I Need NIC Mess Containing Ideas!

[blthmm]

Hi! I'm new to the forum (may have had an account before but I've forgotten it :rollseyes ) and I need your creativity!

I just moved and I will be rebuilding my bunny's NIC condo, but I really need some improvements. My little Rilee is a very messy bunny! She digs, chews, and tears at anything she can reach, will flip her litter box if it's not secured somehow, and basically things just fall out of the open grids at a much too rapid rate. She has good litter habits outside her cage, but leaves poop all over the inside of the cage, and even piddles too. My new apartment OK'd having a rabbit because they think they are small animals who sit in their cage all day and don't make a mess! :lipsrsealed: So protecting the carpet is important. I will be letting her have the run of the living room so any room bunny-proofing tips would be appreciated too since I have never been able to protect my stuff from the devilish bun.

Flooring ideas and some kind of way to contain the mess is basically what I'm looking for. And cleaning tips. Remember - she chews everything, including plastic and fabric.

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I use coroplast for the bottoms. It is basically plastic corrugated cardboard and comes in many colours. You basically cut it to the size you want and can have the sides as high as you want. You can have it on the inside or outside of the NIC grids.
One thing I do is to up plastic poster hanger on the edge to prevent chewing. I have rabbits that will chew to coroplast and can't with the poster hangers on it. You do have to slide them on and it can take a bit of force to get them one. They come in 2ft lengths and usually have 2 in a pack. You might also want to put a small tarp or something underneath the cage to contain anything that falls out of the cage.

For cleaning the cage, I have a spray bottle that has a mix of white vinegar and water (about 50/50). I also have a dust pan and broom to sweep up any poops or hay in the cage. When I clean I take out all the toys and blankets, sweep the cage, spray with the vinegar mix and wipe it all up with paper towel. If there are any wet pee spots, I soak those up before sweeping.

 

[blthmm]

The poster hanger is brilliant! I had previously turned down the idea of coroplast because I knew she would just chew it up immediately, but that sounds like a great solution! Thanks for the idea and the cleaning tips too!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You're Welcome

Make sure you tape down the edges of the hangers. It is easy enough to replace the tape, but try to get it as tight and smooth as you can.

It was much trial and error before I finally found the hangers. I have had them on one cage for about 3.5 years and no chewing. The big chewers I have had have only been about to put some tooth marks on them and not much else.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi Amanda

I recently moved from a house to an apartment (not by choice) anyways I actually didn't tell them till I moved in that I have Rabbits.

Since their is new (cheap) carpet I bought shower liners from the dollar store, putthem on the carpet then covered that with area rugs I had.

My cages are the NIC panels also. I use a type of paneling for the flooring. In Winston & Vegas cageI cover that with ceramic tiles. Winston tends to pee on the floor and not in thr litter boxes. I also bought at the dollar stores Flexible Chopping Mats and put them around the lower level of the cage. I used wire ties to fasten them to their cages. This helps hay & poos fromfalling through the holes.

I also use 2ceramic tiles in Daisy Mae's cage. I put her food and water on one and the other she rests on, keeps her cool.

Hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say. Let me know if you need pictures, I can take some on the weekend if you like.

Susan

 

[Lucille]

There are a couple companies that make acrylic panels custom cut to fit onto a NIC grid, you can drill a small hole and attach with zip ties. Cheaper is to go on Ebay and find one of those companies that sells acrylic pieces in squares, 1/8 inch thick is the cheapest, buy a bunch of those and attach the same way.
For a regular bunny that is not a destructo-bunny, there are urine guards made to attach to wire cages that might work on NICs.
My bunnies move litter boxes in the cage and one tries to flip his over, so I took the litter boxes to the garage (to prevent fumes in the house) and then burned 1/2 inch holes in the top side of each with a soldering iron, and once it cooled used two metal carabiner links to attach the litter box to the side of the cage. The links make it easy to disengage them for cleaning.
My cages are not NIC, I made them from rolls of wire, and I have a fabric curtain hanging behind the cage to protect the wall. I just installed grommets on the top of the fabric (grommets and a grommet setter can be purchased inexpensively at a fabric store or on Ebay) and hang it, I have several so I can just throw one in the wash and hang another, not only do they protect but they make the cages look nicer.

 

[supermissdeedee]

I use coroplast for my guinea pigs c&c cage ( pretty much same thing as nic) it works Perfectly just scrub it to get rid of the pee stains and it's good as new

 

[blthmm]

Thanks everyone for your ideas!

My bunny has moved in to her new cage and right now I have a shower liner and shower curtain as a floor. She has a new, bigger litter box so so far not too much mess - but she's only been here a week! I still want to get coroplast but she has a pretty big cage so I'm not sure how big they come or how much they cost or how I would get it home (I have a small car)! So hopefully I can make that improvement in the near future.

 

[AstiBunners]

SOOOSKA wrote:

My cages are the NIC panels also. I use a type of paneling for the flooring. In Winston & Vegas cageI cover that with ceramic tiles. Winston tends to pee on the floor and not in thr litter boxes. I also bought at the dollar stores Flexible Chopping Mats and put them around the lower level of the cage. I used wire ties to fasten them to their cages. This helps hay & poos fromfalling through the holes.

I also use 2ceramic tiles in Daisy Mae's cage. I put her food and water on one and the other she rests on, keeps her cool.

Hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say. Let me know if you need pictures, I can take some on the weekend if you like.

Susan

Hey Susan

I'm looking for ideas other than coroplast to keep in hay and accidents from falling out of the cage. Do you mind posting a picture of your set up? I'm curious about how you used the chopping mats to contain the mess.

Thanks!

 

[SOOOSKA]

AstiBunners, here are pictures of the flexable chopping mats in the cage. That would be Winston in the litterbox.

Actually i need to put more of them in the cage one of these days.

Susan

 

[AstiBunners]

Aww what a cutie :]
Thanks for posting the pictures. I definitely need to get some of those cutting boards so I don't have to worry about my little girl kicking things out of her cage.