What Flooring???

[janeblk]

I am getting my bunny’s home ready for her and i am a first timer. I want to find flooring for her bunny condo that is easy to clean, that she wont get sick from chewing and what not. I have looked EVERYWHERE trying to get information on this, this is what ive heard from bunny owners so far..

Carpet: BAD! they will get sick

Plastic: bad too right? they cant chew on plastic plus its slippery

Wood: where do you find untreated wood? ive tried to look, most places dont have a clue if their wood flooring is untreated

Cardboard: my bunnies not potty trained yet (8 weeks) it would soak through

Newspaper or sawdust: this would probably confuse him when he’s being potty trained

Tile: I’m afraid this would be bad too if he chewed on it, im not sure.

Grass mats: poop and pee gets stuck in them and you cant clean them..cant aford to buy replacements as often as her pn should be cleaned

PLEASE if anyone can suggest a bunny safe flooring and where i can get it I would really appreciate it!

[Sarita]

Are you making a C&C condo?

[Beka27]

You can try coroplast, aka: plastic sign-board.

Any of those options are legitimate options, and you may find that your flooring needs will change as bunny matures. For example, my pair are adults and littertrained. They have their pen on carpeting because of their good litter habits and the fact that they do not chew the carpeting.

If you want something more resilient, you could try a wood platform with tiling on top, made to fit the size of the condo. Or even a simple piece of linoleum.

If you make flooring, make sure it is large enough for the size of the condo when the bunny is full-grown. Minimum floor space should be 2×4 grids, 3×4 grids would be even better.

[KatnipCrzy]

Many people use linoleum- in a whole piece or as peel and stick tiles.  As long as it is flat the bunny won’t be able to get his teeth or nails into it.   Any cleanable surface is likely to be slippery so it is important to provide grass mats or cardboard for traction.

It is always nice to plan ahead- but I have noticed from personal experience that I rarely end up with my “finished habitat” right away.  By the time I got my bunnies thru baby stage then then bonding- my plans had changed.  So keep in mind you can always do a temporary “bottom” until you find out what your bunny might chew on, dig on, etc.

I have carpet in my family room where the bunnies are- so I use thick vinyl sheeting purchased from a fabric store to lay over the carpet and then I cover it with a fleece blanket.  My bunnies have chewed small holes in the vinyl if it gets bunched- but they don’t ingest it and they don’t go after the carpet.  My pens usually hold the vinyl flat- but it sometimes gets bumps and a little wrinkled.  I am sure there are other bunnies that would not do well with the temptation- but all 3 of mine do fine.

Coroplast would also work will if it is withing the dimensions of what you are building.

[BinkyBunny]

I have used sheet vinyl and linoleum in the past and if you are able to design it so that the edges of the sheet vinyl/or linoleum are out of their chew area then that’s best. But even at the rabbit rescue I volunteered for, they used the same thing for their condos. Tons of bunnies, same type of flooring never a problem. Like Katnip’s experience, some may chew it, but they never digested it.

I wouldn’t use wood as that will soak up urine.

Also if you do use the vinyl or linoleum, you want to be curve it up a bit so that the urine will stay on top and not soak down underneath, get trapped and smell.

[RubyRain]

I have those big rubber play mats. I make sure the edges are not accessible though because once he chewed the edge when he was out.

I use these mats with a large X pen and it’s worked great so far. Easy to wipe up and clean. He hasn’t tried to dig/chew on the seams (knock on wood) and I have a towel in there too for him to lay on.

[peppypoo]

I found a roll of garage flooring stuff at Home Depot when I was making the bunny condo. It’s ridged on one side and lightly textured on the other; I thought the ridges were a little too high for bunny comfort, so I use it upside down. It’s very easy to clean (wipe down), nonabsorbant, and provides more traction than vinyl or linoleum. If I recall correctly, it was available both as pre-cut rolls and as a big roll that you purchase by the foot.

[jerseygirl]

I’ve also used sheet vinyl (non- cushioned type) upside down. The back had a slightly textured surface but still wipeable. Also not a problem if flat and edged on outside of pen or condo. A member just posted about using shower floor liner in another thread. I think these are PVC? That might be another option used similar to vinyl.

[BinkyBunny]

This thread will soon be moved to Habitats — Leaders, please move this by sunday night if I haven’t done so already. Thanks!

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