Ideas for a different bedding?

[alexa h]

Hello all
I have just gotten a lovely English Angora bunny, Lola, and have had an issue with the bedding for her cage. Since she is an Angora, she is a giant puff-ball. I read reviews that Carefresh was a great bedding, but after having used it for a week, I noticed that it gets stuck to her fur, and it gets stuck all over her bottom, as well as all over my house! Every time I let her out, she leaves a trail of little white bedding everywhere Does anyone have any ideas that I could use as a safe bedding that may be a little heavier, or that may not stick to her coat as much? Thanks!

[BinkyBunny]

Leksia – Welcome! Lola is absolutely beautiful!

Another great paper based bedding that is heavier is “Yesterday’s News”. but it is a compressed pellet so it is heavier than CareFresh. 

Yesterday’s News is my personal favorite because it also is excellent in eliminating odor. I get the unscented kind too!   You also have to be careful with the scented versions only it is too strong for some rabbits and they will stop using their litterbox.

Before that, I used wood stove pellets (compressed pine pellets) The pine is safe in this form because the toxic oils are dried out. (unlike pine shavings which are not good for rabbits)  It smelled nice, and did a good job, plus it was really cheap.  $5 bucks for  40 pound bag.  The drawback was how heavy the litter was, and Yesterday’s News still was better in hiding odor.

Anyone else have a rabbit safe litter to recommend?

[Anita Stark]

I agree with Binkybunny, Yesterday’s News is good stuff.  If you have a PetValu store nearby they have their own store brand called Yesterday’s Mews and it’s a lot less expensive than the name brand.

[Bunnies4ever]

Lola is absolutely beautiful!  I have experimented with Carefresh and Critter Country (compressed wood pellets) which I buy from HRS for $8.00 for a 40lb bag.  I’ve heard of Yesterday’s News but I haven’t tried it.  I can’t seem to find it anywhere.  I prefer the wood pellets the best over the Carefresh.

[alexa h]

Thanks for the replies! I have been using Yesterday’s News for her littler box, but I thought it may confuse her if I used it for bedding as well. I am going to try to get the wood pellets, they seem like a good idea!!

[BinkyBunny]

OOHHHHH!!!  Sorry Leksia. You DID say bedding. But for some reason I was thinking litterbox! Egads!

So bedding, right.   In THAT case,  I’d definitely go for something softer than the pellets I originally suggested…eh..er..for litter.   Here’s what I do for bedding – I go to the fabric store and just get a bunch a fleese like material, and cut it up into several pieces so that I can replace while washing.  You can buy little blankets and such, but I find it cheaper to just buy a few yards at the fabric store and make a clean cut so there aren’t any strings hanging around.

[alexa h]

I like that idea!! Once I’m done with this bag of bedding I have, I shall scope around for some fleece

[jacki fullerton]

Noble sleeps on carpet squares I buy for $1 at a large carpet outet. The squares are carpet samples.

[Gina Won]

When I volunteered at HRS all the bunny habitats had either large towels (that the bunny could lay on our push around) or rugs along the floor so that their little feet could rest on something soft

[BinkyBunny]

That’s great.  Another HRS volunteer! 

[qzobevmama]

hi y’all
i use cat country for litter, it’s available here locally in santa cruz california and it’s very similar to yesterday’s news. recycled paper litter.
for bedding, it depends. one of my pairs is on a big plastic mat w/an x-pen around them. the plastic mat is one of those that offices use under the chairs so they roll…got mine at costco for el cheapo as they are too expensive at the office supply stores. aubrie/wombat use the mat to lay out on when they are hot. i also have an old heavy sham in there for them, or an old comforter cover that i have. they then have a choice where they want to lay and can temperature-regulate much ezier.

my nykko/yazmin are on fleece because of nykko’s special needs. but it would work for any bun who wants to be on soft linens.

