Quite a few questions...bear with me!

[HipHoppy]

Hi I'm sorry if this isn't the right place to post, I have a few questions that cover a few areas. If anyone could offer some advice I'd appreciate it!

1. The dust! We have so much dust in the room where the cage sits. I think it comes from the pine litter we use from Pets at Home. It's a nice smelling litter and natural which I love, and it's cheap...bonus! But I think it's this that creates so much dust everywhere. What is the best alternative from a regular shop, preferably Pets at Home?
2. Malting. I feel as if our bunny has been malting for 6 months! I can NOT collect the fluff it just flies everywhere at the sight of a hoover or dustpan and brush. Any tips? When will he stop shedding his baby fur?
3. Is there a recommendation for a fabulous litter tray? We have removed the original that came with the cage as it was small, replaced it with one that hooks onto the metal bits of the cage. The problem is he just knocks it off and then bits of litter and poo go everywhere! Bit of a pain that. So I need one that's a decent enough size (our current one is a kitten sized corner one), easy to remove for quick cleaning and that wont be easily knocked around.
4. Picking up. Our bunny gets lots of attention but wont be picked up. The only way I can manage it is to pop a cover over his face but then I have to be very fast, he's grown a little too wise to it. I need to pick up to pop him into a carrier from time to time. Again...tips?
5. Clipping nails. I have clippers and live quite a way from the vets so would like to do this myself. The vet always makes it look SO easy but the picking up issue gets in the way of me doing this. I know technically how to clip his nails, it's the picking up and placing on my lap part I can't manage. How do people get over this?

Right, I'm really sorry about the bombardment of questions but it's not often I have the time to sit and write them all out!
Any tips, hints or general advice would be fabulous.
Thanks in advance.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Hi
Lets see if we can knock out a few of these questions.
First the pine, dont use it. You need to switch to wood stove pellets,aspen or carefresh (even though it smells musty)...The oils in pine shavings that give it that lovely smell are very hazardous to bunnies lungs and can cause disease.
I use a fine toothed comb to remove dead hair from my DM lion head and it works wonders for controlling the fluff.

I dont keep a litter pan for my bunnies, they picked a cage corner and use that. I just scoop it every day.

Most bunnies dont like being picked up. My checkered doe love to be pet but you cant hold her. So your most likely going to need to wrap your bunny in a towel for nail clippings. Or if your not comfortable then keep letting the vet do it...Hope that helps

 

[HipHoppy]

Thank you for reading and answering.

The pine litter is made up of little pellets. I was told by staff that it's probably the best type for bunnies that they sell...I shall investigate and find an alternative thank you.

 

[Mindy10]

Picking Up: They say in time they will let you but Blossom hates being picked up so I never pick her up.

Clip Nails: I had the hardest time at first because I couldnt pick her up but what I do is my husband holds her head to the floor because a bunny most likely feels like your in control this way and I pull her feet out and then I clip them. I could never do it without the help of my husband.

Litter Pan: I get the real big cat litter pan. I actuall put a grate over the litter so she doesnt sit in her poop or pee. Its a grate that goes over floresant lights and you can get them at a home depot. Its a big sheet so I have to cut it to size to fit the box.

Molting: Blossom molted for about two months and I would just varumn up the hair. The broom just pushed it around.

Hope this helps.

 

[LakeCondo]

If the litter is wood pellets, not wood shavings, I don't understand why it's so dusty.

Molting: a lint brush helps a lot of people.

 

[saidinjester]

LakeCondo wrote:

If the litter is wood pellets, not wood shavings, I don't understand why it's so dusty.

Ditto, I use wood pellets and I don't notice any dust at all. Maybe switch brands?

 

[Ape337]

Hello, have you tried the back 2 nature small animal bedding? It claims to be 99% dust free, and is a recycled paper pellet. I'm just going off the website. I use horse stall bedding for my bunnies. It's cheap, kiln dried pine pellets which are super absorbent, but all the phenols are removed so are not dangerous. It's also softwood so I find it more absorbent than hardwood pellets (I tried those too).

My buns molt constantly it seems. I use a furminator brush but most of the hair flies around too until I vacuum it up.

I just use cat litterboxes for my buns. I found that if I use a box that is too small, their little butts hang over and they have an accident. I don't know how your cage is, I have C&C cages, with flooring on the bottoms and shelves. And the only litter (pellets) is in the litterbox. Now mine are both fixed bunnies so their box habits are fabulous (I'm lucky), just an occasional poo to dustpan up.

Neither of my buns like to be picked up. Faith needs to be "burritoed" in a towel for nail trims. And I trick her into a carrier for vet visits with a tasty treat. Humma is a piggy so if I give him a pile of oat hay he munches while I clip his nails. Nothing distracts him from food! The good thing is i don't need to pick him up, he stays on the floor. And if I toss a craisin in the carrier he dashes in after it. Have you ever tried bribery? :wink

 

[fuzz16]

May help maulting if you feed a different food. I had same problem and swit hed foods and was not nearly as bad.

After fighting nail clippings, i finally let him stay on the ground and id tilt his foot bacl towards his elbow in a natural way and clip fromabove. You can see better too