Rose is driving me crazy!!!

[BunnyLiz]

I just cant take it anymore and I need to rant lol. Anyone notice I havent been here in like two weeks? I wonder why.. O yea, Rose!!!  She is just trying to get on my nerves and its working haha.  I think she noticed my stressed month with exams, college plans (not going well btw), excess homework, family stuff and me being sick and decided now was the time to act lol.  She cant seem to keep her cage clean and is for some reason absolutely offended by her litter box.   Twice a day on average she diggs and flings her litter out of her box, onto the carpet in her cage.  Sometimes all or some, today it went into the air and got mostly outside of the cage and over into Hammer’s.  This is exteremly irritating because i use horse pellets and its not fun trying to get moist saw dust out of carpet and rugs twice a day.  She didnt have a problem with the bedding earlier, has hay in the box and in a hay rack above the box, the box is large with what i thought high sides.  Ideas?  She has broken/ chipped quit a few bowls.  When the bowl is emtpy it goes soaring through the air a number of times.  Now ive adjusted their schedule some so i can take the bowls back out as soon as she is done.  But I have my days when i over sleep or whatever and cant wait for her, ending result being one less bowl when i get back lol.  Ideas?  She has issues with water, its in a large crock and she drags it to the center of the pen a few times a day and then finds a blanket or rug to stuff in it.  I was told she was using a crock before she came here.. so idk.  I want to have her use a crock because Hammer will not use a bottle and when they are together they will need a crock.  Ideas?  Rose also has huge issues with the placement of things, they have to be just so.  Which would be fine if it didnt envolve an extra hour a day catering to her will lol.  Her toys can not be put anywhere except the litter box, no rugs on the floor, hay must be thrown from the box to middle of the cage.  All fine if i was her personal maid lol.  Ideas?  This is costing me, with the excess litter i use to change her box several times a day, a load of bunny laundry everyday, more bowl, excess hay.  really time consuming too!  And.. well… its hard to bond with her when every time I walk in my room i step in damp litter on my carpet lol.  I sweep it up but there are only so many hours i can clean a week before other things start to slip.  I feel like a bad bunny mommy cus it usually looks like she is living in filth! She isnt of course, but her laying in the bottom of a litter soiled cage doesnt exactly make me think im doing everything right.  General ideas for Rose or me the personal slave of Rose? lol  There are tons more little things and some i know that are slipping my mind, im should be writing my paper thats due in the morning but being on the computer made me itch to visit BB lol

[BunnyMuffin]

Oh, that sounds really frustrating!  Noelle has been going nutty digging out all of her litter too – flinging poo and litter out of the cage onto the carpet.  I tried different litters and whatnot to no avail, just constant digging.  So I had my boyfriend make me a litter cover.  He just made it for me yesterday and so far it’s working splendidly.  It’s this plastic “egg crate” stuff from the hardware store he originally bought to make shelves in his salt water coral frag tank.  But it’s really simple so you could easily make yourself one for pretty cheap I’m sure.  I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow and post it if you want.  Keeps the litter in and the mess falls between the cracks, except the hay – which means less hay waste.

As for the crock – maybe invest in one of those crocks that clips onto the cage?  Then she can’t move it.  Something like this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10382+17222&pcatid=17222

I’m sure you asked other questions, I just can’t remember!  That’s my input for now.  I’ll try to come up with some pictures of the litter grate tomorrow.

I’m doing the crazy end of the semester project/exam/work craziness too, so I feel your pain!

