Home reno-flooring for bunnies

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Ok, so I’m at a loss right now…I need to re-floor the bunny room. Right now what’s in there is burber (sp?) carpet. I know for a fact that bunnies are drawn to chew that kind of carpet up. Not that I care if it gets wrecked-we own it. But I don’t want them eating it, and Rupert is slightly incontinent-also if a large amount of water gets tipped it goes down to the floorboards and foundation.

Soooo I need something water proof-ish.

Next stipulation-I need something with support and give and softness-Rupert has a bad leg and needs cushioning on the floor, and although they like to lay on tile in the hot summer-they are getting their own air conditioner in their bedroom and that would be too hard for all the way through the room.

Next Stipulation-I need something with traction-pure lino is tooo slippery for Rupert-he can lay on it, and likes to but can’t stand still with his tripod stance-he just slips and is uncomfortable. I’m thinking either laying carpet and rug squares on the floor or running something that can be taped down in lines accross the floor to give some traction(maybe rubber molding in strips accross the floor)….

I’m considering buying lino and stapling it or taping it on top of the carpet-that way it’s soft underneath-as opposed to pulling the carpet out and gluing it to the floor-I think this is the softest and most water proof way to go.

The other option I was sort of thinking was laying down those cube square puzzle thingys on the floor (after ripping carpet out) and putting lino on that?

I saw some FANTASTIC garage flooring-it’s this super soft, water PROOF and had traction thingies built in (lines and grooves) BUT it’s 100$ for 18 square feet-we have almost 100 square feet to do so that works out to….$ 550!!!  Not totally out of line but that just won’t happen in a week  And more then I wanted to spend on bunny flooring!

 

ANY suggestions at all for water proof but cushy flooring? I am up for all kinds of suggestions and have about a week to make up my mind!

[babybunsmum]

okey… this may sound crazy but what about rubber flooring? it’s used in a lot of commercial applications (airports / offices / schools… ) in high traffic areas. don’t know how easy it is to get a hold of some but i think it’d be ideal for bun rooms! you could roll up the current carpet, save it for laying down if you ever plan to sell, and lay down the rubber floor tiles on the plywood subfloor. check out this website… it’s one supplier of such a product and they have instructional vids and info:

http://www.johnsonite.com/FlooringProducts/RubberFlooring/RoundelSolidColorRubberFlooring/tabid/527/Default.aspx

[Beka27]

I would really worry about the buns trying to eat rubber flooring tho. Even if they’re not carpet chewers now, they may figure out that the rubber is more fun to chew and they could destroy it quickly. Unless it were laid underneath with lino on top? Another option may be to just lay a plastic tarp underneath with carpeting or a rug on top?

Another thing you didn’t mention… you have two pairs, so are you doing a separate condo or xpen in the room for each pair with an open area for them to play in, or will they have 24/7 access to the entire room?  Because you could just waterproof inside the condo/xpen area, and leave the play space as is.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

That rubber flooring looks great-I’ll show it to Dave and see if he can figure out costs.
I think if it’s flush they wouldn’t be able to chew it, I guess I’d have to see it in person to see if they could nibble it.

Beka-I am using cubes to make a divider in the room, so each pair get half the room. It will have a door so I can easily get from one side to the other, as I want it four cubes high (so there are no heroic bunny jumps over into the other pairs territory). We are going to stagger double cubes in the first two cubes of heigth so they can’t nip each other through the cubes-I’ll see how they do since it’s a new area-but we may put a blinder inbetween so they aren’t upset about the other pair being there. I doubt it but Rupert’s been known to be RUDE!

I am also constructing some bunny play shelves out of edible wood, that could be pressure washed or thrown out if they get too soiled-Chuck’s I’m working on diagrams of as it will have to have a ramp with side rails to get to any heights and be very safe-although he’s cautious about height(won’t get off something if his head can’t touch the floor on probing) I don’t want him getting hurt. I also have five plastic shelves, and some cat condos to incorporate into the design, other toys of course and I’m buying a few of the cardboard tunnels for them as well. I’m now getting to the diagram stage, but still need to figure out good flooring!

[Sarita]

How big is this room?

Can you use an x pen for each pair?

[Dave]

http://www.tandus.com/products/sixfoot.aspx

Powerbond Carpetting.  I installed it for a summer and it has a 15 year guarantee.  The fiber is interwoven into a rubber backing.  It’s used in schools.

