Long haired bun and litter box bedding

[pignbun]

I have a very long haired lionhead bunny, he is about 3 months old but his hair is still growing to the point where people are thinking he is angora, hes even got long ear hair. I am having a problem with him getting care fresh stuck in his fur along his butt and belly, he is doing great with his litter training but what do other people use in thier litter boxes. I am using a cat pan for his litter tray so its kind of big and doesnt ahve a grate, I put his water bottle and food in the litter pan to encourage the use of it and it is really working I am just worried about the fur getting matted. I have a brush for him and he doesnt mind being brushed but I do have to brush him everyday becuase the little pieces of paper fibres get stuck on his belly and bum. Any ideas??

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You can buy some hardware cloth which is a wire mesh to use in the litter box. There are other things you could use to make a grate.

Carefresh is a suitable litter. You can also try wood pellet or paper pellet litter which should not get in the fur.

Cutting the fur on his belly can also be good. Carefully use scissors or see if you can borrow some dog clippers.

 

[Amy27]

I have a lionhead and have used the pelleted paper or wood ones with no issues. The horse wood pellets are the cheapest if you can get them. I get mine at a local feed store. A 30lb bag of Yesterdays News costs about $16 and a 40lb bag of the horse pellet costs about $6.

 

[pignbun]

ok I will try the wood pellets or the paper pellets, he is very wooley, I think that is why he is getting full of carefresh. I was thinking about aspen did anyone ahve problems with that?? or maybe it would be the same of the carefresh for fur tangles

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Aspen and other wood shavings are probably going to be worse than carefresh.

It might be a good idea to use a blanket (fleece) in the cage and only have litter in the litter box.

 

[pignbun]

That is what I am doing, he actually has a c & c cage with sticky tiles as the floor and a fleece upper deck with one litter box with his food and wter and hay, he is really doing good with it too, using his litter, but hes got one furry butt. I may ahve to use the wood pellets, I am having a time finding it.. I know I can get yesterdays news though does anyone ever find that it gets wet and sticks to the bun or that they would eat it. I am really hoping he dont eat any bedding, you know how buns are..

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I don't use Yesterday's news, so can't really comment on it. I did use it once and didn't like it.

Are they any feed or farm supply stores near you? They usually carry horse stall bedding which is the wood pellets.

I use wood pellets under a wire grate. My buns don't have direct contact with the litter, so it doesn't stick to the fur and they aren't sitting in dirty litter.

 

[pignbun]

is there a link on this site to show how to make a grate for my litter pan? I think that is my best bet with him. I do have a feed store in my area but they are very very expensive since they are the only one in my region. I will have to call and see about the wood pellets, is there any brands that you guys would recommend..

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

There is the Stormhaver Litter System made by a forum member. You can just do the grate part if you want to.
I just have some hardware cloth which is a wire mesh with the holes about 1cm by 1cm. I cut it to fit the box. It works quite well.
If your rabbit doesn't chew much, you can use the plastic stitching screen (avaliable at craft stores). Some rabbits will just leave it alone, but others will chew it.
I have seen plastic bins at dollar stores that could fit a litter box. It it fits, it could be an easy and cheap solution. If the poops can fit through the holes, it should be fine.

The brands for the pellets vary form area to area and even store to store. The ones I can get here, you can't get in Nfld. You just have to see what is avaliable at the store.

As far as price, it is still probably cheaper than other litters. I pay $6.50 for a 35 pound bag.
Some pet stores might carry wood pellet cat litter. It can also be used as long as is it not scented. It might be a bit more expensive or a smaller bag, but might work better for you. The ones I have seen (and I haven't looking in a while) was about $10 for a large bag.

 

[pam9]

I use Yesterday's News unscented cat litter for my Lionhead/Angora mix. Stay away from aspen. My other rabbit uses that and sometimes he kicks it out of his cage and the furball hops around in it - big mess.

 

[pignbun]

Today I bought a smaller cat litter pan with a culander type box a little smaller than the litter pan so the litter will stay well below the culander but the poops are still staying in the culander type pan, I think I am going to use a dremel and make the holes in the bottom a little bigger so the poops can go down in the litter. If this doesnt work I am going to have to get a grate for the bottom. Wish me luck, i went everywhere today looking for that egg crate stuff but then I noticed no one had it and none of the lights around here have a covering even :? anyone in newfoundland canada tell me what theya re using as a grate over the litter, or even something easy to find. Newfoundland is not a good place to be looking for things it seems