 

 

[Beka27]

oh Rose! sounds like she’s settling in… lol. silly girl. i like bunnymuffin’s idea of a grate over the litter so it can’t be dug into. you can also do a covered cat box. as far as the bowls, i agree that a clip-on water one might be best, that’ll keep the water clean and she hopefully won’t be able to spill it out everywhere. and you could try giving water bottles also, to both of them… no one is saying they can only have one or the other for water. for veggies and pellets, can you scatter them rather than giving her them in a bowl? or use a plastic tupperware container for a bowl, this way if she flings it, 1) it’s not heavy so she won’t hurt herself, and 2) it’s plastic so it won’t break… i use two large plastic bowls from the dollar store for veggies for my buns and they like them just fine. they like to flip them over and dig in the bottom to get to the “best parts”… i’ve walked in before and there was a bowl upside down on top of a bunny and the bun was sitting underneath chewing… they’re so lightweight it doesn’t matter.

it’s tough when you have a full plate b/c it’s important that some things do not slide (like school work.) can you do a before bed clean-up and that’s it? if you’re stopping every few minutes to clean you’re not going to be able to get anything done. i only straighten in the bunny room once a day. i used to be in there every half hour, picking up pieces of hay and stray bunny poos, but i had to stop myself or that’s all i’d be doing all day long.

how’s the bonding going, or is it? could it be also that she’s antsy to get with Hammer?

[KatnipCrzy]

You could cover the carpet with vinyl that is sold by the yard at Joann Fabrics- it is easy to sweep and clean.  Also use a grated litterbox or a lift n sift cat box with the litter under the sifting pan- poos and pees should drain down (though some poos will stay on top and some will get stuck in the sifting slots).  I use a hand broom to clean the slots and the poos pop right out.

If you get an attachable crock- make sure the portion of NIC you are attaching to is solidly placed- otherwise she might try to yank the panels around to try to spill it.  I stabilized my NIC corners by adding a cube flat on the floor and zip tied to the walls on the sides- or you could probably add the supporting grid on the top.

And I agree with the other advice about bowls- either something that she can not break for now- or do not use a veggies bowl- feed off the floor (which is fine) or a sturdy plastic plate.  She can even eat pellets off the clean floor- although a bowl can keep them from being ruined by water, etc.

It sounds like the “honeymoon” period is over and Rose is trying to find out exactly what she can get away with and how often.  As frustrating as it is- at least this former rescue bun feels comfortable enough to declare your room her “home”.

[BunnyLiz]

bunnyMuffin- Id really appreciate a picture, thanks! As long as a she doesnt decide to try and pick up and throw (her favorite sport with anything) the grid thing then that may be a good route. Exam time! O so frustrating! I feel like i cant do anything but school stuff, sadly my much younger brother and sister dont understand that and get upset when exams come around and i dont have time. Poor things. Got my first list of what would be on one of my exams today, its already a nightmare lol

I hadnt thought about the water bowls that clip to the cage… ill give it a go! It will have to be huge, Rose drinks a ton. Filling it up a few times a day would get annoying, but i guess could just keep a big cup handy and refill it that way. Of course changing the water wouldnt be needed 4 times a day when the litter issue is under control because then it wont get litter in it lol.

Beka- scattering the pellets, tried to lol. Not for this reason, but for digestion and the fact that rose inhales them basically. And after the two incidents with choking buns on BB, i wanted them to be scattered. But for now they cant be, because of the yucky cage floor. But once that issue is taken care of, then i should be able to start back with that. But wouldnt the salad scattered get all wilted? They are starting to leave a tiny bit for later these days. I have actually stolen my cats plastic bowls, for Rose when they are clean. But they all three eat at 7am and 7pm (because sassy is diabetic) and thats around salad time. So ill have to get my butt in gear and get to the store soon for bowls. I wish i could do one cleaning, but its before school, after school and before bed now. I hate to skip a cleaning, because it really is bad, it looks like ive locked her in a cage for two weeks, without ever cleaning. But hammer’s part of the cage is only one box change a day and one tidy with that, so that helps some that he is nice lol. Yea.. school has slipped some, i have to admit. The one teacher who no one wants to mess with noticed lol. Btw, spark notes will not get you far lol. The one time in my life that i used them without the book and he knew it! Bonding has moved to the back burner, no progress but they havent declined either. Havent been many so they arent progressing. However tonight looks promising for a date, I killed myself last night so I can probably do it tonight. Cross your figures for that!

