Pet Rabbit Litter
You can care for a pet rabbit without litter at all, use litter in the pan under his cage, or use litter in a litter box. You have several choices.
No Litter
If you are using no litter, either your rabbit is in an outdoor hutch or you are lining his pan with something else.
For outdoor rabbits, you can allow the manure to collect on the ground or remove it periodically. If you decide to leave it to compost in place, consider adding earthworms, if they are not abundant in you location already (in which case they should find their way there just fine). Or, you can periodically sprinkle lime or Sweet PDZ granules, which I prefer, to reduce flies and odor.
For indoor rabbits you may line his pan with newsprint, pan liners, or leave it bare.
The newsprint will help you roll up waste easily and remove it. It does a little for odor control. I am concerned about the chemicals used in making newspapers. Newspapers give me headaches, and my mother, who is chemically sensitive, is not allowed to read a fresh newspaper at all. Since rabbits are naturally sensitive to chemicals, I avoid using printed newsprint around my rabbits. I admit, I can be overprotective. But because a rabbit only weighs a few pounds, the relative effect of chemicals on a rabbit is stronger than it is on us.
I do use unprinted newsprint with my rabbits in their nest boxes. You can usually buy an end roll at a newspaper office for just a few dollars and it will last a very long time, even if you change the paper daily (which is a very good idea with just paper for absorption and odor control).
Pan liners are actually made to use with litter. So I use puppy training pads as pan liners. My own rabbits are raised in hanging cages with containers far below to collect manure. But when I travel, though, I have two or three dozen rabbits in my vehicle with me most of the weekend. I definitely want things to smell as good as possible! I use the puppy training pads in the bottoms for three reasons. First, they absorb moisture very well. Two, they are easy to change, even on the road. And three, they do help reduce odor very well. An oversized pad can be used in larger cages.
Litter In The Pan
If you have a rabbit cage with a wire mesh bottom and a tray underneath to collect waste (the type I recommend), now is the time to consider pan liners. Place the liner in the tray and then fill with litter. Once a week, collect up the liner, tie it off, and dispose of it.
You can use litter with or without liners, but without, you will probably find that you must wash the pan a little more often. And you will have to lift the pan for dumping, which can be avoided with the liner.
Because the litter is out of reach of your rabbit, you have several choices of litter. You can use any unscented litter, even clay litter. You will find that the odor absorbing qualities vary from litter to litter. I like bird litter, corn cob litter, and pine litter especially well.
Litter In The Litter Box
Now you must be more careful in your rabbit litter selection. Whatever you put into your litter box, your rabbit may decide to eat a bit of. I recommend two choices: Yesterday's News Rabbit Litter and S'wheat Scoop pet bedding. S'wheat Scoop has the advantage of being flushable. Try them both and decide which works best for you and your pet rabbit.
Litter Training
Litter training is not difficult. It's perhaps a touch more difficult than training a cat and a ton easier than paper training a dog. For more information, check out How To House Train A Pet Rabbit, which includes litter training information.
Laurie Stroupe
Precious Pet Rabbits
Pet Rabbit Care Information, Quality Pet Rabbit Breeders, And Rabbit Fun
No Litter
If you are using no litter, either your rabbit is in an outdoor hutch or you are lining his pan with something else.
For outdoor rabbits, you can allow the manure to collect on the ground or remove it periodically. If you decide to leave it to compost in place, consider adding earthworms, if they are not abundant in you location already (in which case they should find their way there just fine). Or, you can periodically sprinkle lime or Sweet PDZ granules, which I prefer, to reduce flies and odor.
For indoor rabbits you may line his pan with newsprint, pan liners, or leave it bare.
The newsprint will help you roll up waste easily and remove it. It does a little for odor control. I am concerned about the chemicals used in making newspapers. Newspapers give me headaches, and my mother, who is chemically sensitive, is not allowed to read a fresh newspaper at all. Since rabbits are naturally sensitive to chemicals, I avoid using printed newsprint around my rabbits. I admit, I can be overprotective. But because a rabbit only weighs a few pounds, the relative effect of chemicals on a rabbit is stronger than it is on us.
I do use unprinted newsprint with my rabbits in their nest boxes. You can usually buy an end roll at a newspaper office for just a few dollars and it will last a very long time, even if you change the paper daily (which is a very good idea with just paper for absorption and odor control).
Pan liners are actually made to use with litter. So I use puppy training pads as pan liners. My own rabbits are raised in hanging cages with containers far below to collect manure. But when I travel, though, I have two or three dozen rabbits in my vehicle with me most of the weekend. I definitely want things to smell as good as possible! I use the puppy training pads in the bottoms for three reasons. First, they absorb moisture very well. Two, they are easy to change, even on the road. And three, they do help reduce odor very well. An oversized pad can be used in larger cages.
Litter In The Pan
If you have a rabbit cage with a wire mesh bottom and a tray underneath to collect waste (the type I recommend), now is the time to consider pan liners. Place the liner in the tray and then fill with litter. Once a week, collect up the liner, tie it off, and dispose of it.
You can use litter with or without liners, but without, you will probably find that you must wash the pan a little more often. And you will have to lift the pan for dumping, which can be avoided with the liner.
Because the litter is out of reach of your rabbit, you have several choices of litter. You can use any unscented litter, even clay litter. You will find that the odor absorbing qualities vary from litter to litter. I like bird litter, corn cob litter, and pine litter especially well.
Litter In The Litter Box
Now you must be more careful in your rabbit litter selection. Whatever you put into your litter box, your rabbit may decide to eat a bit of. I recommend two choices: Yesterday's News Rabbit Litter and S'wheat Scoop pet bedding. S'wheat Scoop has the advantage of being flushable. Try them both and decide which works best for you and your pet rabbit.
Litter Training
Litter training is not difficult. It's perhaps a touch more difficult than training a cat and a ton easier than paper training a dog. For more information, check out How To House Train A Pet Rabbit, which includes litter training information.
Laurie Stroupe
Precious Pet Rabbits
Pet Rabbit Care Information, Quality Pet Rabbit Breeders, And Rabbit Fun
posted by Laurie Stroupe at 10:44 AM
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