What is a good litter for indoor rabbit?

[kenshan1]

Our bunny, he's a big boy, we've had for 5mos is litter box trained. What is the best litter to use for it? Am using shavings but it doesn't control smells real well.

Shannon

 

[M.R. Lops]

I use corncob litter for my inside pet bunny. It'll still smell though if I don't clean her litter box often.

 

[kenshan1]

I use corncob litter for my inside pet bunny. It'll still smell though if I don't clean her litter box often.

Right now its one day & then its stinking. I can't have him outside or our dogs won't leave him alone, we have a Jack Russell that still doesn't really know there is a bunny in the house or my daughter would forget about him it is her bunny. Just a thought I had, so cat litter is out? Not a good idea? Would he eat it?

Shannon

 

[M.R. Lops]

They may attempt to eat their litter at first, but if its a litter made for small animals then it should be safe. As I said before, I just use Corncob litter that I get from Wal-Mart. Its made for small animals. Also, for the odor, I know they sell some odor spray at local farm stores.

 

[Ms. Research]

My buns are indoors as well. What I use is called Eco Bedding. I get it at the Pet Supply Store (deals with exotic animals). It's made of recycled paper. Absorbs the urine very well. It's hypoallergenic and dust free. You do NOT want to use kitty litter. Not only will a rabbit it the litter, but the dust will get into their respiratory system. My buns did chew on the recycled paper, but found the hay I put in their litter box better. I'm incline to clean the litter box every day. Keeps down the smell and keeps buns feet from getting urine burns which may cause sore hocks. But remember I have two buns in the same crate, compared to your one bunny. With the recycled paper absorbing and once or twice a day removing the soaked area and putting in hay, this may help your odor problem and you can extend the full change of the litter box for a couple of days. Bunny's urine IS stinky. Buck OR Doe.

Have you considered nuetering your male? The intacted males will start to spray their area to mark it. Many breeders put spray guards around their crates to protect themselves from getting sprayed. Your male bunny may be spraying the crate and that will also bring on odor. Neutering will help with that. Neutered males do eventually stop spraying after they are neutered. Plus it makes them calmer and helps with aggression. But with one bunny, the only aggression you might find is with you. But daily handling can help that as well.

Oh a Jack Russell? A dog that LOVES to hunt rabbits. But I've seen pictures where any animal can become house mates. I would go on line and find information about introducing your dog to your bunny. Eventually the dog is going to realize there is a bunny in the house and you need to be prepared for your daughter's sake and both the bunny and dog's sake. I have a 12 year old mix though LOVED to hunt rabbits in his younger days, has settled down but still must be watched around our bunnies. Animal instinct.

I hope this long post helps. Wishing your daughter luck with her new bunny.

 

[Ms. Research]

Just wanted to add

There are websites like:

House Rabbit Society

http://www.rabbit.org/

The Rabbit Geek

http://www.rabbitgeek.com/

People who LOVE Rabbits with YEARS of experience there to help.

Also the Rabbit archives here will bring great advise along with websites to go to, etc.

There are plenty of Wise information out there to help you manage harmony and health for your rabbit. And with the reminding the daughter about the bunny, all children forget at times. But keep up the reminding, IMHO, it truly benefits a child to learn to care for a rabbit, any animal for that matter. Makes them understand the respect needed for unconditional love. Makes them a better person.

Just my opinion.

 

[kenshan1]

My buns are indoors as well. What I use is called Eco Bedding. I get it at the Pet Supply Store (deals with exotic animals). It's made of recycled paper. Absorbs the urine very well. It's hypoallergenic and dust free. You do NOT want to use kitty litter. Not only will a rabbit it the litter, but the dust will get into their respiratory system. My buns did chew on the recycled paper, but found the hay I put in their litter box better. I'm incline to clean the litter box every day. Keeps down the smell and keeps buns feet from getting urine burns which may cause sore hocks. But remember I have two buns in the same crate, compared to your one bunny. With the recycled paper absorbing and once or twice a day removing the soaked area and putting in hay, this may help your odor problem and you can extend the full change of the litter box for a couple of days. Bunny's urine IS stinky. Buck OR Doe.

Have you considered nuetering your male? The intacted males will start to spray their area to mark it. Many breeders put spray guards around their crates to protect themselves from getting sprayed. Your male bunny may be spraying the crate and that will also bring on odor. Neutering will help with that. Neutered males do eventually stop spraying after they are neutered. Plus it makes them calmer and helps with aggression. But with one bunny, the only aggression you might find is with you. But daily handling can help that as well.

Oh a Jack Russell? A dog that LOVES to hunt rabbits. But I've seen pictures where any animal can become house mates. I would go on line and find information about introducing your dog to your bunny. Eventually the dog is going to realize there is a bunny in the house and you need to be prepared for your daughter's sake and both the bunny and dog's sake. I have a 12 year old mix though LOVED to hunt rabbits in his younger days, has settled down but still must be watched around our bunnies. Animal instinct.

I hope this long post helps. Wishing your daughter luck with her new bunny.

Thanks we can't have hay in the house, tried that & couldn't figure out why we kept getting head colds, turns out it was allergies. Once we got that out of the house & kept the pen cleaned more our allergies went way down. I will try the Eco Bedding. Haven't throught about getting him neutered but might need to. He has bit my daughter 2 times but usually its been when he got scared.

