chiefofsages
Member
So, my three-year old lop-ear, Bun Bun (did not name him), tends to make quite a mess out of his pen. Because I have the opportunity to do so, I do not keep him in a cage, other than when I am cleaning out his pen. Even then, it's just a cat carrier for fifteen minutes or so.
The Pen: His pen does change shape as I clean it, since it's an old one of those collapsible play pens for children that my sister was getting rid of. It currently stands at about 5 feet by 5 feet. Once I am back to work and bringing in money, I will be buying some molding to go along my floor so I can expand the cage. I recently painted my office and put a laminate floor in. Last time I let him roam free, he found a small tag of paint along the floor and managed to peel the paint off the wall. He dug into it so badly I had to cut the wall open and put a new piece of drywall in. So, right now the open side of the pen is up against a heater on the wall so he can't peel any paint up (the heater is NEVER used, no fears!)
There's a thin rug underneath his pen, as I do not want any spilled water or pee possibly staining the laminate. If I can get his litter situation under control, I'd be more likely to try and remove the rug and just put it under the water/litter so that any other dry mess could just be swept up.
He's been having these problems for a while now, but I would like to see if anyone has some suggestions on how to improve.
Food: I have a large feeder in his cage that he can snack on as he pleases. I know that we're told not to do this, but he's become too accustomed to it. I do not intend to change this. He doesn't like hay when I give it to him, so I have stopped trying with him. He's not starving or thin, so I'm not worried about him being malnourished. Even the vet thought he looked a good weight.
The problem is that he likes to spread his food out all over the pen. It's a dry mixture made for rabbit/gerbils/etc... It's not just pellets, it has a blend of other things in it. When I say spread, I mean SPREAD. Half of it ends up on the floor of his cage. I won't refill the container until he has eaten some of it, because otherwise, it gets WAY too expensive. (He does eat it eventually and I would never let him starve). When it gets lower, he'll butt the container around the floor with his head, sometimes tipping it over.
Litter: I use the bottom to an old cage of his, which is plastic. It's about six inches tall, a foot and a half wide, and about 2.5-3 feet long. I have been using aspen shavings, but they track EVERYWHERE. He's not the cleanest rabbit, and I don't know if changing his litter might not only improve his cage, but by chance his hygiene as well. It's not uncommon for poop to get stuck in his fur. I definitely need to work on cleaning his pen more often than I do (I don't let it get TOO bad), but his litter box isn't usually too bad when I go to change. It's that he poops and spreads the shavings everywhere else.
I was thinking about trying some shredded newspaper, especially since I just got a cross-shredder (yay for parents who go to yard sales!). I have plenty of it and it would be cheaper than buying shavings and more readily available. As I am currently unemployed with few good prospects, cheap would be nice. I also wonder if it would be less likely to stick to his fur and whether it might be easier to change.
I'm not opposed to more expensive options, but if something less expensive will accomplish the same goal, I'd rather go with that. I want to try and improve HIS standard of life along with the cleanliness of his pen (which is in my office).
The Pen: His pen does change shape as I clean it, since it's an old one of those collapsible play pens for children that my sister was getting rid of. It currently stands at about 5 feet by 5 feet. Once I am back to work and bringing in money, I will be buying some molding to go along my floor so I can expand the cage. I recently painted my office and put a laminate floor in. Last time I let him roam free, he found a small tag of paint along the floor and managed to peel the paint off the wall. He dug into it so badly I had to cut the wall open and put a new piece of drywall in. So, right now the open side of the pen is up against a heater on the wall so he can't peel any paint up (the heater is NEVER used, no fears!)
There's a thin rug underneath his pen, as I do not want any spilled water or pee possibly staining the laminate. If I can get his litter situation under control, I'd be more likely to try and remove the rug and just put it under the water/litter so that any other dry mess could just be swept up.
He's been having these problems for a while now, but I would like to see if anyone has some suggestions on how to improve.
Food: I have a large feeder in his cage that he can snack on as he pleases. I know that we're told not to do this, but he's become too accustomed to it. I do not intend to change this. He doesn't like hay when I give it to him, so I have stopped trying with him. He's not starving or thin, so I'm not worried about him being malnourished. Even the vet thought he looked a good weight.
The problem is that he likes to spread his food out all over the pen. It's a dry mixture made for rabbit/gerbils/etc... It's not just pellets, it has a blend of other things in it. When I say spread, I mean SPREAD. Half of it ends up on the floor of his cage. I won't refill the container until he has eaten some of it, because otherwise, it gets WAY too expensive. (He does eat it eventually and I would never let him starve). When it gets lower, he'll butt the container around the floor with his head, sometimes tipping it over.
Litter: I use the bottom to an old cage of his, which is plastic. It's about six inches tall, a foot and a half wide, and about 2.5-3 feet long. I have been using aspen shavings, but they track EVERYWHERE. He's not the cleanest rabbit, and I don't know if changing his litter might not only improve his cage, but by chance his hygiene as well. It's not uncommon for poop to get stuck in his fur. I definitely need to work on cleaning his pen more often than I do (I don't let it get TOO bad), but his litter box isn't usually too bad when I go to change. It's that he poops and spreads the shavings everywhere else.
I was thinking about trying some shredded newspaper, especially since I just got a cross-shredder (yay for parents who go to yard sales!). I have plenty of it and it would be cheaper than buying shavings and more readily available. As I am currently unemployed with few good prospects, cheap would be nice. I also wonder if it would be less likely to stick to his fur and whether it might be easier to change.
I'm not opposed to more expensive options, but if something less expensive will accomplish the same goal, I'd rather go with that. I want to try and improve HIS standard of life along with the cleanliness of his pen (which is in my office).