things in cage??

[Ashelee]

ok so waasnt sure where to put this, in behavior or this section. Right now I have Loki in one of those super pet Extra Large cages (not a lot of space until we get a new place – bf wants a basement so he can build Loki a huge pen). But I was looking at pics of other people having these types of cages for their rabbits and they have cat litter pans in theirs with litter down and then just a towel or something on the rest of the space??? I am wondering if I should do this with Loki’s cage? Right now I have bedding down on the whole cage and one of those corner litter box things. She does tend to dig the litter away and lay on the bottom of the cage…so…ya. haha any suggestions? would that also help with litter training? Confused right now haha.

[Barbie]

Some buns really do like laying on the cool plastic.  Leroy doesn’t seem to care either way, so sometimes I use a towel, when I have a clean rag, and sometimes I leave it out.

I’ve found that cleaning is a LOT easier when the bottom is bare (just scoop up any loose bits of hay and take a couple paper towels and some 50/50 water/vinegar solution to it and you’re done) or with a towel (just wrap up the towel around the loose bits of hay/poops, shake it outside and toss it in the wash and then do the same with the vingear/water). Also, limiting the bedding/litter to just the litter box will her her with litter box training. Sometimes having litter everywhere can confuse them. How old is Loki? Has she been spayed yet?  (sometimes younger buns or intact buns are more difficult to litter train).  If you find that you are having trouble litter training, and you don’t aready put hay in the litter box, you should try that since buns like to eat and poop simultaneously, it will encourage her to use the box.

One thing with the towel, some buns like digging/eating towels and will pull apart the little strings.  If they swallow those or get one wrapped around their teeth, they could be in trouble.  If Loki likes chewing facbric, try a cheep fleece blanket (fleece doesn’t have strings like a regular towel) or go to the fabric store and see if you can get some scraps of fleece for a few bucks.

Also, depending on how big Loki is or if she’s still growing, you may find that the corner liter box isnt big enough.  Theyre great for saving space, but the space that is saved isn’t always worth it.  I used to have one of those for Leroy and it did alright, he just about took up all the space in it, but it worked fine.  About a month or so ago, he started scooting his bum wayyyyy up to tthe edge and since the front edge is faily low, he’d pee and poop stright over the side and make huge messes all over the place.  I often thought he did it on purpose.  I used to try to push him forward when I saw him with his butt over the edge, but as soon as he saw me coming, he’d stare straight at me and pee, and then run off.  I have a large cat litter box in my living room for when he’s out playing and I’ve never had a problem with him peeing over the edge in that one, one becasue it’s bigger and two becasue the sides are higer, so I got another one of those for his cage (about 3 or 4 bucks at Walmart) and it’s been fine now.  One thing about litter boxes, some buns like to hang out in them, so if Loki is one of those bunnies, it would be good to get her a larger box so she isn’t laying directly in her poop.

 

[Ashelee]

Thanks Barbie! Loki is about a year old (thats what her previous owner told me). She is a flemish giant/rex mix so pretty large, I weighed her at work the other day and she weighed 9.5 pounds (that was when I first got her, we could feel her ribs and back bone just by petting her lightly). She actually poops right next to the litter box which is where i put her hay. so I will get a cat litter box today and try that! and clean out her cage and just try putting the bedding in the litter box only. Also not sure when/if she is done growing?

[Barbie]

Oooo I love big bunnies! I bet her fur is really soft too with the rex mixed in!

You may find that even the cat litter box is too small for her. If that’s the case, try a large, low sided plastic bin, like the under the bed storage containers from Rubbermaid. As for the corner litter box, you could clean it out and give her her hay in it! (Though I still think just putting handfuls of hay in the box works the best).

As you already pointed out, the cage she’s in right now is probably too small for her, and definitely too small for the plastic bin as a litter box! It’s good that youll be making her a new house eventually, but until then, make sure that she gets lots of time outside of her cage!

I’ve heard that rabbits grow up until about a year and a half, so… she might still get bigger, it’s hard to tell with mixes though, but from the sound of it, she could probably stand to gain some weight.  Good luck!

[Elrohwen]

I bought some fleece from the fabric store for my bun’s cage. I cut each yard up into 3 pieces that fit perfectly on the bottom of my cage. I just take out the old fleece, throw it in the wash, and put a clean one down. I do sweep up extra hay off the floor, but I don’t wash the cage out often because Otto never pees on the floor.

He doesn’t actually sleep on the fleece, but he does like to have it for traction. If I take it away he looks terrified to walk across the cage floor. Haha. The pieces of fleece are also great for lining his travel carrier, using to pick him up, putting down on the wood floor, etc.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’ve always found my buns preferred bare floor to litter So you can certainly use a litter pan for litter and then bare floor or a towel for her to lay on

For the blanky-you can use an old towel or ‘faux sheepskin’ -I woudn’t bother buying a fancy pet blanket-you can just look in the towel section or go to a fabric store and buy some ‘faux sheepskin’ and cut into sections for blankies

[felmotes]

I would definitely put the hay in the corner of your bun’s litterbox. It’s the only thing that helped me littertrain my two.

[Crayon]

I have a small carpet square that I put in my Buns cage. It is small enough so that there is still bare plastic bottom showing also. He likes laying on the carpet but sometimes likes the bare plastic. He hates towels and blankets in his cage. To clean I just pick up the carpet and wack it outside and brush the shed bun fur off it.

[Ashelee]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! As soon as I took out all the litter and put in the litter box and hay in one side she started going right in there! Only a little pee on the floor but I think thats because its not huge so I have to clean it about twice a day, but still better then cleaning the WHOLE cage every 2 days haha!

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