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Groucho in his litter box
made for one bunny. 
"Hay, this is my box!"
So why not use wood chips or clay litters?
Love that fresh woodsy smell
from pine or cedar chips? I did until I found out there are
phenols in the softwood shavings. These aren't in hardwoods in the
same quantities as softwoods such as aspen making it safer. The
phenols cause problems for the rabbit's liver, respiratory system and
there also seems to be a cancer connection, too. For me, that was
enough reason to choose an alternative.
 First
the box:
Cat litter boxes work just
fine. There are several sizes to choose from depending on how big
your rabbit is and how many bunnies need to use the box.
By the way use a litter box,
even if the rabbit is in a cage. The cage should be large enough
to hold the litter box and have room for the bunny to move around.
The wire floors in cages are terrible for sensitive rabbit feet and they
can get a condition called "sore hocks." Save yourself and the
bunny problems and use a litter box. It is the first step in
litter box training them by starting in their cage or condo. (See
Bunny Digs
for housing options.)
What to put in it?
Hopperhome rabbits
Rosemary and her mate, Mr. Bumble, did a very unscientific review of
litters recently. Along with their human, they offer their
biased point of view on the litters below:
GRASS/STRAW PELLETS
ECO-Straw
Critter Country
Clean'n'Comfy
Human: clean,
absorbent, no dust, really do control odor and can compost.
Not cheap.
Rosemary: Not my style
since I like to graze real hay. My mate, Bumble, seemed to
enjoy Eco-straw best. Get it from:
www.oxbowhay.com
RECYCLED PAPER
Yesterday’s News
Carefresh
Crown Animal Bedding
(Best Buy!)
Human: dust free,
controls odor, good urine absorption. Expensive (exception: Crown
Animal Bedding - get at feed stores). No benefit for teeth.
Need to have hay available in hopper for necessary fiber and dental
health.
Rosemary: Ink
stinks! Bumble will eat anything and it stuck to his feet and turned
them black except for Crown Animal Bedding.
CITRIS PEELS
CitraFresh
Human: no dust, safe, absorption not as good as other litters.
No fiber benefit for digestion.
Rosemary: Citrus!
Get the smelly stuff out of my pen. Again, Bumble will eat
anything and after the first day, he didn’t eat anymore. No
romantic time grazing together!
HAY
Timothy Hay
Grass Hay
Human: Happy
rabbits, best used over newspaper lining to absorb urine.
Good compost. Excellent for nutrition and dental health.
Cheap – buy it by the bale for $10 at a feed store. Messy.
Get a litter box with high sides.
Rosemary: I enjoy hours grazing with Bumble in our box.
Loved the chewing. Can dig and redecorate litter box all
day.
FOOD PELLETS
Human: odor control
and absorbs urine okay. Need a hay hopper for benefit to
teeth and for fiber necessary to diet.
Rosemary: Fat,
who me? Bumble never stopped eating. We have no
self-control.
AVOID THESE
LITTERS!
Hopperhome CANNOT
recommend:
SHAVINGS (WOOD) -
Pine or aspen shavings may contain some phenols and oils.
Cedar is toxic to rabbits.
CORN COB - Can cause
digestive blockages.
CLAY - Cat Litter
both clumping and non-clumping. Can cause life threatening
blockages if ingested.
SHREDDED OFFICE
PAPER toners can be toxic.
KENAF - Highly
absorbent and used for horse bedding. Fiber plant from
east-central Africa. Not a lot of sources. Need to
drink plenty of water when ingested to avoid blockages according
to one website for horses. Too fluffy and dusty.
What I do
- I use timothy hay and newspapers and sometimes I will use the
crown animal bedding especially since I have taken care of
rehabilitating rabbits.
 First,
I line the bottom of the box with several layers of newspaper.
Until my rabbit, Rosemary,
was spayed she found it irresistible and ripped it to shreds.
Typical unaltered teenage bunny behavior! Solution:
Drill holes in the bottom of an identical litter box and put wood
spacers on top of the newspaper in the non-drilled box with the
newspaper layers on the bottom. Then put the drilled box in over
the one with the newspaper in it. The urine runs down into the second
box and the paper absorbs it. OR you can use a cat litter
box that is perfect for this problem and keeps your rabbit's feet dry,
too.
See the Lift 'n Sift for cats, but purrrfect for rabbits.
 Second
item, is fresh timothy hay. The rabbits love to graze on it.
They need it for their digestion everyday. I change the box every other
day so it doesn't have a chance to smell. The rabbits only use one
end of the box for the bathroom and the other end for grazing. It
works very well. Also, you can get a hay dispenser and hang it over the
litter box to make their area cleaner. Sometimes I put in a
handful of oat hay or straw hay in the box for variety. (Yes, they are
spoiled rabbits.)
Okay, you say, but isn't
timothy hay expensive? Not when you buy it in 9, 25 or 50
pound boxes or buy by the bale at a feed store.
Order from
Oxbow Hay online. Their hay is very fresh! You can also order
it from American Pet Diner
online. I store the hay in plastic containers with holes drilled in the
top so it doesn't get moldy. The hay is delivered to my work via
UPS since I'm not home to get it during the day. I'll do anything
for my bunnies including having people "moo" in the elevator!
Living near a feed store and having a dry garage for storage is even
cheaper. Always check the hay for freshness and make sure it is
timothy hay and not grass hay. I can't always use a bale so I
donate some to my rabbit vet, to the shelter or give to other rabbit
fans.
Rinse the litter boxes with
white vinegar to control odor if needed after you clean it. The
newspaper on the bottom makes hay removal from the box less messy since
the layer of paper even if it is soaked comes right out leaving no hay
in the box to rinse out or go down your drain.
Be sure and change it out every
other day to keep down odor. I change it everyday in the summer.
Litter Box Train
Your Rabbit.
See the HRS web page on
Litter Training
For a litter box for older rabbits or
rabbits recovering after surgery see the
Hi-Bac
litter box from PetSmart.
Photos on this page: HopperHome's own
mini-lop, Groucho.
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