Wood flooring?

[Royal]

 Hi! In my new room I’m planning on getting wood flooring. Is wood floors safe/okay for a bun to walk/run across? I have lots of squishy rugs and lots of squishy blankets and stuff so the bun won’t be on the hard, cold, wood floor all the time. I just want to see if stained wood floors have any cons to it with bunnies running and have accidents on them sometimes. Also, do buns chew on the wood floors (if they find they can) more than vinyl floors or carpet? Oh, one more quick question. The heaters I have in my room are the ones that are connected to the bottom of my walls. I think they r called baseboard heaters. (pic on the bottom)It’s wood and all so the buns will

be able to chew it easily. Should I cover them with NIC grids or X-pens?

 

[Wick & Fable]

Just make sure you have rugs and mats for your rabbit to rest on. For a bit, your rabbit will slip and slide and any quick turns will probably result in a small crash into the wall, but it’s not detrimental unless its 100% slippy floor and your rabbit has no where to chill and feel more sturdy. My apartment’s main area, where Wick spends his time (living room/kitchen), is all wood floor, and he used to slip around a lot, but now he just runs on it normally and dinks against a wall occasionally when he wants to change direction suddenly. He does spend most time on carpeted areas though. The only time he lounges on wood is when it’s hot, as the wood floor is colder.

I also have the baseboard heaters. Wick does not destroy or chew items, so from my experience, there has been no problems healthwise. The only concern is if there’s furniture against it, a rabbit may try and use it as a step-up to get into a groove behind a couch or something, and their foot or another limb may slip and get caught in the grate if it’s large enough. To prevent this, I’d clog any gaps that occur with pieces of furniture directly against the baseboards.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Sirius&Luna]

I also have wooden floors and rugs, and although occasionally they slip, most the time they’re fine. I’ve noticed mine prefer to lie half on the rug and half on the floor. Strange creatures.

My buns are chewers, and have never managed to chew the floor. I’m pretty sure if they would they could, so I don’t think that’s a concern. With the heaters, see how they react, but you might need to box it off.

[Gordo and Janice]

Yes, I think wood flooring is fine.  When we moved to the new house, we put in wood floors.  There are rugs here and there throughout.  Icey seemed to manage just fine.  There was a learning curve.  Not being able to stop or trying to turn on a dime.  Like someone running on ice.  There were some slips onto her side and plenty of crashes into walls and doorways but they weren’t traumatic impacts.  As with most animals, us included, they adapt pretty quick.  But plenty of rugs, otherwise it might be a little cruel.

What we had, which Icey seemed perfectly fine with, and was able to launch herself around with, and use as stopping points, were a small rug in front of the fridge, small one in front of the microwave, one in front of the kitchen sink, another one between the kitchen and the breakfast nook.  One large one in the living room, a runner in the hallway, one at Janice’s desk in the bedroom, one at my desk in the office, and then the ones in front of sinks in the bathrooms.  Oh and the towels and blankets over by her litter and feeding area.  She negotiated the terrain just fine.

And I agree, I think if they could they would chew on the wood floor, but the surface is too flat.  I could hear Icey under the bed at first trying to grab the wood floor with her teeth (a distinct sound).  But she gave it up soon after.  Baseboards???  Now that’s another story.

And yes she also liked to lay against edges all the time.  The wood floor to tile transition.  The edge of the rugs on the wood floors.  Up against the wall edges.  If you look at her avatar she is lying on the edge of the towel to blanket transition even though it’s only an edge of 1/16 to 1/8 inches.  OCD she seemed to be (Just like her daddy, if I may).

[Gordo and Janice]

Oh, and there will probably be some accidents. We discovered if caught early, no big deal, wipe and go. If caught too late, it would leave a bit of a stain around the edges of the puddle but vinegar usually made that disappear.

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