Best for Rabbit Bedding?

Question

What is the best type of bedding to use for a pet rabbits cage? Some people say Yesterdays news, others say aspine shavings, and others say wood pellets? Any suggestions?

Answer 1

pine I have found is the best because rabbits have very sensitive feet they need a soft bedding, pine is softest of, as far as, commercially available, it is pretty cheap and it isn't very dusty so you won't have to worry about a weezing bunny

Answer 2

I would say aspen. Pine and cedar shavings have been shown to create respiratory issues in animals, wood pellets and cat litter don't control the smell, and personally I find care fresh to be very dusty and messy. Don't use any type of hay, as the rabbit will try to eat it. Yesterdays news is paper based and also does not control the smell. IF and only if you have a wire-bottomed cage with a separate tray that the rabbit does not have access to, you can also try corn cob bedding- it does pretty good for the smell and doesn't get blown around on the carpet as much, but it can cause intestinal problems if the rabbit eats too much of it, so if he sits on his bedding I would avoid that too.

Try to find a product called Sani-Chips. Look it up online and see if you can find a place that will ship it to you, it is a wonderful product. It is aspen, but it's ground up into tiny squares, it looks very clean and neat. It's used in many lab settings for animals because it is clean and tidy and controls the smell. I use it for my reptile bedding.

http://www.pjmurphy.net/bedding-products.html
http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm?id=STR81580

Answer 3

There are three types of bedding that I've found to work pretty well.

Wood shavings, ground-up corncobs, and straw.

Ground up corncobs seem to work the best because they are very absorbant and they keep the rabbit very clean. Normally you put several inches worth in the pen. By stirring the bedding around somewhat the bedding can last much longer than other beddings because stirring the bedding around will allow the bedding to dry, making it last longer.

Straw works well too, however it isn't nearly as absorbent. It's also good for them to snack on. It is the best bedding to use for nestboxes due the the lack of smell and nature of the bedding. Rabbits do no like any smell in their nestbox and sometimes will refuse to have babies in the nestbox and will scatter them due to smell.

Wood shavings also work well. They are more absorbant than straw and less absorbant and don't last as long as ground corncobs. They can also cause splinters in the feet but this is normally a rare occurence.

Newspaper can work, but it works much better if it is shredded. However, I don't like it as well as the above three due to it's lightness. If you have your rabbit outside it can blow around like crazy and get blown out of the pen.

I'm not familiar with wood pellets, so I couldn't say regarding those.

Answer 4

I would use something in the litter box and something different for bedding. We had better luck with Yesteday's News in the litter box controlling odor, but now just line the litter box with newspaper and top with plenty of hay. We put old tee shirts in their space (ours don't have a cage, but their own room) so they have somewhere soft to lie down. If your bunny doesn't eat carpet, you can use carpet remnants too that are soft.
If your bunny is in a cage, it should be large enough for a litter box, nest box, water and food bowls, toys, and still have space for your rabbit to move around and stand up on her hind legs so her ears don't touch the top of the cage.

for more helpful tips on rabbit care see:
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html

Answer 5

for the smell in any "small animal" or rodent cage, the best I've found is "carefresh pet bedding" it's in a sort of green colored bag, and looks like torn up cardboard. Petsmart and places like that carry it. It is the best for keeping the smell down and it's healthy for the animal.

Answer 6

I think wood stove pellets work best. They are edible, cheap, absorb odor well and they come in big bags.

Answer 7

TIMOTHY HAY IS THA BEST BACAUSE THEY COULD SLEEP ON IT AND EAT IT.IT ALSO HAS PROTEIN