How often do you clean the cage?

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Mika77

Mika77

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Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Would like some info on litter boxes (how big, what type of litter and how many bunnies use it). I have three bunnies and they have a huge litter box but I am finding it a bit time consuming to clean and the pile of litter that is needed for a box that size is huge so I only change it 2X a week but its not enough. When I only had one bunny she had a much smaller litter box that I changed every day and that was a lot better. So I am thinking of giving them two smaller boxes instead of the one huge one, hopefully that will be easier to keep clean. Any sugestions on what is the most practical/simple way to keep bunny cages clean and not smelling like a barn?:)
 
How do you clean the litter box?

I just empty everything into a garbage bag, throw the litter box into the tub, clean it and refill it.

Fast, simple and easy! I do the same for all my cage bottoms and even the cats litter box.
 
I think a lot of things factor in.

1) What kind of litter?
2) How our your bunnies about the litter box?
3) Where are they kept?
4) Are any of them bonded?


I am sure I could think of more.
 
It used to be easier because I would put newspaper on the bottom and then shredded paper on top and I could get it back out fairly easy. However one of my bunnies has become obsessed with pulling all the newspapers out form the bottom of the litter box. She would make such a mess with it that I stropped using the newspaper. The litter box is too large to fit into a garbage bag so I need to scoop everything from the box into the bag and its not fun. I have tried using different litters but the shredded paper is free so thats what I use (plus I did not find that other stuff worked any better). I am hoping that if I use a couple smaller litterer boxes then it will be easier to empty them. Once the box is empty I wash it with vinegar and water. But I am worried that if I change the litter box that the bunnies might not use it. I was thinking of putting in one litter box with the shredded paper and one with just hay, not sure what is best. It would be ideal to just have one box that they would pee in and change that frequently but not sure if that will happen. The box they have now is good because all three bunnies can sit in it at the same time and there is still room around them but its just so awkward to clean. I guess I will just have to try and see what happens and what works and what does not.
 
I must be lucky, my bunny only uses one corner of his litter and he has a grate over the top - however, I do have to rotate it every 2 days cuz the poop reaches the top of the grate - but only one corner ever gets used - saves on litter. I use the wood pellets - $6.71 for a 40 pound bag - for me it lasts almost forever
 
I have two bunnies and they share two litter boxes (a large cat box, and a smaller 14"x14" box). I try to change them twice a week, but it usually ends up being every 4-5 days or so (sorry buns!). The litter boxes stay in a plastic bottomed pet store cage, so when I empty them I also sweep and wipe down the cage bottom with vinegar to get up any stray poops or pee that has missed the box. I'll clean up the cage floor in between litter box changes if they get really messy for some reason. I use wood stove pellets in a thin layer on the bottom of both boxes and I can really only smell them if I get up close at the end of day 5 - I can't smell them from across the room or anything.

The rest of their pen area is an area rug which I vacuum probably every two weeks. In between I use a regular slicker brush to gather up fur and bits of cardboard.

eta: Both of my boxes are small enough to be lifted and dumped right into a garbage bag. I put screens over the litter to keep my girl from digging out the litter and making a huge mess, then put hay over top of the screens.
 
I have one bun with a small litter box that has a grate over it. The box is prolly to small for him but he wont use anything bigger so I have to empty the corner he uses every day and then just move over the unused litter to that corner and add fresh to the other side. I use wood stove pellets
 
I have two bunnies use wood stove pellets. I completely change there box two times a week. I dump wipe out spray some vinegar and water wipe again and refill. They have one box that they share.


My buns have run of a whole room I sweep and mop that room once a week so there is really no cage bottom to clean out. Although I did just take the top off there cage and use that for there food water and litter as I have wood floors and water and urine could ruin them.
 
I clean the cages every other day, so 3-4 times a week. I clean what needs to be done, so something are cleaned more than others. My litter boxes have a grate to keep the poop and hay from the litter. I use wood pellet litter.

When cleaning, I take out the litter box and dump the hay and poop in the garbage. I then mix up the litter. When I need to clean the boxes, I empty all the contents the wash it with soap and water, rinse, scrub with vinegar and rinse again then put new litter in. I then take out the blankets and food/water dishes and sweep out the cage. If needed, I spray the cage with vinegar and wipe with paper towel. I then clean out the food and water dishes and fill with fresh water. I then put the blankets and litter boxes back and fill the hay rack with hay.

