Opinions on flooring, please

[curiouscarrot]

Hi everyone, haven't been on the forum for a while, my initial learning curve has plateaued and everything is running smoothly so haven't needed to ask any panicky questions

I've seen some flooring at Ikea, and would like some opinions from "bunny people" as to its suitability for my bunny house.

http://www.ikea.com/aa/en/catalog/products/50238113/

They have a timber type of tile as well, but I expect the bunnies might try to eat it, and it's stained so I wouldn't be comfortable putting that in there. Do you think this would be safe/suitable?

Thanks.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Plastic seems like it might be too slippery, unless of course your bun is already well-practiced at walking on slippery floors. There might be noise with bunny nails clacking on it. Poop and hay getting stuck in the gaps too, maybe?

 

[curiouscarrot]

Thanks

Plastic seems like it might be too slippery,

It's sold for people, so it must have some anti-slip properties, else it would be really dangerous. It isn't perfectly smooth, it's textured sort of like fake wood. In any case, there's hay all over as well, so they don't necessarily have to be right on the plastic. My main concern was the little gaps between the "planks" and whether that was any sort of worry for their toes, or whether the surface would be ok for walking on.

I'm not worried about noise, their house is out on the patio. Also not too worried about dirt because the tiles are easily removed and washed and I've got a pressure washer which should squirt anything out of the gaps.

 

[Azerane]

It could work, my only concern would be claws getting stuck in the gaps, but otherwise it wouldn't be any more slippery than the stick on vinyl that many people use.

 

[curiouscarrot]

Yes, thanks, it is the gaps that bother me the most. They are quite wide (as in wider than claws).

 

[Blue eyes]

The gaps will get filled with poos, etc. The gaps look just the right size for poos to get stuck in there. I think it would be a cleaning nightmare. And hay would always be getting trapped in there.

As for the slipperiness, anti-slip for people is irrelevant when it comes to bunnies. We have laminate wood flooring in our house which is absolutely fine for people (as is most ceramic floor tile) but it can be a nightmare for certain bunnies. One of my bunnies (and some past bunnies) refuse to walk on tile and won't even walk on the laminate flooring. Another one of my bunnies couldn't care less.

You'll have to know whether or not your particular bunny is OK on slippery surfaces. Some are, some aren't.

 

[curiouscarrot]

Thanks.

The gaps look just the right size for poos to get stuck in there. I think it would be a cleaning nightmare. And hay would always be getting trapped in there.

They have their litter trays for their poo, so that shouldn't be an issue. Not sure about the hay getting trapped, the channels are reasonably wide (ie sweepable out). I'm not too bothered if it would annoy me, I'm really just concerned about its suitability for bunnies when I'm no expert about bunnies.

You'll have to know whether or not your particular bunny is OK on slippery surfaces. Some are, some aren't.

There's lino in there now (under the hay). They've never displayed any trouble with it.