[BunnyLiz]

Katnip- ill definitely give the vinyl a try if this doesnt get better, thanks! lol and yea im thrilled that she is comfortable now! However not so thrilled with her way of telling me thanks for the home lol

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL Sounds like she’s quite sure of herself, a real diva! The other’s suggestions are great!
Totally understand you, hard to resist a new bun but you have to go through the ‘figure it out’ stage all over again!

Are you sure she hates her litter box-she could just really like to dig! Make her a diggy box; Sounds like she also likes to throw things; So now you know her play style You can zip tie crocks to the side or use a crock that attaches, that way she can’t throw it; Cover the litter box with a grate or you can get a covered litter box if you have the room.

[Cassi&Charlie]

My Layla loves to throw things. She did the same thing, threw her water bowls then waited for me to clean it up. Drove me mad. So what I did instead was use a really big, shallow bowl, like the ones for dogs & she tried to fling it and ended up with water all over herself. She never did it again.

Also I have a cat ball she loves to fling cause it makes a nice noise, some carefully washed lids that clack when thrown and a whole lot of branches she can throw around and chew on. Keeps her happy, keeps me happy

Good luck on exams. I just finished mine a few weeks ago and it was awful not having time for anything or anyone. My bunnies were furious at me!

[Alicia Conklin]

Drue did that after his first week or so here.  It was settling in.  He decided that he did have a “voice” and wanted to be heard.  He dumped everything around til I learned how he liked things.

I find with my two they are good with their crocks if they are in a corner and out of their way. 

For litter, can you get a covered litter box?  That’d atleast not be dumpable.

 

[BunnyMuffin]

Here’s the pictures – as promised!  Forgive the er…evidence of bunny usage.   The leg things on the bottom are held on with zipties.  Also, the litter box has rounded corners, so we cut the corners off the one end to make it sit flat.  Hope it helps!

 

Wow – I just posted this in the wrong thread and had to retract it…~sigh~  Can you tell I haven’t been getting much sleep? 

[KatnipCrzy]

Just in case you go to look for this at a home improvement store- the grating is called “egg crate” or “light diffuser” it is in the commercial lighting aisle- these are the type of panels used in drop ceilings with lights.  At least that is where we have always found ours (we make saltwater fish stuff out of this all the time!)

[BunnyMuffin]

Yep – the saltwater fish are the reason we had it too! But that’s the bf’s hobby, so I’m not as up to snuff on where he acquires all of these materials!

[jerseygirl]

Hey Liz, sorry I’m not help here, but I’m just thinking Rose+Park+Frisbee! Be a good de-stressor for you all sometime I think!  Good luck with the studies!

BunnyMuffin, thanks for those pics. I’m using a similar contraption for litter box but hadn’t thought to use something like that fot the grate. It would drain the pee away better than mine. Does Noelle mind the feeling of the grate on her feet?  Also, would you mind if I add your pics to a litter box thread I had a whlie back?  Be good for everyone to see some more options.

[BunnyMuffin]

Nope – feel free to use my pics for whatever purposes you’d like.

Neither Noelle or Wally seem to mind the feel of the grate on their feet. The first night I put it in I made them both hop in by luring them with treats in hopes of a brief association of good things with weird new litter box floor. Noellle was slightly disgruntled that she couldn’t dig the litter, but took out her frustrations on the carpet in the corner of their cage – which is fine with me!
I’m going watch their feet to make sure they don’t develop sore hocks or anything, but the squares are pretty close together and they have plenty of soft options outside of the box. I tried standing on it for a while myself (just a spare piece on the floor – the actually grate wouldn’t support me, I’m sure!) and it wasn’t uncomfortable. I had socks on, but they have little fur socks, so I call it about even. But they’ve both been using it without any problems so far, so I’m quite happy!

[Beka27]

lol… fur socks!

that looks awesome! i also liked Jerseygirl’s litterbox solution, but yours looks like it would be able to hold more weight for two bunnies… do you do hay or straw over the top?

