NIC ramp + litter + water questions

[kbun]

Hi all! I adopted my bunny from a shelter last week, still getting the hang of how to modify his habitat. A few questions:

1. Ramps or steps? Or just a matter of time?
Sometimes it appears like he spent the entire night/day on one level (i.e. the third “main” level or even the fourth “top”level — see photo below. We already lowered the top level by 2 inches. The height of the levels are: 9.5 inches, 9 inches, 8 inches.

He seems to have no trouble hopping up to the different levels, but he’s either afraid of the height to hop down or forgot how to get back down to his litter box. He’s definitely jumped up and down the levels with us watching/some enticement, so I think he’s capable.

The shelter kept him in a smaller ~2×3 cage for a few months (with playtime), and they told me he’s not much of a jumper. 
I’ve done some reading, and seems like people are saying it may just take time to get used to his surroundings, and that ramps can take up a lot of space. To be frank, I’m not even sure how to make an adequate ramp with the right gradient from the second to the third “main” level.

Should I build a ramp ASAP, a step, or should I give it a few more days to see if he gets used to it?

2. Litter box

There’s got to be a more efficient way than how I’m cleaning the litter box, haha. I pick out the hay…then I scoop up all the poop and wet litter (by hand, with a glove). I was going to buy the BinkyBunny litter screen, but a person I met at a shelter told me it’s not good for his feet (even though I showed him the pic and how narrow the grids are). I am thinking of buying a “sift” and just throwing the entire box over the sift so the hay separates, then taking out the wet litter and poop in the remaining portion. Not sure if others have advice. 

3. He doesn’t drink much from the bowl

The shelter had him drink from a bottle, and maybe he’s not used to a bowl, or is it too big? He drinks a little but certainly not the amount he’s supposed to. All my reading seems to say a bowl is better than a bottle, but should I purchase a bottle so he doesn’t dehydrate at least?

[MelanieH]

Levels: From what I have experienced with my rabbits is that they can’t be bothered with different levels in their cages. I have one little level in mine, but I put it pretty low so that she can feel sheltered when she lays under it in her blankets. Your rabbit might not feel safe jumping from level to level. Mine loves jumping on couches and chairs, but I rarely find her sitting on the level in her cage.

Litter Box: Just go to the dollar store and buy a scoop, and every few days when the litter box starts to get dirty jump dump/scoop all of the litter, hay and poop into a bag and start fresh with new litter. Its the easiest way to do it, and its the cleanest for your bunny.

Water: If your bunny was raised with a water bottle then just buy one. It is also a lot more sanitary for them to use a bottle because anything can get in a water bowl.

Hope this helps!!

[JackRabbit]

A quick note on your condo — if you go back over it and add criss-crossed zip ties at the corners of the grids (ex. everywhere that 4 grids meet except for the door) your condo will be sturdier. It also looks like the top may be sagging — you can add a couple of 1×2’s the length of the condo to prevent any sagging, just slide them in a top grid opening in each of the highest grids.

Litterbox cleaning — we just dump the whole thing every evening and refill. Uses more litter, but its quick. I also have a digger bunny who likes to dig in the litterbox and mix everything up so trying to scoop out the dirty stuff is a waste of time with him around!

Water — if your bunny is used to a bottle, its fine to just use a bottle. My bonded pair are bottle bunnies (hoping to get them switched to an auto-waterer), and my single bun is a bowl bunny (with bottle backup). Bowls are easier to clean; bottles don’t get toys dunked in them (and yes, some bunnies like to put toys in water bowls!).

[kbun]

Thanks for the feedback! I actually do have a long dowel rod across the larger platform, and a shorter dowel rod for the smaller platform on top. The top is sagging as I didn’t put many cable ties (just thinking easier to open/close), but see your point and will add a few more!

Last night, I lowered the larger platform by 2 inches and it’s much better – my bunny has hopped up and down without much issue. Tonight I’ll lower the top level again. Thank goodness the NIC cubes are adjustable!

I also ordered a bottle to be delivered tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice on litterbox! Will look to do that every 2 days or so as well.

[Author]

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