Solid Flooring that Offers Bun Traction: Vinyl, Linoleum, etc.???

[Jenk]

I've also posted this in the forum re: cage construction, but not many RO members seem to post there; this question might garner more info. here....

Can anyone verify if vinyl or laminate flooring allows enough traction for buns to exercise on it?

Currently, our buns are housed on laminate, which is too slippery and doesn't allow them to binky. But they eat non-edible stuff,which means that no textured flooring, seams, edges, etc., can be exposed to them.

DH and I are considering buying cheap sheet flooring to place over the laminate. (We'd have it extend outside of their pens to avoid chewing.) We just don't know if vinyl or linoleum are good options for rabbit traction.

Thank you,

Jenk

 

[hartleybun]

poor bunnies not been able to binky! what about some form of natural matting? im not sure what you would call it where you are, but something like sisal? you'd have to google this - if they're nibblers you dont want to harm them

hope nothing lost in translation

i always get an afterthought! - sisal might not be suitable if you have rexes - sore hocks:X

 

[Orchid]

http://www.petrabbittoys.com/1219_Bunny_Busy_Mat.jpg

 

[Jenk]

hartleybun wrote:

what about some form of natural matting? im not sure what you would call it where you are, but something like sisal?

i always get an afterthought! - sisal might not be suitable if you have rexes - sore hocks:X

Sisal mats--or mats of any kind--aren't an option. Two of our bunnies gorge on things that they shouldn't. As I've mentioned, nothing chewable (and no edges) can be placed in their pens. Sad, but true.

 

[bunnybunbunb]

Sisal is edible....

The floor is Dillan's NIC pen is linolium squares from the dollar store. I just sat it over the carpet and over lapped the edges - she is in litter box training xD But none of that helps you. :/

 

[Orchid]

Lowes or home depot...I think it is home depot carry that out door carpeting. I bought it when I first got Simon...It wasnt something he could pull up, chew at and it worked well except he loved to pee on it.

Not the greatest pic of it. Comes is green and like black if I remember right. Very flat, rather cheap, fairly large to cut to a size that you would need. We had cut it up into many peices and like rotated them as we needed to clean them.

The only thing is if they are pee'rs you might need to replace or spray out with a hose and let sun dry...to clean it.

We had the black...tried calling Lowes and Home Depot..but they don't know what I am talking about. I KNOW it came from one of those two stores...

 

[Little Bay Poo]

Ours are terrified of anything slippery (vinyl, laminate, linoleum, or hardwood). Billy has had a few wipe outs on these surfaces because he's not used to walking on them. He gets scared and tries to run, but ends up scrabbling and landing on his belly instead :biggrin2:. From my experience, these are not binky-able surfaces.

The surface that we prefer is carpeting...remnant area rugs to be exact. We picked one up last week at Kmart for $20. It's about 6 feet by 4 feet and is tightly woven. Billy cannot pull up the fibers because they are flat (unlike the carpeting in the apartment which he loves to rip out). He will chew the corner if he sees a loose fiber though.

Having dealt with a bun that will chew anything and everything, the only advice I can offer is constant supervision. For you, this would mean buying a surface with traction, but allowing only 30 minutes of supervised play time on that surface. When you aren't able to supervise, go with the laminate you are currently using.

 

[Jenk]

Little Bay Poo wrote:

Having dealt with a bun that will chew anything and everything, the only advice I can offer is constant supervision. For you, this would mean buying a surface with traction, but allowing only 30 minutes of supervised play time on that surface. When you aren't able to supervise, go with the laminate you are currently using.

I honestly don't trust our crew to not find a way to chew even tightly-woven carpeting.

They get10-20 min. in the AM and an hour in the PM to exercise between our kitchen (linoleum flooring) and hallway (covered with rugs layered witha painter's canvas); so theyhave plenty of traction in those areas.

There are some days, though, when I'd like to devote less time to watching rabbits so closely for so much time. Some me time would be nice in the evening on occasion. *sigh* I'd rather that they'd have some additional traction in their rooms, so that I know they have the option of performing more athletic moves without my prompting.

 

[Maureen Las]

I have a inexpensiveflooring from Menards that looks like hardwood ; Angela (naturestee ) has the same stuff and that is how I learned about it. The linoleum needs to be cut and laid to fit the room and is not like tiles or single pieces of linoleum . it has sort of a rubbery texture and is a dream come true to clean
it has tiny grooves in the rubber surface that are made to mimic the appearance of real wood and because of those small grooves it gives the buns some traction.

bottom line is that they really run better on a rug.I have 1 room in my whole house that still has wall to wall carpeting. I placed one of my older guys in there recently to run and noticed immediately how much better he does on a rug.

I despise carpeting, tho, because it is so unsanitary:X...it would work great for rabbits if you could get new carpeting every week or so LOL

 

[Maureen Las]

You can see it well in my avatar pic

 

[Jenk]

angieluv wrote:

I have a inexpensiveflooring from Menards that looks like hardwood; Angela (naturestee) has the same stuff and that is how I learned about it. The linoleum needs to be cut and laid to fit the room and is not like tiles or single pieces of linoleum. it has sort of a rubbery texture and is a dream come true to clean
it has tiny grooves in the rubber surface that are made to mimic the appearance of real wood and because of those small grooves it gives the buns some traction.

We did find a type of hard rubber interlocking tile but still feel that it would be too slick for bunny feet (though less so than laminate, true). But it, too, gets pricey. And if anyone spills water or (God forbid) pees between two tiles, I'm betting that the moisture could still get under them.

There's another common type of rubber interlocking tiles that would offer a good grip. But it also has a more porous surface, and I suspect that the buns could still manage to sink their teeth into its relatively flat surface.

bottom line is that they really run better on a rug.

Oh, no doubt. The girls, though, beingMini Rexes, have sore hocks. I don't know what's worse for them: carpeting or laminate. Also, Zoe tends to pee on the floor when carpeting is provided.Otherwise, she's very well potty trained.

Besides the fear of the buns ingesting carpet fibers (the girls' guts are WAYtoo touchy), my hubby isn't thrilled about paying forenoughcarpeting that covers the whole floor and that can't be cleanedeasily.

I despise carpeting, tho, because it is so unsanitary:X...it would work great for rabbits if you could get new carpeting every week or so LOL

Exactly. There should be an exception made for us bun owners. We should be allowed frequent carpet replacement at no extra cost. Just pay an annual fee and replace it as necessary.

 

[Jenk]

I'm still "thinking aloud" on this matter.

I really, truly don't trust our crew with carpet or fabric, but I'm tempted to try this bedspread: http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=57173&productId=946808&qs=3009650

On the plus side, it's washable. On the downside, they could chew it and pee on it. And I doubt that I'd feel like washing it on a weekly basis.

On the plus side--assuming that no one would eat or pee on it--it should be cushy enough for Rexy hocks.

Jenk

 

[PepnFluff]

Mine have linoleum in their cage. Hate it. It works for many but it's terrible for mine, hence why now I have those foam kids play puzzle mats covered in a fleecy blanket on the floor. Also the fleece wicks moisture like pee away so it great with those who have sore hocks like mine.