True to Life diggy box?

[ILoveLucy]

 

So last week my boyfriend and I went to home depot to get started on the diggy box! We had ALL sorts of grandious ideas, all which got side tabled…and we ended up just doing it exactly like it says on the site.

It turned out good and she loves it! These photos are before she really got going…it is MUCH more shredded now.

BUT…our original plan is that we wanted to do something that replicated being in the wild. Like dirt or grass or sand. You know really let her release her primative instincts and dig holes in real ground.

But we were unsure what product would be safe to use? I was afraid sand would get stuck to her paws and then when she went to clean herself she would ingest it and get sick. And we thought about using small pebbles, but do you think there is a chance she would try to eat one of them and choke??!?

I’m a paranoid mommy, and pretty much thought of a worse case scenario for everything we thought of.

Any ideas?

[mocha200]

i can see why you would be worried… i wouldn’t go with sand, cuz like you said if she went to go lick it off her feet…. you could use leaves ( not oak leaves though)

[mocha200]

btw love the bin idea! how did you stick on the cable cord protector thing?

[ILoveLucy]

Thanks! My boyfriend is super handy and creative.

It’s pretty basic cord protector (really flexible with a slit down the middle) and we just slipped it on. It’s tight enough that it just stays.

[mocha200]

thats neat! i might have to make my bus one of thoughs!

[Barbie]

Oh wow, I love that! I’ve used low cardboard boxes with shredded paper before, but eventually someone pees in it and I have to take it away, at least with a plastic bin, all you have to do is wipe it out and replace the digging material. I definitely wouldn’t use sand for the reason you said, you don’t want bunny eating that. What concerns me about soil or dirt is that it could be full of contaminants – fertilizer, chemicals, pesticides, bugs… even if you don’t fertilize or do anything to your yard, rain and ground water will bring those chemicals into your yard… Maybe you can find some “clean” potting soil or something at a gardening store…?

[ILoveLucy]

Yeah maybe I can find some sort of organic dirt?

What about some sort of wood chips? That way she could gnaw on them too?
Or would that be too hard on her feet?

[Monkeybun]

You could buy some aspen wood shavings maybe, but some buns use that in litter boxes.. its bunny safe however.

[jerseygirl]

Re: soil/potting mixes – Does organic potting mix have the same dangers as regular mixes?

I’ve thought about this diggy concept also. With pebbles, I’ve thought about containing it in a big fabric bag so it can still be scrabbled at and pushed around but not eaten. Though I highly doubt they’d try. Mine have time outdoors and they dont try eat stones.

My Doe used to spend a lot of time atop a bean bag, arranging, burrowing & plus nibbling the cover.    Then with 2 rabbits, they took to peeing on it so that’s been sidelined. But this is why I think a pebble bag would have some appeal. I think they’d like the coolness of the pebbles too.  The bonus for us is they’re washable in case bunny decides to pee on digging material. 

[mocha200]

i might have to try that jersey do you sew it to gather then?

[Monkeybun]

I’ve been thinking about going to the fabric store and geting a bunch of scrap fabric of different textures to throw in a box for Moosie. he loves digging at fabric, but only nibbles at it if it’s fluffy like a towel. he leaves smooth fabric alone except to dig or throw it

[jerseygirl]

i might have to try that jersey do you sew it to gather then?

Do you mean the sack for the pebbles? I haven’t actually done this yet. Just something I’m thinking about but not doing. I have too many things like that so nothing gets done!! Anyway, I just though a simple sack with a drawstring would work. You could even use something like a big zippered pillow cover. I am pretty tempted to try just pebbles on their own, though I just KNOW my 2 rascals will poo on them.

[LoveChaCha]

Interesting.
Was a box cutter used to make the hole? I’ve been wondering this.

[Balefulregards]

First off, this is an AWESOME idea – and one which will be replicated in my home soon.

Jersey, are you thinking something like peastone or pea gravel? Its often used in playgrounds too. I like the aspen shavings idea too – or maybe some untreated bark mulch of some sort?
although I suppose it all had to do with the preference of Your digger.

[ILoveLucy]

We used a little dry-wall saw. I bet a box cutter would work too though.

I like the idea of the pebbles in the bag. Maybe I could just make something like that and put it at the bottom underneath all the shredded paper.

[BinkyBunny]

I would love to add this to our Toy Test Section — a ramped up diggy box! Are you able to get any video? That would be great to see!

[ILoveLucy]

We are getting spayed today (well…Lucy is…not me, obviously…though with the knots in my stomach waiting on her to come out of surgery you would think I was being operated on myself), but yeah as soon as she has recovered we are going to start on this project and I can definetly submit photos/video.

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