Winter Warm Bedding

[VelvetLopBunz]

Cold weather is well on it’s way and I don’t want my bunny to get cold at night when I can’t see him. I’ve tried to put a fleece blanket on the floor but it gets peed and pooped on. I’ve also heard a blanket may not be the best insert because it absorbs heat? Not sure if that is true. My bun is litter trained, but seems to still poop around plenty. I end up scrubbing the floor of his cage every morning from soft poo. Any tips to fix that? Anyway, would shredded newspaper be a good idea? Velvet would definitely eat it before hay so not sure that’s a great idea either. A cardboard piece is a similar situation. It gets eaten and dirtied, not laid on. I would love any advice. Thx✨

[Azerane]

Regarding the soft poo, is it cecotropes that simply haven’t been eaten (the soft night poos that are re-ingested and look kind of like a little blackberry cluster) or is it just regular poos that are squishy? Check out this page for images of normal fecal and cecal poops: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/drop/Drp_en.htm

The reason I ask is that regular fecal poop should not be soft and squishy, and shouldn’t be getting trodden into bedding. Of my pair however, Luna seems to make a mess when eating her cecal poops and I do sometimes end up with a few brown stains on my fleece from where she’s let it sit or has squished it into the fleece before eating it.

I don’t know about blankets absorbing heat, they would protect from heat loss on a cold hard surface. But fleece blankets, or piles of hay or straw bedding are good options for bunnies who are feeling cold. They can snuggle on the blanket or nestle into the pile of hay for warmth. You can certainly use shredded paper, though it may be too much like litter and your bunny may take to pooping and peeing in it as well as the litter box.

[tobyluv]

If the soft poop is your bunny’s regular poop and not cecals, that is likely caused by diet. A diet with too many pellets and not enough hay will produce soft poop. After checking out the link that Azerane gave you, if you determine that the soft poop is his regular poop, you will need to make sure that he is eating plenty of hay, and you should cut back (slowly) on the pellets. If he is not a good hay eater, try different varieties and brands. Rabbits can be picky about their hay.

Is your rabbit neutered? It can be difficult to fully litter box train a rabbit that isn’t spayed or neutered.

[VelvetLopBunz]

He was neutered a few months ago and eats lots of hay. I use a measuring cup for his pellets and every morning he gets 1/4 cup (he weighs about 6 lbs). He loves hay and consumes 2-3 hay racks full everyday. I got him a living world xl cage last Wednesday but he used to poop in the other cage plenty too. Can I litter train him not to? I rarely see cecotropes anywhere so I know they get eaten, unless not at night. That’s the only time I see soft poo

[VelvetLopBunz]

I have also used hay the past few days, but for such a large cage I have to use lots to fill an area big enough to lay on. It gets wasted quickly because Velvet thinks it’s like a litter box. By the way, he lives in our screened in porch attached to our house. We cover the screens with plastic in the winter so it won’t be so cold.

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