BUNNY WONDERLAND LITTERBOX SETUP
Litter-training is an important part of proper rabbit care. Our rabbits are smart little ones who will choose a fixed location to do their ‘business’. They love to keep themselves clean and it will really annoy them to play and poo in the same space! Instead, we recommend that you give your rabbit a litterbox so he can keep his ‘toilet’ separate from his ‘play room’. We have observed that most petshops don’t sell the right litterbox for our rabbits. They tend to carry very small litterbox so they can fit in a cage but those who have attempted them know they are rather useless unless you have a tiny rabbit. Instead of succumbing to the impracticality of these litterboxes, Bunny Wonderland designed our own litterbox! It is cheap, comfortable, and easy to maintain and we hope to share the details of our setup with you today!
1. Litterbox – We use a commercial crate from Toyogo (ID3901 as shown in: http://www.toyogogroup.com/ind.-crate—basket.html). It is spacious (internal dimension: 49.5cm x 36.5cm) and can fit up to 2 rabbits comfortably. This model also comes in 3 different heights (4cm, 7.5cm and 9.5cm) which you can choose to fit your rabbit’s need. We recommend the low ones for senior rabbits with mobility issues and the high ones for rabbits who tend to ‘aim too high’ and spill outside their litterbox. This crate cost $6-8 and can be easily purchased from their warehouse at CT Hub.
2. Bedding – We will line our litterbox with a layer of newspaper follow by a handful of paper litter. We uses Breeder Celect’s Recycled Paper Litter that is proven to have powerful odor control. We do not recommend wood shavings as some can release harmful phenol vapor that can cause liver damage in rabbits. We also do not recommend scented, clay or powdered litter that are commonly used for cats. Unlike cats, rabbits actually like to spend time in their litterbox, some even sleep in them. Hence the use of such scented or powdered litter can have more adverse effect to a rabbit’s respiratory and should be avoided.
3. Plastic grid – This is an important part of the litterbox to ensure your rabbit do not stepped in their soiled litter. We uses egg crate filters that are often used for fish aquariums and we will cut them using a heavy duty scissor to fit into our litterbox. However, we noticed that these grids maybe painful for some bunnies with thinner soles. For these rabbits, we will place a rubber hole mat over it to give some extra comfort. Alternatively, you can consider a smoother surface such as ‘Alice Healthy Mat’ which is more gentle on their feet.
4. Hay – It’s funny to think that rabbits eat where they defecate but it is indeed how the rabbits like it! Once our litterbox is ready, we will grab a generous handful of hay and place it on one half of the litterbox and let the rabbits munch on them while they are doing their business. It is indeed more natural for the bunnies to eat from the ground just like how wild rabbits forage through the pasture. You can consider separating the hay in a low-lying basket but just make sure your rabbit is still eating as much hay as it is directly on the litterbox. And please stop using those annoying hay balls that dangles on the top of the cage. When you make it so hard to eat hay, the rabbit may just choose not to eat them and that’s when you will be faced with severe health consequence!
Our litterbox setup had been very effective in litter-training over 300 rabbits that came through our gates. We hope by sharing our experience, we can help you keep your rabbit clean and neat! We have definitely seen many variations of litterbox out there so ours is just a suggestion. We are sure with some dedication, perseverance and a dose of creativity, every rabbit owner will find the best litterbox for their adorable bunnies!
For more information, please read:
http://rabbit.org/faq-litter-training-2/
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