Flooring For A Whole Room?

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pshepard

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Location
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Hey All!

I have a question about flooring. I did some searching on the forums but couldn't really find anything on this type of question. I have a spare bedroom (10x10) that I'm currently keeping my two rabbits in. I have an X-Pen set up with a sheet of spare vinyl as the flooring. My oldest rabbit has full run of the X-Pen all day. This room isn't really doing anything at this point besides housing the rabbits and storing their supplies. The carpet is stained so I'm thinking about ripping it up and making the room into a giant pen for my guys. The question is: what should I do about flooring. Carpet won't work b/c my oldest guy is a digger and chewer, hence the vinyl I have down in his X-Pen. Tile is too slippery. The vinyl seems okay for him now but he can't full on run right now (at least I don't think he can). Wood floors I imagine are just as slippery. So if I'm going to give them a whole room what kind of floor can I do?

My house is on a slab so I was thinking I could rip up the carpet and put that garage floor epoxy coating stuff over the slab in that room like this: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20174654,00.html

I think that stuff has some traction doesn't it?

This is the only thing that I can think of that would be an easy cleanup and let the rabbits get some traction. Any thoughts or other suggestions? I've seen the mosaic tile stuff but to do a 10x10 room, it would easily be $700-$1000 for the tile alone. I want to stay around $100-$200 for the material.
 
I've been trying to figure out a good flooring for rabbits as well. For rabbits that are chewers, it's a bit hard. You have to have something that is chew resistant, pee resistant, slip resistant. I would think that the epoxy coating would still be slippery. My rabbits room is a cement floor. They hop around on it alright, but they can't really run around fast on the cement floor, not that they could anyways as they are old and a bit chunky. Carpet, of course, works the best, but it can't be used safely with a rabbit that chews. You could try the cement floor with low pile rugs on the floor(unless your rabbit is a super bad chewer). The other thing that I can think of that would be chew resistant and non slip, is the rubber horse stall mats. I think Troller uses one in his flemish rabbits cage. The thick 3/4 in. mats are usually 4x6, cost around $50-60, but they are also super heavy. There are pretty resistant to destruction though. I'm not sure if a rabbit would be able to chew on them. If the edges aren't accessible, then they shouldn't be able to chew them up. My local tractor supply has ones that aren't as thick, like 1/4" and 1/2", but I'm not sure how the 1/4" would stand up to a determined rabbit. You may be able to get other rubber matting that is different sizes or cheaper, like the kind used in gyms.
 
Foam exercise mats would work. Each mat is 2X2ft, so you would need about 25 to cover your room. They are usually sold in sets of 4 and come is a bunch of colours.
I have found that rabbits tend to like to chew the edges and seams, but not all rabbits will try to chew. You can put tape along the seams. You could also try covering it with blankets.
The mats are easy to clean as well.

If your floor is concrete, then that would provide traction and be easy enough to clean. You would need to provide areas with more cushion to provide some relief from the hard floor. A few layers of towels, fleece or foam mats will work.
 
I agree with using foam exercise mats. I'm using them at the moment and even when they chew them they briefly do so its like they're so cheap I can just replace them if need be. Good luck :)
 
Tauntz said:
Tractor Supply has the horse stall mats 4 x 6 ft with 3/4 inch thick for $39.99. Here's a link with info: http://www.tractorsupply.com/rubber-horse-stall-mat-4-ft-x-6-ft--2219003 I'm thinking about that for my 2 bunnies! Thanks for the post & replies! I've been thinking of economical & safe floor mats for my buns! Also, want something easy to take up & clean!
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We used horse stall mats from TSC to line our goat's pen when my daughter was in FFA. They were a pain to put in and a pain to pull out, but they worked well for us. These look like the same thing, which means they weigh close to 100lbs each. You might want to go verify that before you decude to use them. :)
 
Thanks for the info about the horse stall mats! While I was away I looked further into flooring at Amazon.com & think this might be a better solution for me: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MXY7AC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 Any thoughts? Still looking. I have been using office chair mats but would like to find a better flooring for our indoor pen setup.
 
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Tauntz said:
Thanks for the info about the horse stall mats! While I was away I looked further into flooring at Amazon.com & think this might be a better solution for me: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MXY7AC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 Any thoughts? Still looking. I have been using office chair mats but would like to find a better flooring for our indoor pen setup.
Click to expand...

I think it would depend on how much of a chewer and digger your rabbit is. I have a rabbit that would shred these foam mats within a day. Foam mats would also concern me if they are chewed on, because it could also pose a problem if any chewed off pieces were injested, as it could possibly cause a GI blockage.

If you are looking for tiles, these ones seem like they are more chew resistant, and they are slip resistant, so they may be a better option. They are a bit pricey though.
http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/garage/slate-pattern.html
 
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Well I do use the horse stall mat and I like it. Great traction, comfortable to sit and lay on, cool surface in the summer, decent to clean (it has grooves and stuck on cecals are a problem if you cant get at them easily) and durable. The only drawback besides stuck on smeared on poop a bit difficult to clean is that its very heavy and has an initial rubber stink that goes away after a few days. I researched and the stink isn't harmful.

I also use the foam gym mat for my other rabbit, and coroplast as a second floor. I'm not a fan of the foam mats, their affordable and clean well but the connection points sometimes loosen and Xena does and can chew them. She also chews the edges of the rubber horse stall mat but does minimal damage and spits it out. I only got the foam mat as a temporary thing until I bond both rabbits but once done they will be on the rubber mat. I have no regrets about the horse stall mat and do recommend them to folks who wont be scared of by their weight.
 
I tried the puzzle mats but my rabbit chewed the edges. I then found a utility foam floor mat at a Liquidation center. Its 4'x8' and only cost 20$. Its a little thinner then the puzzle mats but works great, no chewing from my bun as there is no edges inside his cage now. Here is the mat I bought, maybe you can find something similar http://www.shopxscargo.com/product_...27003&sub_category_1_id=118&category=Exercise

You can also buy a variety of rubber flooring in larger quantities at places like Home depot. Look through their flooring departments, it comes in big rolls cut to size.
 
Thank you, Degrassi & everyone! Yes, I'm still looking & researching into affordable flooring alternatives in my area or online. Right now I have been using office chair mats & they do okay, no bunny chewing so far but would like a bigger & better solution. Also something easy to clean & possibly portable so I can make any room my bunny room! I don't ask for much, do I? lol
 
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