New bedding...Orange feet???

[I_heart_Fraggles]

A week ago I switched from pine shavings to ceder shavings. I like the way the cedar smells over the pine. They seem to have a fresher cleaner scent. But since I did that her feet have turned "dirty bunny orange". I clean her cage just as much as I did with the pine. Her corner gets scooped twice a day and her whole cage is cleaned every three days. Plus she spends very little time in her cage to begin with. Her cage is mainly for when I'm not home. She is even out when I sleep. She is very well trained and no no places are blocked off. But now orange feet? Is it something in the cedar and has anyone else had this issue? I know it is not a big deal but I like her to be clean and I'm wondering if the cedar isent absorbing enough. I don't want her sitting in her own pee when I'm not home.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi, have you thought about using the Wood Stove Pellets? They are very inexpensive, easy to clean up too. I put a plastic screen over the pellets which makes it even easier to clean up.

I buy mine at either Lowes or Ronas.I know a lot of people buy them at Tractor Stores (what ever they are?:confused2:I don't know if we have them in Ontario and if we do I have no idea where they are)

Anyways just a thought.

I buy the plastic screens at Walmart in the Craft section.

Susan

 

[Jynxie]

I always thought you weren't suppost to use cedar?

I might be confused though, could have been something else.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Thank you Susan and Carly. Will be looking into Susans advice since I just looked into Carlys and read that soft wood shavings cause health problems. I guess orange feet is not the big issue here. Susan, I'm curious about the plastic screen. Would she be laying down over a screen? Plus what do the pellets smell like and do your buns seem to be comfortable laying on them? Any other bedding ideas anyone? Lol still wanna know why her feet turned orange though.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Get rid of the Cedar immediately--it is poisonous for small animals. Kiln dried pine is great as the drying will remove the phenols. They use cedar to line Hope Chests as it's toxic to moths and also for outdoor usages because it is weather and bug resistant--for a reason.

 

[cindyrads]

The orange is from the cedar oils coming off on the fur. Cedar isn't good to use because it is toxic to animals if they are constantly breathing it in.

I just got a bag of wood pellets myself yesterday. I put down some newspaper, then some pellets then I put his food bowl and some hay on one side of the box. The pellets don't have a smell to them and are supposed to be really absorbent. With the newspaper I had to change it everyday and plus the hay would get wet and I'd have to through it out. Kind of wasteful. So we will see how the pellets work. Lots of people rave about them. Plus they are cheap! $4.87 for a #40 bag.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

If she is litter trained, you can just use litter in the box. If she pees in one corner, it should be easy to litter train her, just put the box in that corner.
Wood pellets are a great litter. The only smell I really notice is a woody smell when they are first peed on (first day after totally cleaning it). You also don't need a lot of it, I just use enough to cover the bottom of the litter box.
If you do use a grate, I would use a metal one (wire mesh) or hard plastic. Pretty much any time I have tried using only the plastic ones they get chewed. Some rabbits don't chew them, but most of mine have.
In the rest of the cage, you can use a blanket or towel. It is much cheaper than buying shavings and much less waste as you just need to wash them on a regular basis. I would have at least 2 so there is always 1 to use. I can buy a big one (50" X 60" I think) for $5-6.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

OK I do think I will switch to pellets. I called the exotic animal vet and they said she's not in any immediate danger but cedar can cause cancer so I will switch her bedding tomorrow as the feed store I go to is not open today and they have the pellets.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

I have tried a litter box I even still keep one out but she always goes back to her cage. No matter were she is or what she is doing she will all the sudden run back to her cage and use her corner. She never has an accident and I encouraged the litter box but she picked that corner. She likes her litter box though, she lays in it and plays with the litter but I have seen her jump out of it to use her corner. I even tried putting some poops and wet bedding in the box but she still won't have none of it.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We had one bunny like that. Commander Bun-Bun would only go in her hutch, and only in one spot for poop and a different spot for pee. She was the cleanest bunny we've ever seen.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Lol Fraggles is very clean. She uses the same corner for both but she is pretty clean. I would not mind her using her litter box but if she wants to only use her then so be it. At least she is housebroken