[Sarita]

That powerbond carpeting sounds very interesting! I’ve never heard of that. Do you have pictures of your setup SteveandPepper with the flooring?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Just checking that out=thanks s&p

Sarita-it’s about 10×10 I could use xpens but I want them to have as much room as possible-it’ll sort of be like an xpen with only one wall, the other three walls will be real walls I guess if that makes sense.

[Sarita]

Well if you use the x-pens they cannot chew the walls – kind of like a guard. The x-pens are 4 x 4 usually so it might not work anyway or might just give you enough space in between.

[skibunny8503]

That powerbond looks interesting. Where do you buy that at, home depot? Archie’s been good with the floor but Gracie likes to eat the linolem! It doesn’t matter how smooth it is, she’s very stubborn. She also pees outside the litter box every so often (either to mark her spot or if she gets scared…she has a shy bladder). Right now we just have a blanket to cover up part of the floor but she likes to pee on that. I used those rubber puzzle mats before and Archie went to town on part of it…he loves rubber.

[jerseygirl]

I had thought of rubber flooring too.  I’ve seen t used as a temporary floor in a kitchen and it looks great. 

     If it’s fitted down around the edges, it shouldn’t get chewed.  Might be costly though. 

 Other thoughts are cork, which you can seal, or even a vinyl  layed straight down over the carpet.  Some vinyls are really cushiony and some you can get with a textured pattern.

 

[Dave]

I don’t have it installed in my house yet.  I used to install it in commercial building for a few summers in college.  It’s solid stuff.  The glue that holds the seams together actally fuses the rubber together and leaving no cracks for urine to go through and ruin the flooring beneath.  You should be able to get it through any carpet store.  Do it yourself stores might not carry it. 

With the fiber woven through the rubber it will be difficult for the rabbits to dig and chew at the carpet.  I am sure they can find a way, but it would be difficult.  It is very easily carpet cleaned as well because the pile is very short.

You can always go with an epoxy flooring.  That’s what most vets use.  It is expensive though.

[Deleted User]

KK, that room is sounding better and better! What a bunny heaven it will be. I struggle with flooring in my room because my carpeting is the type that snags nails easily. I would like to tile it with a rough slate tile.

[skibunny8503]

Thanks S&P, I will look into it ….maybe not get it right now since they’re doing well with the blanket covering the spot she chews on (& tight on money) but I’d like to get it in the future when we have our own “bunny room” whenever we move into a new home.

[KatnipCrzy]

I would worry about any type of rubber or foam flooring.  We had a clients dog at work that out of the blue chewed up those foam flooring pieces that are commonly used for kids to play on (brightly colored pieces that fit together like a puzzle).  And the dog had to have surgery to remove the chunks that were blocking his intestine.  It was an adult dog that had never paid attention to the flooring previously.

Bunnies are so attracted to remote control buttons- I would be afraid to use anything that could remotely provide that type of chewing texture.  Even if they can not get at any edges to start at- can they dig and start a place to chew on?

[babybunsmum]

oh… yeah… to be clear, the rubber flooring i was refering to is like what jerseygirl posted a pic of. that and the low-pile powerbond carpeting that steveandpepper mentions would both need to be installed correctly to be rabbit safe. that is… they need to be properly glued down with the recommended adhesive. i’m def not talking about the foam squares you can buy to pad a workshop or play area floor – i’ve also heard that they are dangerous when chewed nd ingested. the stuff i mean is a very durable rubber that does not have surface edges / ridges that a bun could chew into. i’m sure, like the powerbond carpet, it would be costly but it would be sooo great!

[jerseygirl]

Do you know, those large format carpet squares might be a cheaper way to go to trial a surface. They’re sort of rubber backed aren’t they? They have short “pile” so you could just sweep it and for any accidents you could just remove that tile, replace with another and hose the soiled one down outside. Hay would probably be the main issue though.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Thanks for all theses suggestions!!! I had Dave go to Rona and home depot tonight (I had a shelter date ) to check out what he could find. He wes in bed when I got home-a little while ago-so I guess I’ll see tomorrow! I’m thinking maybe for the short term I’ll put lino on top of the carpet and then look at that rubber flooring or that super carpet stuff for permanent nice flooring

[Author]

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