store for at least an hour so I’m trying to visualize what its like. I was looking at installation videos for people using the stuff as flooring trying to decide if it was like as light as a blanket? or if it had some sturdiness to it! I’ve got no clue. this is helpful. I think I’ll order the vinyl and go from there- plywood under it sounds tempting too but we’ll see.

Yes they love grass mats! I cant wait till my boy continues to shed off the rest  of these hormones, he’s calming down a bit more every day since is neuter.

[DanaNM]

It’s really flexible but strong, if that makes sense? It’s heavy enough that it will lay nicely on the floor.  You can cut it with a utility knife easily (or prob kitchen shears) but as long as the buns can’t access and edge they won’t be able to chew or scratch it. I even had it straight on carpet for a while and it was fine. I’ve also never had an issue with it puncturing unintentionally.

The trick with ordering is to figure out how wide the roll is, and how many sq yards (or ft) you need to order to get a piece that will actually be wide enough. So say for example you want a 6 ft by 4 ft piece. If the roll is 8 feet wide and they want you to order the amount of feet off the roll you want, you would want to order at least 4 ft (maybe 5 to be safe), so you’ll end up with an 8 x 4 ft piece that you can trim as needed. If they have you enter the square footage you want, then you’d want to order 32 sq ft to get that same size piece. Does that make sense?

. . . 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.  

[Ollie’s mom]

yes! that does make sense and helps a lot!!!! thank you so much!

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