litter questions

[dreamgal042]

Okay, I use Carefree litter. I know pine is no good for rabbits...is it the smell? the texture? or if they eat it?

Ivory is sitting on his cage on a metal rack, so he's not actually touching the litter. Is pine still not recommended? (its cheaper than the carefree stuff) what about aspen? I saw that at the petstore.



not really related to the litter question, but can anyone recommend a litterbox? I used to have the one that sat in the corner, but Ivory would just dump it over and make a mess. I tried tying it to the cage, but then Ivory started chewing the ties. Can anyone recommend a self-standing box? maybe a square or a rectangle type thing?

 

[naturestee]

It's cedar that is outright bad, while pine is questionable. The problem is an aromatic oil that is in the wood and can irritate the respiratory system and may harm the liver, especially when combined with ammonia from urine. Aspen is safe, but shavings of any kind don't absorb much anyway. Wood pellets are awesome for absorbance, odor control, and price, and many brands are kiln-dried. That removes most of the aromatic oils that cause the problems. You can usually find big bags of wood pellets at feed and farm supply stores and tack shops.

As for a litterbox, Ivory could probably be able to move just about any shaped box. You can get little clips that attach to the box and hook over the cage wire, or you can put flat weights in the bottom of the litter box to make it harder to move or tip.

 

[canela_2004]

You can use Yesterday's News litter ,it is little pellets made from newspaper. I started mixing it in with Kahlua's litter a few days ago and will switch over to it completely soon. So far it is absorbing pretty well, but since it is mixed with shavings it is hard to tell if it will absorb more than the shavings on itself.

 

[shelldoo]

i will second yesterdays news. i use it exclusively

 

[JimD]

Hi dreamgal!:wave:

I've used several different products, and found that wood pellet litter is best for the litterpans.

There's several brands available, depending on where you're located. I see you're in NJ....ME TOO!! I'm in Bergen county and there aren't too many suppliers close by. I go to Morristown Agway and buy a carload of Woody Pet every few months. Costs $4.79 for a 30 lb bag. It's about a 25 minute drive for me.

I use the large corner pans and clip them into the corner with some of those baby link toys. The buns will sometimes chew through the links, but it usually takes them quite a few days, and then I just replace it with a new one. They eventually give up when they figure out that I bought the dollar store out of the baby links.
I used to drill holes and then use ties, but it was too much work to change them out.

Here's a pic....I put a link on each side.

~Jim