[BunnyLiz]

thanks guys!! Im going to make a diggy box tonight (hopefully!) and leave the litter box as is and see if the diggy box is enough to keep the cage in order lol. If not then ill try the grate solution. Id never thought about a covered cat box, but that sounds awesome! When they get their big pen in the future then maybe ill go for covered cat boxes, but now i just dont have the room in there cages. Thanks for the pics BunnyMuffin!

[BunnyMuffin]

They have a couple different hay racks that hang on the cage above the litterbox so that as they munch the extra hay bits fall into the box. And now with the grids it stays clean, so there’s less hay wasted. I think it’ll even save me a bit of money since I’m using less litter and less hay is getting tossed. Pretty sweet!

[Alicia Conklin]

I want to do something like that..I always just figure the getting the hay into the rack part will be too difficult to manuever.   Do you take the hay rack out to fill it and then reattach it?  Or do you put the hay in while it’s already attached?

[BunnyMuffin]

I take the rack out, fill it over the hay container, and then hang them back on the cage.  Links to the two I have are below.  It’s not that hard to get the hay in – I just grab a handful and shove.  It’s a little tricky to get the door closed again on the round one, but not too much hassle.  Once the flat one starts to get empty the bunnies usually manage to unhook it and toss it around – mostly I think as a reminder to me to refill them!  I wish I had a bigger one so that I didn’t have to refill 2 all the time, but I haven’t come up with any brilliant solutions yet.

 

Flat Hayrack

Round Hayrack

[jerseygirl]

Thanks BunnyMuffin, I will go hunt for and revive the thread!

[BunnyLiz]

Ok well i did the diggy box. Worked great so far. Now i just need to zip tie it to the cage because of course its not in the right spot lol. But… Rose. Just. Dumped. Her. Water. Bowl. Ill work today and get money, and head out in search of attachable bowls. And thick plastic bowls because its still fun throwing bowls.

[BunnyLiz]

Aghh! Rose covered my carpet, hammers floor, and her own floor in yucky bedding again. The bedding was only a day old, and i should have gotten two days worth. Opening up yet another bag of litter! Sadly my handyman (my mom boyfriend) is on a trip and wont be back for a few days. Any ideas beside the grid? Ill definitely get the grid stuff when he gets back but any ideas to keep me sane till then?

[BunnyMuffin]

In the meantime, I’d say to just go very minimalist on the litter – less mess for her to spread around! Do you have some newspaper to lay on the bottom and then just a bit of the normal litter on top? That’s what I did with Noelle – although she dug up the newspaper anyway (she only approved of litter materials and newspaper on one half of the box, and not the other…) But her feet were already so filthy from all the digging and Wally was having wet feet since he’d pee on the half she’d dug up, that I figured it wouldn’t make much difference in terms of cleanliness for them if I put in less litter to make less mess for me! Is the diggy box somewhere she can access all the time? If so, maybe bury some treats in the bottom or sprinkle her pellets in there to entice her to dig around in there? If she’s digging the litter box when she doesn’t have access to the diggy box though…I dunno. :-/ I feel your pain though! The grid will be your savior!

[BunnyLiz]

^^ o no, newspaper would not work for rose lol. She digs the litter out to shred the paper then lol. Hammer prefers to have newspaper in the bottom though, so his has some. Maybe ill try a tiny bit of litter and tons of hay all over the top for now. Ill waste lots a hay for a few days but.. im tired of cleaning lol. You guys think that will work for a few days?

[snickybun]

Bunnyliz,

Could you please tell me what a diggy box is?  Thank you!

[BunnyLiz]

^^ Its a box with shredded newspaper in it. Pretty easy lol. And i put some hay and a few pellets sprinkled in as well. Hammer and Rose both adore digging and lounging in them. Their is a picture in the toy test section under the bunny info tab. Click the red ‘toy test archives.’

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