Rabbit litter box cleaning help?!

[Ashley B]

I have a male rex and he pee's.. A LOT! He is potty trained (occasional accidents).. When I empty out his little box, the bottom is stained and is peeling off in layers.. I dont know if its the type of little i use or what.. But any ideas on how I could do a thorough cleaning attempt and actually get it all off? (Someone suggested bleach but i dont want the chemicals near my bunny..)

Thanks!
-Ashley

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Use white vinegar. Scrub out the litter box with hot soapy water first, then rinse. Pour on some vinegar and let it soak for a few minutes, the scrub it. You may need to change the vinegar a few times before it is all gone and there will be a lot of scrubbing. Once it is clean, wash again with soapy water and towel dry.

On a weekly basis (or more often if you want), scrub out the box and use vinegar. You can use a spray bottle with a mix of water and vinegar for regular use. Just spray in the litter box, scrub it a bit and rinse it out.

Most of the deposits you see are calcium. Vinegar dissolves calcium, so will get it off with a bit of work .

 

[PaGal]

I did my litter boxes recently. They are cleaned regularly but the calcium does build up. I simply cleaned as usual then poured some vinegar in and let set for about ten minutes I then just had to rinse with the hose and the build up came out.

 

[flemish giant]

You can also use a paint scraper to remove that after soaking it a little while in white vinegar.

 

[hannaroo]

I use 1/4 vinegar with 3/4 water mix and it works VERY well. It's also a very cheap and safe way to clean your bunnies tray

 

[bunnbunn]

I've used a paint scraper too.

 

[PipkinbunRibb]

First off, what kind of bedding/litter do you use in the litterbox?
My friend uses Cedar (which I've tried to convince her to switch but she refuses because of the cost) and it completely destroys her litterbox. I used to use these litter pellets for rabbits but that also destroyed the litterbox even though I cleaned it everyday and sprayed it with Nature's Miracle Cage Cleaner. When I switched to carefresh in the litterbox, ( i also bought a new litterbox) The destroying all stopped and now I never have to worry of the litterbox peeling

So this is what I would do:

1. Switch to carefresh bedding as the litter (or a different bedding but I suggest not using litter)
2. Get Nature's Miracle Cage Cleaner which has no harmful chemicals for your rabbit, helps fight germs, and makes the litterbox smell fresh for your rabbit :sunshine:

 

[missyscove]

What sort of litter are you using? Perhaps you need something more absorbent. I personally use pine pellet litter which is made for cats although a cheaper alternative would be wood stove pellets or pelleted horse stall bedding.
Is he neutered? That might improve his litter training.

If you think he's drinking and urinating too much, it might be a good idea to discuss with your vet.

 

[carlysoup]

I use Carefresh, too, because my buck is a persistent digger/kicker of Yesterday's News as well as pine pellets, like Feline Pine & wood stove pellets, but not Carefresh. I scoop out wet spots daily & empty it every other or every 3rd day, and soak it with vinegar in my bath tub weekly. I also use inexpensive ($1.49) Rubbermaid dish pans as litter boxes, because he kicks litter out of every other litter box I have tried.

 

[PipkinbunRibb]

I use Carefresh, too, because my buck is a persistent digger/kicker of Yesterday's News as well as pine pellets, like Feline Pine & wood stove pellets, but not Carefresh. I scoop out wet spots daily & empty it every other or every 3rd day, and soak it with vinegar in my bath tub weekly. I also use inexpensive ($1.49) Rubbermaid dish pans as litter boxes, because he kicks litter out of every other litter box I have tried.

Hmm. Try getting a plain litter box and hooking it to the side of the cage, my rabbit's cage tray is too high for his litter box but you could use little ties to hold it in place if you have the same problem as me. Also maybe empty it completely everyday and try using the Nature's Miracle. I have no problems with cleaning/keeping a good litter tray with this stuff. And is he neutered? because having a neutered rabbit helps SO MUCH with litter training and helps control the pee from either spraying out, and the scent is not as foul. If he isn't neutered yet I would recommend doing so. :bunnybutt:

 

[Blue eyes]

One thing that might be helpful is to have 2 boxes that you rotate. I only use one at any given time, but when it is time to change the box, I prep the new one and just swap them out. (I use the cheap walmart storage boxes for litter boxes.

That allows me to take my time cleaning the dirty one. If I need to soak it with vinegar for awhile, I don't have to worry about the rabbits being without a litter box for too long.

Everyone seems to have their own personal preference when it comes to litter material. Personally, I don't care for Carefresh because it just seems to get tracked everywhere and make a big mess. It does do well for odor absorbtion though. I used Yesterdays News unscented for years and liked it. It's just a bit pricey. Now I use the wood pellets. They are economical and I find that they absorb odor as well as the others.

With my set-up below, (with 2 rabbits sharing the box) I find I only need to change/clean the box twice per week. I have to push it to 5 days before I get any smell whatsoever.

 

[Flick]

I use cat pan liners in all my litter boxes, so I just remove the liners and throw them away. Then replace it with a new liner and CAreFresh. No scrubbing needed. Once in a while Skyler will decide to dig and tear the liner, but that's rare. I've never had one chew the liner (knock on wood). I have some hardware cloth that I cut to size in two boxes to keep the Parker and Stella from digging in and snacking on the CareFresh. A vet told me that using pan liners is healthier for the rabbits since there's no residual urine or feces remaining in the box.

 

[roxyllsk]

As other have suggested, scrub with warm soapy water, then add white vinegar and let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes. Then scrub again and rinse really well.

I have 2 litterboxes for my bunnies, and they seem to prefer peeing in the one in the back. So I move the cleaner one there as I clean the dirty one.

I use horse bedding wood pellets for my litterpans and they don't smell. I also have those eggcrate grates on top to keep my one rabbit from digging like crazy. I change out the litter 2x a week, and the pans get a good scrub 1x a week.

But get in the habit of using vinegar 1x a week and you won't get the buildup.

I like the idea of having spare litterpans so you always have one clean, too.