i put down pee pads (either disposable or reuseable washable ones), then i layer faux sheepskin over that, then really soft fleece. i have a couple of large throw-sized fleece that i rotate. can buy them online (ebay for me) or at fabric stores. i make sure that the fleece area is larger than the layers underneath and then i put the xpens on so that the fleece extends beyond the edges of the xpen — that way the bunz cannot get to the edges and start to chew. they don’t bother the fleece unless they can get to an edge.

i use the sheepskin because it is really soft & squishy (for nykko’s tender bum) and it also wicks away moisture (nykko is incontinent, left over from his almost dying crisis last march). so the fleece is soft on his skin, the sheepskin wicks away the pee and the pee pads absorbe the moisture but protect the floor. i also have all of this on top of another large plastic mat.

i also use old linens for my guys for the same reasons that you mention: the linens don’t stick to the bunny, it’s soft & comfy, and it’s washable so i’m not overly contributing to the waste problem. they are also ez to pick up, shake out (outside or, for me, in a giant black garbage bag) and toss in the washer when it’s time to clean. in between big cleanings i just gently vacuum out the pens. i don’t like carefresh as it is expensive, gets soggy when it’s wet and there’s tons of waste. also, between big cleanings i had to scoop out big sections and the critters couldn’t walk on it very well (especially the special needs critters) and it got all messy.
be well, binkies to all! 😎

[Anita Stark]

Now that we’ve had Sable a while, here’s how things have played out:

In his pen he has a cushion that I made from the sleeves of an old fleece sweater of mine.  I just cut the sleeves off the sweater and sewed them up then filled with fibrefill.  I’ll try to get a picture of him using it, sometimes he lays next to it with his head "on the pillow".   Outside of the pen, the remainder of the fleece sweater is lining a wicker basket under an end table.  (The table is a cube with two solid sides and a glass top so it’s fun to spy on him when he’s hiding out in there.)

He also has one of those grassy mats and a box of shredded newspaper.  So, plenty of choice for surfaces to lay on.  The bottom of the pen is a piece of carpet wrong side up.  Dh was afraid he would chew on the carpet pile and swallow it.  Since it is a jute backed rug, we just turned it upside down. The weave is too tight for him to get his teeth into.

In his cage, he has a sisal mat that I crocheted from a ball of twine.  He also has a little cotton blankie that I knitted.  In the nest box I put a layer of Yesterday’s News under a grid panel then cover the panel with Carefresh.  Since he still likes to pee in there, at least the bedding stays dry.

Now, where does he choose to sleep? .. on the hard plastic shelf in his cage!!  I’ve tried putting his pillow, blankie, or mat on there but he throws it off and lays on the bare plastic for the night.  Go figure!

[BinkyBunny]

qzobevmama – sounds like you have a great system!   One that others can benefit from.

You’re special needs bun, nykko/yazmin (wow, what a name!!!), so what is his story.  What makes him a special needs bunny?

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By anitastark on 09/06/2006 5:42 AM
Now that we’ve had Sable a while, here’s how things have played out:

In his pen he has a cushion that I made from the sleeves of an old fleece sweater of mine.  I just cut the sleeves off the sweater and sewed them up then filled with fibrefill.  I’ll try to get a picture of him using it, sometimes he lays next to it with his head "on the pillow".   Outside of the pen, the remainder of the fleece sweater is lining a wicker basket under an end table.  (The table is a cube with two solid sides and a glass top so it’s fun to spy on him when he’s hiding out in there.)

He also has one of those grassy mats and a box of shredded newspaper.  So, plenty of choice for surfaces to lay on.  The bottom of the pen is a piece of carpet wrong side up.  Dh was afraid he would chew on the carpet pile and swallow it.  Since it is a jute backed rug, we just turned it upside down. The weave is too tight for him to get his teeth into.

In his cage, he has a sisal mat that I crocheted from a ball of twine.  He also has a little cotton blankie that I knitted.  In the nest box I put a layer of Yesterday’s News under a grid panel then cover the panel with Carefresh.  Since he still likes to pee in there, at least the bedding stays dry.

Now, where does he choose to sleep? .. on the hard plastic shelf in his cage!!  I’ve tried putting his pillow, blankie, or mat on there but he throws it off and lays on the bare plastic for the night.  Go figure!