I can go about 1 week before I need to scrub out the litter boxes. I put enough litter to just cover the bottom. As it gets wet, it expands and can absorb more. Once there is very little litter pellets left then I clean out the box.
 
i have one ginormous litterbox in my bunny's cage because two of them share one cage. I found i had to buy a giant litterbox because willow, my "fat bottomed girl" was forever pooping and peeing over the side of the litterbox because her big booty didn't fit in it even though she would be sitting right in it (bless her heart). i was forever having to clean up after her and she did evetually ruin an area of my wood floor despite my attempts to keep it wiped up all the time. i would still have to empty the boxes every 2-3 days with both of them using it. but since i bought the humongo one, not so much. and wally my smaller rabbit who had no problem with the smaller box can dig to his hearts delight (because it IS his hearts delight to do so) and it doesn't make a mess all over cuz the sides are higher. and miss big booty can fit her butt in there without it hanging over the side. that one i only have to empty every 4-5 days, and even then it doesn't stink i just like to be sure it does't START to stink. in a nutshell i have come to the conclusion that size DOES matter :wink
 
We use kiln dried pine in their hutches and clean daily. Out in the room we have several pans full of shredded newspaper--those all go inside the apple boxes we get from the store. We cut holes in two of the sides and then put the top on so it's covered. Cuts way down on messes plus they love to play in the paper and chew the boxes.
 
i have a bun that went potty over the edge of the box..so i got a deeper box instead of a bigger box...it works and it doesnt take up any more space then the regular poop box....if its deep enough they cant hike up high enough to go over the edge.:)
 
We have 4 buns, only 2 are bonded. We change out their litter boxes every other day. They are very picky and will leaving their poop outside the box if it is not cleaned. Only Baci goes into the cage at night, the rest are free range but we clean and wipe down his cage every morningfor himand vacuum the others'room every morning and evening. I try to keep the rooms clean and fur free. More for my sake.:biggrin2:
 
Thanks to everyone for all the info and advice:)
So I tried a few different things and for now settled on two litter boxes. One is a regular type of cat litter box but it is fairly large and deep so hopefully things will stay in it (tried a different box but it was too shallow and Clover's bum was sticking out, not good). So in this box I put some shredded paper but mostly it has hay, I am hoping that they will use this box the most to pee and poo in(they always like to pee and poo the most while eating hay). The other box is one of those covered cat litter boxes. Its a bit smaller then the other box but I just put shredded paper in it and I intended it more for them to be able to dig in although I'm sure they will poop in it as well. I plan on changing the box with the hay every day and the other one maybe less often, will see. Not sure how well this all will work out and I can always go back to the old box. Also might try the wood pellet litter since most of you seem to like it. Anyway the bunnies are very interested in all the changes in their cage and are much more active then usual, I guess a little change is good for everyone once in a while. Just on another note, the cage is there so that they have an area that is their own and the kids and dog do not bother them in there but the door is almost always open and they come out whenever they want.
 
Mika77 wrote:
elrohwen, what is the screen on the box? did it come with the box? (my bunnies love to dig the litter out of the box)
Click to expand...
There are a few different things you can use for screens - I bought 0.5"x0.5" screen from the garden center of the hardware store and cut it to fit (which is kind of a pain, since you have to dremel down the sharp edges). I actually bought one screen that perfectly fit my rectangular box (from BinkyBunny) but had to buy screen and make my own for my square shaped litter box.
 
Personally I clean my bunny's litterbox every 1-2 days. I empty it out and then clean the box with a vinegar and water solution.

I also have a question about the screens...

Would those fiberglass insect screens be good for putting on top of the litter box? I have a feeling it's not but I thought I'd ask anyway.

http://www.fiberglassscreen.org/ - this kind.
 
MsBunBun wrote:
Personally I clean my bunny's litterbox every 1-2 days. I empty it out and then clean the box with a vinegar and water solution.

I also have a question about the screens...

Would those fiberglass insect screens be good for putting on top of the litter box? I have a feeling it's not but I thought I'd ask anyway.

http://www.fiberglassscreen.org/ - this kind.
Click to expand...
I use fluorescent light grate (commonly called egg crate) for all of my litter boxes. You can buy a big sheet at Lowe's or Home Depot for around $10. It's usually enough for 5 or 6 boxes, depending on size. You just trace the box on the sheet and cut it with shears. It works great and can be soaked in vinegar to clean urine stains. I make it a point to cut one for all of our adopters.
 
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