Hutch Cleanliness

[NarniWonk]

Hi I've recently taken on my friends second-hand, double, 'pets at home' hutch. The trouble is she didn't really take great care of it and the back is covered in a black staining (mould maybe??) and under the surface of the top floor there's loads of soiled, old sawdust-should I still use it for my mini lop breeding buck, or shouldn't I risk it?
The back is also slightly peeling away and I keep on finding slugs creeping out of the wooden layers, I have disinfected it as best I can.
Thanks!

 

[majorv]

I would be hesitant to use it if the black is mold. Would it be difficult to replace the back?

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You probably won't be able to clean it easily and safely. If you wanted to try to salvage it, you could replace the back and maybe the floor as well. It will be some work, but cheaper than buying something new.

It doesn't sound like something I would use as well. Wood is hard to clean and you don't want to risk your rabbit getting sick. Finding slugs in it is pretty gross, so who knows what is also in there.

 

[NarniWonk]

Replacing the back probably wouldn't be too difficult but finding the wood will be-Is there any sure way at all of completely disinfecting a hutch? I know experts say 1 part bleach to 5 parts water but that still won't get rid of the black stuff (which I'm still not sure if it is mould).
I could just get a completely new hutch which I know is expensive but probably worth it in the long run-in which case, what should I do with the current one?
Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[majorv]

That's the problem with wood. It can soak up urine or whatever is allowed to sit on it if it isn't cleaned up. I wouldn't use anything stronger than 10% bleach solution on surfaces the rabbit is in contact with. You could just tear it down and re-use the wood that's still good.