Bunnies sometimes also enjoy  the feeling of the smooth "cool" surface. but all of your other soft stuff – those  are great ideas!!!  I’d love to get a picture of your set-up and put in the "cool habititats" section.

Also, I’d love to see what those things you made look like – the pillow, cotton blankie and sisal mat!

[qzobevmama]

hi binkybunny — actually, i write nykko/yazmin but it’s really nykko *and* yazmin.  nykko is my baby boy and yazmin is his sassy girlfriend…

nykko had an e.cuniculi attack last march, unfortunately.  his manifested as urinary tract issues (sludging and infection) and extra curvature in his lower spine which caused his bum to drag more on the floor.  the urine scald got so badly abraded and infected that there was actual necrosis (tissue death) and severe scabbing.  it was quite an ordeal, i was not only flushing/silvadine-ing/baytril-ing/pain medicating/syringe feeding/praying, i also gave him oxygen blowby therapy.  none of the vets had ever heard of it but went along with it as there wasn’t much else they had to offer.  i rented an oxygen concentrator machine and would blow the oxygen on the area, several times a day for an hour each time.  i am a newborn intensive care r.n. and we used o2 blowby on the babies’ bums for diaper rash and it works *wonders*, you wouldn’t believe it.  it’s along the same idea as using a hyperbaric chamber for wound healing.  the hyperbaric chamber administers oxygen under pressure…i didn’t have one of those so i used o2 blowby for nykko.  without the oxygen he would have had so much necrosis that he would have died.  ultimately he ended up at a vet 1 1/2 hours’ drive from me, had to have his tail amputated…but he is still with me and i am ecstatically happy about that!

make a long story short, he is now incontinent of both urine and poop.  i had already been layering pee pads & sheepskin for my special needs guinea pig fosters (one has neurological issues and cannot balance properly, the sheepskin is so she doesn’t rub her feet raw) so i just added the really soft fleece on top for nykko as even the sheepskin is too rough for his skin.

i won’t take total credit for this system; we use pee pads & sheepskins for our babies in the nicu.  i also would wrap the sheepskin in soft blankies depending on the baby; some needed to be on sheepskin for warmth & for their skin, others needed blankies to get used to for going home.

i use this system also for the baby bunz i take care of.  i cut a pee pad to size and put the sheepskin on top, it takes 2 to 3 sheepskins laid side by side to cover the floor of a marchioro cage depending on cage size.  i like having the sections as the kits tend to pee mostly where their food is and i can change just the area(s) that is needed instead of the whole cage floor.  if i am handfeeding then they get a fleece cozy (a fleece bag, really, they cuddle inside it) on top of the sheepskin and i change the cozy and the sheepskin to keep them warm & dry. 

can you tell, i’m a fanatic about not having my babies and my critters on wet linens…?!   😎

[BinkyBunny]

qzobevmama – wow, I’m going to bookmark this as that oxygen concentrator machine is new to me too, and I love to learn more about that.

My bunny Bailey is also e.cuniculi positive, but she has yet to show symptoms.  My first bunny died from complications of the medicine that was prescribed to treat e.cuniculi.    Bailey also has a curve in her spine, upper – right around her neck area.  (Vet says either genetic or due to a prior injury- before I adopted her)   She also has sort of a flat back hop due to this curve.   She will walk with her front feet and hop with her back feet, but her butt is always close to the ground.   But she does the most spectacular binkies around   I don’t know how she does it. but she pushes off with her back feet and  flies vertically into the air. 

She also has a sensitive tract and so on top of having to make sure her diet is treat free, top notch, she can still get a messy behind because she can’t always fully reach to get her cecals because of her spine shape. 

So I am spot cleaning all the time.   I am lucky as she doesn’t get scald or irritated.  She’s about six years old and I just hope she continues to have good health in spite of her issues.

[Cuddles_Momma]

For bedding I use several old fuzzy towels and on one side next to her bed (its a box with a hole cut into it for her to hide in) I lay down some hay for her to eat and to lay in.

[Author]

Messages