Need some advice about "house cleaning"

[houghj3]

Hi,

Anime stays in the living environment showed below. She used to use the newspaper side for litter, but has since changed to using the other side of the cage moving hay around to create her own litter tray. She is not spayed, and other than the odd pellet she sticks to the red box. I never put the cage attachment on so she can jump in an out freely.

My question is how often do people clean cages? Anime seems confused and cautious after I clean the cage. The other picture wouldn't load (the newly cleaned cage).

 

[catzeyezuk]

I have to do mine daily but sometimes can get away with leaving it a bit longer. Sometimes I can just take out the worst soiled paper and put some new stuff in. My rabbits are quite curious when I clean them out and I do it whilst they are in there and they just move from one side to the other, sometimes I need to nudge them out of the way to get what they are standing on

 

[Blue eyes]

If I'm understanding you correctly, the "cage" is really just serving as a litterbox and hay feeding area. I can see why you would have to change it so often since there really isn't any actual litter.

If you can find another place for her bowl (or a way to attach it somewhere) you could just make the whole thing a litterbox with litter and hay in it.

I use the wood pellets for litter (usually around $5 for 40lb bag). I only need to change it twice per week. I have 2 rabbits using it and I can go 5 days before there is any smell whatsoever.
This is how I do it. My box is about 24" by 16".

 

[houghj3]

I used wood chips for a while but Anime seemed to avoid it at all cost. She seems happier the way I have it set up, and when I clean the "cage" she just rearranges it as she sees fit. My guess is that everyone goes through a lot of hay, I am going to start purchasing bales from a local farmer, then I won't be very concerned with how Anime uses the hay I throw in the "cage".

 

[BinkyBunny]

Daily here

 

[Troller]

About every 3 days, sort of timed along with when garbage pick up occurs. Conan the Bunbarians litter box is 3ft by 2ft with a 7in rise so he's got plenty of space in it and it actually doesn't start to pile up or stink until about the 3rd day anyway.

 

[thetwobunnies]

Are you thinking about getting her spayed? and hopefully litter training her? I can imagine how tiring it would be to clean and deal with that after a while.

I have 2 litter boxes, (jumbo kind) and I change it every 4-5 days, yes I try to take my time with cleaning the cages out but I mean it doesn't start to smell until the 4th day, so usually I change it by the 4th day but sometimes I will wait another day, it really depends on how much litter I put in the litter box. My female, who is not spayed as she is only 3 and a half months old, will occasionally pee a few times near the litter box, but not in it - creating a huge mess

 

[Blue eyes]

I used wood chips for a while but Anime seemed to avoid it at all cost. She seems happier the way I have it set up, and when I clean the "cage" she just rearranges it as she sees fit. My guess is that everyone goes through a lot of hay, I am going to start purchasing bales from a local farmer, then I won't be very concerned with how Anime uses the hay I throw in the "cage".

No, no. Not wood chips. I use wood pellets. Huge difference. The pellets go under the hay to absorb the urine and the smell of the urine. They are what allow me to go so many days between changing. The bunnies aren't actually on the pellets but are on the hay that is on top of the pellets. The hay keeps them from being on anything wet.

Getting hay by the bale is a good idea.

 

[roxyllsk]

And with the wood pellets, the wet spots generally migrate to the bottom of the litterpan if you bed deeply enough. So they're not sitting on wet spots.

I have 2 mini Rexs and 2 litter boxes - one is an old dishpan, the other is a larger cat litterbox, no cover. I have the eggcrate grids on top, and I clean mine out every 3-4 days. I don't try and save any, just dump the whole thing out. The litter is very reasonable ($6 / 40lbs) so I don't worry about saving any. I like it much better than the paper pellets I was using.

I have hay on one side and replenish as needed. They don't generally pee in the hay. The buns are in their castle in my family room and there is never any smell. When I clean the litterpans, I give them a spray with 10% bleach solution and wipe it out with paper towels before refilling.

I sweep up the odd poop pellet every day when I check their food & water, but there is very little maintenance.