Lots of flooring questions

[Lucky Star]

One of my rabbits (Cinnabun) really likes different surfaces to walk/sleep/sit on. However, George, his brother, really likes to eat EVERYTHING in sight! So although Cinnabun really liked his fleece blankie, George started to eat it so I had to throw it out. Likewise, Cinnabun loved his grass mat. Until his brother figure out how to eat it. Since I know that these are safe for the buns to eat, I am probably going to be replacing these quite frequently in order to allow Cinnabun another surface than just his floor. Does anyone know where to get the cheapest grass mats? They don’t need to be large enough to cover the floor, just large enough to allow Cinnabun to stretch out to full rabbit length (he is a netherland dwarf mix, so a small rabbit). I got one at petco tonight, but it was around $7, and I am hoping to find something cheaper.

Does anyone know any other kind of flooring that I could try to use that George won’t eat but Cinnabun can relax on? I got wood and dowels to make the next floor, but I am unsure of what to put on top of the wood to make sure the rabbits are comfortable and that George does not chew/eat the wood floor. Their bottom floor is a layer of plastic over tile (my parents are worried that they will pee on the floor and mess up the flooring. They appear perfectly litter trained, but they still want protection for the floor). When I was little and had hamsters, we had some kind of rubber flooring on the cage floor. Would something like this work or do rabbits not like rubber/eat rubber? 

My last rabbit was super picky with his food and never ate anything he wasn’t supposed to, so I have never had to try to figure out what to give rabbits other than fleece blankets/cloth on the floor. So I am rather clueless as to what to do with a rabbit who thinks that everything is food. Thanks in advance for all advice given!

[LongEaredLions]

If you go to Ikea, you can get placemats made out of untreated seagrass, just make sure it is the one with 100% plain seagrass. They are big and way cheaper than buying at a pet store.

If you want to give cinnibun a bed, I would take a piece of fleece and lay it down, then put the nic condo on top to weigh it down. Then use bricks in the corners to hold it down even more to prevent digging and chewing. (Hope that made sense)

[MoveDiagonally]

When you buy anything not “meant for pets” like the Ikea mats you want to make sure they’re not treated with anything. Some companies use pesticides on natural products to keep their warehouses from being infested with bugs. Usually if you email or call a company you can ask about stuff like that.

[Lucky Star]

LongEaredLions- I am a little confused about that fleece-blanket NIC cube thing. Are you saying to just give him a little piece and put one square on top of the blanket? So that the blanket is under a square from the NIC cubes, because that seems a little uncomfortable for Cinnabun, but maybe rabbits like that? I like the idea of George not being able to chew on the fleece! I had an entire blanket that was on the floor and the condo was put on top of that so the edges were not able to be eaten by George. So he took bites out of the middle part. Would your set up fix this? If so, I would LOVE to know more, because that sounds perfect for both buns!

MoveDiogonally- Thanks so much for that advice! I’ll go email IKEA.

[LongEaredLions]

What I was saying about the fleece, is lay the fleece on the floor, and set the condo on top of the fleece to hold it down. Then put bricks inside the corner of the condo to further hold the fabric tight. If this still doesn’t make sense, I will take a pic of my condo as I have exactly the same situation, one bunny loves beds, other eats fleece.

[Kbana]

I think what LEL was trying to say was that if the fleece is taut that your other bun might give up on eating it. Sometimes the ability to dig and push the fabric around or have access to the edges will entice them to eat/chew. Am I correct LEL?

[Lucky Star]

Okay, thanks Kbana and LEL! I’ll try that! Thanks for the advice!

[LongEaredLions]

Kbana- yep, exactly what I was saying. Thanks for clairifing.

[BonnieSue]

I can relate to this post because my little girl Hazel grew up in a feral warren for her first four weeks of life and is a digging and chewing disaster!

I ended up opting for a piece of OSB with a piece of wood-look linoleum under it. I buy seagrass, sisal, or coconut husk cage mats in bulk and always have a new one ready to throw down! This gives me piece of mind knowing she has somewhere comfy to lie down if she likes, but is also safe to chew and dig to her heart’s content.

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