Type of Litter Box?

[Deleted User]

Hello! I’m curious to know what type of litter box you all would recommend. Barbi Brown of the infamous “Barbi Brown’s Bunnies” website sells a tray with a wire insert to supposedly prevent rabbits from digging out their litter and to discourage them from sleeping in their litter boxes.

A picture of the tray is as follows:

That being said, as I’ve been perusing BinkyBunny.com and its forum, I’ve seen quite a few owners using large, plastic trays with no inserts as litter boxes. (See below.)

I’m confused now! Which type would you recommend? Any tips whatsoever would be GREATLY appreciated, as I’m extremely new to this and trying to do the very best for my new bunny.

Thanks in advance.

[Monkeybun]

I personally just use the regular rectangular cat litter boxes, with Carefresh litter in it. My 2 buns love them

[Deleted User]

Thanks so much for replying, Monkeybun! I might just end up doing something like that myself… Sounds easier. Assuming he doesn’t decide to dig and make a mess!

[Monkeybun]

Neither of mine are real big diggers, although Moose does like digging on his fleece occasionally. So thats a plus for me Monkey DOES like flopping in a nice clean box, she’s so helpful when I clean them lol. She gets in there and shoves the litter into the corners for me, then flops if it meets her approval

[angelicvampyre]

I fyou do want a grid one, look around you can find ones with a plastic grid. They are harder to clean but if your bunny loves to sit in his waste then as lease some of it goes through the grid. However when you use these what I do is paper line the bottom, then a layer of carefresh or breeders choice, the grid and then another smaller layer of whatever you are using for litter.

[jerseygirl]

Do check out the store here. The boxes are quite deep and there’s and optional grid mesh for the top if you want. It is hard to see but the metal boxes in the pictures don’t look that deep. Rabbits have a habbit of peeing over the edge. The only thing with plastic is they can absorb the smell in time. Cleaning with vinegar helps but eventually you’d have to replace it. But they’re not too expensive and readily available.

[LoveChaCha]

I use just a regular cat litter box (no top on it lol) and fill it with a small layer of carefresh and stuff it with hay. My bun doesn’t seem to mind it at all, she’ll sit in it and munch on hay while she does her business.

Only problem is, she tends to move the box when she jumps out of it LOL

[Elrohwen]

I use regular rectangular cat boxes with no grid because my bunnies don’t dig in their litter.

For litter, I used to use Yesterday’s News, which I loved, but I switched to wood stove pellets because they’ve much cheaper. I would recommend either.

[Beka27]

Not all rabbits dig their litter, so I think a screen is only necessary if you have a digger.

Some people use them so they can clean the box less frequently, but having a rabbit in your house, I don’t see how that works… Just b/c the rabbit isn’t necessarily SITTING in a dirty box, that doesn’t mean the ammonia fumes from the urine are not irritating to their system.

The big cat boxes are definitely the way to go! And it’s perfectly normal for bunnies to WANT to spend time and lay in their box. You shouldn’t discourage that.

[Deleted User]

Posted By Merbella on 06/02/2010 08:42 PM

 tray with a wire insert to supposedly prevent rabbits from digging out their litter and to discourage them from sleeping in their litter boxes.

Rabbit breeders like the wire inserts because there are so many rabbits being kept in a rabbitry. It is for the human’s convenience, to save on absorbing litter material and to make clean-up fast.

If a rabbit had a choice he would want a soft litter setup. He might love to sleep in it and with absorbing litter material this would not make him get dirty. He would want it nicely padded with hay and love it.

Young rabbits are more inclined to digging out litter and making a big mess. There are other ways to keep a rabbit from digging in his box, or to contain the mess. You can use an enclosed litterbox like they sell for cats or you can go with a screen insert like the BB store has it. It is different than what rabbitries use, it is very soft on the bunnies feet. It is a screen, not a wire grate.

I do find that lining the litterbox with hay on top of the absorbing material helps very much to discourage digging. Rabbits tend to spread out hay which is the opposite of digging; it is a kind of flattening action. Also, litter material is a factor in digging; when I have used wood stove pellets for the litterboxes my rabbits loved to throw that around.

I would stay away from the litterbox you posted in the first little photo and ecxperiment with other things to find what works best for your bunny. He will be happier for it.

 

[Elrohwen]

I haven’t seen anyone mention the cleaning that wire grids require. I think one of the main reasons for only using them if necessary (if you own a digger) is that they’re hard to clean. A litter box is easy to wipe down with some vinegar and a paper towel, but grids aren’t quite as easy. You often have to soak them and it’s just a pain.

[Beka27]

Good point Elrohwen! I’m thinking you’d either have to soak them, or have some kind of special brush to give them a good scrub. You’d probably need a couple grids to change in and out while the other was soaking… and like with litterboxes, they’d have to be replaced from time to time.

[Balefulregards]

Maybe one of those wire brushes? At any rate, I also use the 2 Big Plastic cat boxes, and occasionally Coco Likes to throw Hay around, but rarely digs the litter proper.

Occasionally, like jerseygirl mentioned, one will pee a bit over the edge. I notice it depends on how they are sitting in the box. The tail lifts and they certainly aren’t looking behind them as they go, so sometimes I do clean up some overshot pee. Also, You don’t need alot of the Yesterdays news for absorbency. The first time I used it, I used the whole Bag ( commence laughing as I dumped the WHOLE BIG BAG in her rectangular box and thought “Geesh, If I have to use a big bag of this 3 times a week, I am not sure I am going to be able to afford it)

Needless to say, A little goes a long way. When I notice they seem to be sitting “higher” in the box, it means that the litter needs to be changed as it has reached absorbency max. I also keep Hay in mine, as they really like to munch while using the box.

[Beka27]

Lol Baleful… I did the same thing the first time with WSP. I filled the box up HALF WAY with pellets. When I cleaned the box a few days late, they had absorbed so much and gotten so puffy, the box was practically overflowing and really heavy to lift. Now I know to only do about 2 cups worth = a single layer of pellets.

[Andi]

I use the bottoms of those rabbit and guinea pig cages. They are huge for a litter box but to small to house bunnies. Great for groups, and larger bunnies I find. I also have some regular cat litter boxes, and some ‘high back’ square ones I use for playtime in my livingroom, or hospital cages.
I use wood pellet litter, i find it is great with absorbtion and smell, plus cheaper then most litters.

[dmh426]

I would never, ever suggest or support the wire tray….it’s murder on your bunny’s feet! Nails can easliy get ripped out and if your bunny is a Rex, their feet are already very sensitive due to the fact that fur doesn’t grown very well there. The plastic box is great! I have on from PetSmart, that has higher sides so litter can not get kicked out. I empty it every other day, use only newspaper based pellets (great for no odor!) and once a week clean with vinegar.

I would highly recommend Yesterdays News or another newspaper based pellet. A tip I’ve figured out though: The Yesterdays News cat litter is EXACTLY the same thing as the small animal litter, and is up to $3 cheaper for the same size bag!

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