Bedding for a long-haired rabbit?

[pam9]

Hi all,

I just adopted a rabbit today. He is around 8-10 weeks, a Lionhead/Angora mix. I'll post some pictures when I can, he is the cutest thing ever.

The problem is his really long, tangled fur. Ever time he comes out of his cage, he has to be brushed to get the poop and litter out of his fur. That's not such a big deal, but I am hoping someone can recommend a bedding that won;t stick to him. We're currently using absorbent paper from Home Depot, but I wonder if that's comfortable for him. I'm looking for a bedding and a litter that won't stick to him. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I have a lionhead and a giant angora. I do use blankets in the cage and wood pellets in the litter boxes. I have a wire grate over the litter and that basically keeps them from sitting in it.

You should clip the fur around the bum so that poop can pee doesn't get caught it it. This does help keep them clean. If he gets tangles, either brush them regularly or clip the area short. You can cut it with scissors, but you need to be very careful. It is a good idea to have someone help you and to wrap him in a towel so he doesn't move around too much. There are small clippers more trimming, but they aren't the best and have trouble cutting rabbit fur.

Getting him to use the litter box will help, but it can take time for them to be litter trained.

 

[pam9]

Thanks, I'll look into the covering for the litter box. And I think I'm going to try to find a rabbit bed to put in his cage for him. About the blankets - don't they make a mess? How often do you have to change those?

A picture of Buttons:

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

My buns will some times move the blankets around, but don't really do it too much. There are a few holes in some of them though.
I wash them as I need to. They are litter trained and rarely pee on the blankets. I wash them maybe once or twice a month. When I was working on litter training Lillian, I had 2 or 3 blankets that I would use and wash when they were all dirty. I use large blankets that I can cuddle under, so if there is a small stain, I can just re fold it until it really need to be washed.
You can also use fleece or cut them smaller if you wanted to.

You don't need a specific rabbit bed. A small dog or a cat one will work. I would get one that can be easily washed though.

Buttons is very cute. He is furrier than Penelope (my lionhead), so he will require more brushing.

 

[pam9]

So, we found a litter that won't stick - Yesterday's News. At first the rabbits (Buttons has a buddy, though they're being kept separate until we can conclusively determine sex) didn't like it, but now they're fine. Though it is kind of expensive.

I'm keeping in mind the blanket solution for later, but right now Buttons is so far from litter trained, I don't think it'll work. I'm pretty sure he pees in his litter box, but he leaves TONS of poop all over his cage. I know they like to do that to mark their territory, but this is beyond that - he just doesn't seem to get the purpose of his litter box quite yet. Maybe he'll be better and we can implement the blankets once he's fixed - in 4 months! For now, he seems to find the paper lining his cage very enjoyable - particularly ripping it to shreds.

 

[elrohwen]

I would look into wood stove pellets or pelleted pine horse stall bedding. Both are far cheaper than Yesterday's News and work similarly.

Also, putting down blankets in the cage usually helps with litter training. If you put bedding all over the cage and in the litter box, he really won't understand what area is the toilet. It's like if someone put out 20 toilets but you were only supposed to use 1. How would you know? By making the floor of his cage something totally different from the litter box he'll get the hang of it.

You can even leave out the blankets at first and just have the bare cage floor, then put them in as he gets the hang of the litter box. But if he's only pooping on the blanket, you can just pick them up and put them back in the litter box - you don't need to wash the blanket every day.

 

[pam9]

I've been told about the wood stove pellets, but i don't live near a tractor supply store. I think we'll end up with the unscented Yesterday's News cat litter, which is the same as the rabbit litter, just shaped differently.

As for the litter training, right now he does have two different surfaces for his litter box and the rest of his cage. He has the YN litter in the box, and an absorbent paper from Home Depot in the rest of the cage. He just doesn't seem to get that the poop also goes in the box - neither of my rabbits do.

 

[elrohwen]

Even thought the paper is different from the litter, it is still absorbant and to him that means he can pee or poop there. It all seems like litter to him. I would remove the paper and leave the floor bare of use a blanket.

And the poop will come with time. Just keep putting it in the litter box.

 

[Luluznewz]

I have a mid way solution between paper and a blanket. I use shelf lining. I went to CVS, got a big roll of it then cut it to fit the bottom of Lulu's cage. Then, when it gets too dirty or chewed I just throw it away.

However, it is made to be able to wipe up spills, so while your bun is learning how to use the litter box you can still clean it without having to wash a blanket.

My rabbit is very well litter trained now, so one piece will last me for at least a month. For a while you might use more, but the point is you can clean it without having to wash it.

Because it wont absorb urine your rabbit will get the message really fast that he should only be going in the litter-box. The newspaper soaks it up so he probably wont understand.