The Jack Russell is old 11yrs & he's not a strong hunter but has taken down a few wild baby bunnies a few yrs ago. Once they get bigger then mouse size, chick size or baby bunny size he kind of leaves them alone. He hasn't really been allowed to get face to face with the bunny. We got our bunny in March as a little baby, didn't ask how big he'd get from the feed store. He has long ears & got quite big. We are buying him a bigger hutch for indoors that is being built for us from a bunny farm I found, right now he just has pen & he about fills it. He's not a giant but the farm guy said he's a mix of the giant breeds. Anyway the dogs stay in the kitchen laundry area & are allowed in the rest of the house when we say only. Bunny is kept in my daughter's room only, very rare for him to be in the livingroom. I did let the JR see him while I held the JR but the bunny wasn't very happy & thumped his pen very loudly. Haven't let them see each other again. We have chickens also & with a little hotwire around the coop when they were chicks last yr the JR learned to leave them alone. All the dogs (JR, Sheltie & cocker) run around the yard with the chickens loose in the same yard. The dogs actually steer wide around them as one or 2 of the hens have pecked at the dogs lol.

Shannon

 

[Ms. Research]

My buns are indoors as well. What I use is called Eco Bedding. I get it at the Pet Supply Store (deals with exotic animals). It's made of recycled paper. Absorbs the urine very well. It's hypoallergenic and dust free. You do NOT want to use kitty litter. Not only will a rabbit it the litter, but the dust will get into their respiratory system. My buns did chew on the recycled paper, but found the hay I put in their litter box better. I'm incline to clean the litter box every day. Keeps down the smell and keeps buns feet from getting urine burns which may cause sore hocks. But remember I have two buns in the same crate, compared to your one bunny. With the recycled paper absorbing and once or twice a day removing the soaked area and putting in hay, this may help your odor problem and you can extend the full change of the litter box for a couple of days. Bunny's urine IS stinky. Buck OR Doe.

Have you considered nuetering your male? The intacted males will start to spray their area to mark it. Many breeders put spray guards around their crates to protect themselves from getting sprayed. Your male bunny may be spraying the crate and that will also bring on odor. Neutering will help with that. Neutered males do eventually stop spraying after they are neutered. Plus it makes them calmer and helps with aggression. But with one bunny, the only aggression you might find is with you. But daily handling can help that as well.

Oh a Jack Russell? A dog that LOVES to hunt rabbits. But I've seen pictures where any animal can become house mates. I would go on line and find information about introducing your dog to your bunny. Eventually the dog is going to realize there is a bunny in the house and you need to be prepared for your daughter's sake and both the bunny and dog's sake. I have a 12 year old mix though LOVED to hunt rabbits in his younger days, has settled down but still must be watched around our bunnies. Animal instinct.

I hope this long post helps. Wishing your daughter luck with her new bunny.

Thanks we can't have hay in the house, tried that & couldn't figure out why we kept getting head colds, turns out it was allergies. Once we got that out of the house & kept the pen cleaned more our allergies went way down. I will try the Eco Bedding. Haven't throught about getting him neutered but might need to. He has bit my daughter 2 times but usually its been when he got scared.

The Jack Russell is old 11yrs & he's not a strong hunter but has taken down a few wild baby bunnies a few yrs ago. Once they get bigger then mouse size, chick size or baby bunny size he kind of leaves them alone. He hasn't really been allowed to get face to face with the bunny. We got our bunny in March as a little baby, didn't ask how big he'd get from the feed store. He has long ears & got quite big. We are buying him a bigger hutch for indoors that is being built for us from a bunny farm I found, right now he just has pen & he about fills it. He's not a giant but the farm guy said he's a mix of the giant breeds. Anyway the dogs stay in the kitchen laundry area & are allowed in the rest of the house when we say only. Bunny is kept in my daughter's room only, very rare for him to be in the livingroom. I did let the JR see him while I held the JR but the bunny wasn't very happy & thumped his pen very loudly. Haven't let them see each other again. We have chickens also & with a little hotwire around the coop when they were chicks last yr the JR learned to leave them alone. All the dogs (JR, Sheltie & cocker) run around the yard with the chickens loose in the same yard. The dogs actually steer wide around them as one or 2 of the hens have pecked at the dogs lol.

Shannon

Sorry to hear about the allergies, but it does happen and glad you figured it out. I think allergies ARE worse than a cold and make you feel twice as miserable. FYI on Eco Bedding, there are two kinds that I saw. One with no "perfume" scent (which we get DUE to allergies to perfume) and one with a scent. Just for you to consider.

Regarding your rabbit getting scared and biting your daughter, that happened to me as well. I was lucky, mine did not bite just "mouthed" because he was scared. Maybe because he sensed I was older? The more your daughter and other family members handle the rabbit, it should get better. It did with me. No more mouthing. I learned how to handle. I have smaller rabbits to your daughter's larger one. I was tentative because I was afraid I'd hurt them. Well, the more experience I got, the more confidence I got and the bonding with my bunnies has been priceless. No bites and less scratches.

One thing you have to realize is your bunny is in too small of a cage which will make them defensive, (that also applies to a too big cage) that's also putting stress on your bonding. Once you get your new cage, that stress point will be alleviated. Believe me, I was new at bunnies, not knowing how big they would get or how small they really are. Bought a small pen for them to set up in the living room for exercise. Put them in, and first thing they do is hop right thru the bars.

Seems your dogs are used to other animals so I don't see where there will be a problem once your bunny is in his permanent home. Once he's settled, try to introduce him to JR again. The thumping is a warning so you were right to keep them apart. But I would try again so that you don't have to keep them apart. It's not fun when having to juggle animals to keep the peace.