Litter for Litter Box

[mightyscotto]

I was wondering if anyone knows of any inexpensive litters to use for my Flemish Giant's litter box in his cage. I am constanstly cleaning that thing out, and I am looking for ways to cut my bills on litter. Any suggestions for brands or materials would be appreciated. Also, does anyone know if changing its litter completely to a different litter would stop my Rufus from using his litter box, or should I maybe try putting half of the old stuff with half new less expensive brand litter would be a better way to ease him into trying the new litter.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[nc_bunnys]

I am trying wood stove pellets from Tractor Supply. They are about $6 for a 40 lb bag. I have slowly mixed it with the old litter for Howie. The wet litter turns to sawdust. I scoop all the sawdust out & add more pellets each day.
I was a little nervous at the pile of sawdust.
Hopefully someone who has used wood stove pellets longer than I have will give more info.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I use horse stall bedding, specifically: http://www.guardianhorsebedding.com/pinepellets.htm

It is kiln dried so there's no pine smell and that makes it safe for their respiratory systems. It soaks up all the pee so it doesn't stink. It is easy to remove the wet areas so you don't waste clean litter. It is also about $6 for 40 pounds from the local feed store. With 6 rabbits, including a couple very large boxes, I use about two bags a month. I put a rabbit resting bord on top to keep the rabbits from digging in the litter so I don't worry about the sawdust. The wetness gets it to stick together a bit so it isn't dusty in the air.

The rabbits took to this litter right away with no question. I also like that it is different than what the cats use so it keeps them out of the rabbit boxes.

As an added bonus, when I completely dump the boxes once a week I can take them streight to the garden. It is basically multch with added nutrients. The plants thrive and I don't add extra waste to the trash. Rabbits are the original recyclers

 

[mightyscotto]

Thank you.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: We use Pet'sPick from WalMart--also use shredded newspaper, by hand of course, in some of the outside boxes.

 

[agnesthelion]

I also use wood stove pellets. It's $5 for a 40lb bag where I live. If you use wood stove pellets make sure they are the untreated kind (some have accelerants).

I love them! As Trish said they turn to dust and hold in the odor very well.

I would switch gradual, if I were you. Its not going to hurt anything by doing so and you rather be safe than sorry and not disrupt his litter habits.

Good luck!

 

[mightyscotto]

How much does Pet's Pick cost per bag roughly?

 

[mightyscotto]

Are the wood stove pellets safe for the rabbits, and will it say on the bag if they are untreated?

 

[Blue eyes]

mightyscotto wrote:

Are the wood stove pellets safe for the rabbits, and will it say on the bag if they are untreated?

The bag will say if they "are" treated. If it doesn't say, then it isn't.

When my last pair of rabbits came to me, they had been using Carefresh at the rescue. I switched them over to pellets one day without any problems. I usually put hay on top too.

The pellets absorb the urine and odor well. They do crumble when wet. I hesitate to say they turn to dust because "dust" tends to imply that its airborne. It's not. I also dump my used litter in the garden. It took me some time to realize I need less in the box compared to other litters. It expands when it gets wet and holds the urine.

And, yes, they are safe. In fact I got the idea of using them from this forum.

 

[mightyscotto]

Thanks for the advice on the wood pellets.

 

[bethepoet]

I use wood pellet litter too, but it's becoming annoying because they're heavy bags and we don't drive. We got an accidental delivery of some kind of litter/bedding stuff when I ordered hay. The bag says straw bedding with citronella, think it's for horses actually. I've put some in one of the boxes as a trial, hoping I can half and half it or even get rid of the pellets altogether. Has anyone else tried this stuff?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

It costs $5 a bag here.

 

[ldoerr]

I used to use the wood stove pelits but do not anymore. It was fine when I needed something to go in the base of 8 30"x36" pans in an outside barn. I find that the bags weigh too much for me. (I now live in a second floor apt). When I got back into rabbits, this time pets, I had rabbits inside for the first time in my life. I started off using the pellits but quickly did not like them. I find that they do not help with the smell at all. Also my rabbits do not like to sit on them, so will go to the bathroom everywhere BUT the litter box.

I now use this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JLPIWU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. I find that my rabbits LOVE it. I only need to dump the box at MOST 1x per week. I could easily get it to last 2 weeks before I noticed the box smelling. All I do is use a cat litter scoop on it each day. This gets rid of the poop. The rabbits tend to pee in a corner of their box. I just scoop all the pee out each day. In less than 3 minutes per box I have made my rabbits not smell.

I tried Carefresh as well and my rabbits ate it. I could not tell if they had gone pee or poop either. I tried aspen shavings and those STANK after 8 hrs. I also tried corn cob bedding. With that the pee goes to the bottom of the box so the only way to tell if a rabbit has peed is when it starts to smell (after 1 day). I will be sticking with the Kaytee Soft Granule Blend. Sometimes you can get it cheaper at Petco than Amazon. It also comes in a Lavender scent which I want to try (it also comes in lots of other scents, none of which are very strong).

Sorry that this has been sooo long.