Going through a LOT of litter!

[Hazel416]

Hi all! I’m a brand new bunny mom, and I’m still learning and getting used to everything.

I just brought my Hazel home on this past Sunday, so it hasn’t even been a week, and I’m already halfway through a 12.5 litre bag of Care Fresh litter! She is a larger rabbit and pees and poops a lot, but still… if I keep up like this, it’s going to get quite pricey. It seems like I’m going through too much litter, but I’m not sure what to do?

Every morning my intention is to spot clean from the day before, but there’s so much pee and poop to clean out that I end up having to completely change the litter (and hay!) and start fresh. So I tried to put less litter, but then the pee doesn’t get soaked up and it makes a mess. I’ve been reading and it seems most people don’t have to do a FULL change of litter and litter box clean out every day, but more like every few days or once a week. Am I doing something wrong? Does anyone have any suggestions for a better kind of litter?

Thanks!

[Azerane]

Hi there, are you putting litter in the bottom of the cage as well as the litter box? You only need to put the litter in the litter box, having it everywhere is just confusing for litter training. The pee can just be wiped up with paper towel and a 50/50 vinegar water spray.

I don’t know of terribly many people who use carefresh as a litter, mostly because it is so expensive. Most people with rabbits here seem to use either paper pellet litter, such as yesterday’s news, or wood pellet litter. The wood pellets are sold as cat litter, horse stall bedding and wood stove pellets (brands without accelerants). The wood stove pellets are the cheapest option and I know people in the USA buy 50 pound bags for less than $10. You put a thin layer in the bottom of the box, and the pellets swell and disintegrate as they get wet. This makes it easy to sift through unused material to spot clean, or a lot of people leave it several days, sometimes adding some hay on top before changing.

I use wood pellets branded as horse stall bedding, I have a 2 tiered litter tray with a catch tray and a sieve tray. I put a scattering of pellets in the bottom tray to absorb urine, and a thin layer of pellets in the top tray for extra absorption. I clean my tray daily, but I only throw away the used litter that has disintegrated from getting wet, then I usually only need to add a tiny bit more daily to re-cover the bottom of the tray.

[Mikey]

Im not sure ive ever heard of someone cleaning out the litter just a few times a week. I think the most time ive seen is people cleaning out their litter boxes every two days, with the average being every other day. You should be changing the hay on top every day, anyway, or adding more hay to the top so your bun doesnt eat dirty hay

We use cardboard based litter for my trio. A small bag is about 8$ at walmart and lasts 3 or 4 changes. A large bag from the pet store or the farming store down the street (atleast 4x the size of the walmart bags; its maybe 10lbs) is about 20$ and lasts for about a months worth of daily litter changes

[Boing]

Cincinnati goes through a lot of litter too. You should look into alternatives. I also recommend a fecal sample for parasites. Apparently they can cause excessive thirst.

[Hazel416]

Thank you everyone!

No, I didn’t mean that I put litter everywhere, definitely only in her litter box! She is fully litter trained Sorry for the confusion.

I will definitely look into alternatives; the wood stove pellets sounds good. Thank you all!

[Vienna Blue in France]

Hazel – welcome and stick around to say hi longer
We love bunny photos and to see how you’re getting on, especially as you’re a brand new bunny mom. Congratulations !

Is that a sticky-up-eared lop you’ve got in your avatar photo?? She looks lovely

[Hazel416]

Posted By Vienna Blue in France on 10/22/2016 4:44 PM

Hazel – welcome and stick around to say hi longer
We love bunny photos and to see how you’re getting on, especially as you’re a brand new bunny mom. Congratulations !

Is that a sticky-up-eared lop you’ve got in your avatar photo?? She looks lovely

Hi Vienna Blue! Thanks for the warm welcoming. I’m not sure of Hazel’s exact breed, she is from a rescue. She was listed as a New Zealand but when I looked up the breed I couldn’t see the resemblance. I feel like she might be a cross with a Rex. But I really know nothing! She is lovely, her ears and feet are ginormous and she’s adorable.

I posted some photos in the introductions – welcome section if you’d like to go see! no one responded yet!

[VivaLaBunz]

Hi Hazel. I feel your pain, I used to use Care Fresh litter for my rats and previous bunny. But wood stove pellets work a lot better, and are waaaaay cheaper. Plus, they smell nice. I get a 40lb bag for $5 at Tractor Supply Co.  

Specifically, these ones: http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/wood-fuel-pellets-40-lb?cm_vc=-10005

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