Shavings a no-no!!!

:shock:I thought I was okay to use P@H woodshavings for my 2 mini lops - I had no idea it was unsafe (from reading other posts). I've been using this since October when I got my boys - I haven't caused them any harm have I?
So I should just stick with newspaper and covering it with hay? I'm relatively new to being a bunny mummy and there is so much conflicting advice on the Net, you never know right from wrong. Thank you for your help, Kaz x

Hi,:wave:

I posted the question regarding sawdust. I have always used sawdust for my bunnies and i thought this was right, after seeing alot of cages on here which dont have sawdust i questioned it. Only to find out it shouldnt be used.

I really freaked out when some said the bunnies lungs were full of sawdust.
I took the advice of gettin some "megazorb" also using hay and litter trays and newspaper!

sawdust is bad for a bunny's eyes and lungs, but woodshaving that are dust extracted aren't as bad. However they do smell nice for a reason, and that is why they're not recommended for bunnies. The nice pine smell is caused by phenols, which are chemicals that rabbit's liver has to break down when breathed in - as such they are slightly harmful if your rabbit has other stresses on its liver, such as anaesthetics, and periods of starvation during stasis. So there's no need to panic about phenols in wood shavings, but ideally the less stress on a rabbit's liver, the better as they are delicate animals

:wave::wave: don't panic!

Elve's covered it in her post but you can put down newspaper, carpet tiles, lino tiles, etc. i use carpet tiles in Bunny's crate and luckily he doesn't chew them. He did go through a naughty stage of weeing on them though so i used newspaper for a while. he enjoyed ripping it up so i always put some in there to destroy! he has a litter tray in there with paper based litter and he says he loves his living arrangements!

hope this helps!

Shavings and sawdust can also get deeply embedded in rabbit fur, and can prove awfully difficult to get out.
Hay makes good bedding as buns can permanently nibble on it. Some people use straw, but it can have sharp ends, and sometimes causes injuries.
Shredded paper is also useful, it's how we get rid of all our shredded private documents! Then it all goes in the garden composter.

My local pet store told me to use a cat filler litter called "Gentle Touch". Oreo seems to like it. I just got him yesterday he is a 9 week old Mini Rex/Dutch cross and already gets to roam because he always uses his litter box. He's such a good rabbit.
Is this litter okay for him?

bunnygirlie said:

My local pet store told me to use a cat filler litter called "Gentle Touch". Oreo seems to like it. I just got him yesterday he is a 9 week old Mini Rex/Dutch cross and already gets to roam because he always uses his litter box. He's such a good rabbit.
Is this litter okay for him?

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have a look at the ingredients - if there's any clay in it as a binder, it's unsuitable - it should be paper based preferably

Shavings aren't that bad. Not great, but provided they are Aspen they are ok. Never ever use Cedar and there are a lot of questions over Pine. I wouldn't worry too much - it's unlikely they've done damage.

But I'd switch anyway, I've used shavings in the past, they are so messy, and not the best at absorbing smell. Now I use a wood pellet cat litter and that works really well.

*Michaela* said:

Shavings aren't that bad. Not great, but provided they are Aspen they are ok. Never ever use Cedar and there are a lot of questions over Pine. I wouldn't worry too much - it's unlikely they've done damage.

But I'd switch anyway, I've used shavings in the past, they are so messy, and not the best at absorbing smell. Now I use a wood pellet cat litter and that works really well.

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Do you use this throughout your hutch (wood pellet)??:wave:

Barley straw is a good, cheap bedding for hutches. Its soft, relatively dust free, does no harm if eaten, gentle on feet and a good insulator to boot.